The German army and the attack on the Liege Forts

The German army and the attack on the Liege Forts

The German army and the attack on the Liege Forts

The need for a quick conquest of the fortresses of Liigne in Belgium had made German military planners very cautious during the years leading up to the war. Liege was less than 35 kilometers from the German border and was defended by a set of twelve fortifications on one and the other side of the Mosa, a river that divided the city.

The garment included a total of forty thousand troops under the orders of Lieutenant General Gérard Leman. Any significant delay in capturing this obstacle could have fatal consequences for the Germans. 

For this reason, the six infantry divisions and the only cavalry division of the Belgian army would have the dubious honor of being the first force to face the German attack. The Belgians had decided not to occupy the solid natural defensive line that constituted the Mosa River from Liege to the fort of Namur, as it seemed prudent to place all their army so within reach of the Germans. Eventually they chose to concentrate more inside, across the Gette, where they hoped to stay under the fort of Liege until the French and British could arrive to fasten the line.

Like an avalanche, German advance troops crossed the Belgian border, sweeping in their path the reduced Belgian defence forces to launch over Lyge. Leman had ordered his men to trench themselves between the forts, so when the Germans began the assault on the night of August 5, 1914, the defenders could resist resistance, although the 14th German Brigade managed to penetrate the Belgian lines. 

This action was attended by Major General Erich von Ludendorff of the 2nd Army, who was there as an observer when he was forced to take command of the brigade after the commander's death. After tough battles, and thanks to a good dose of luck, the 14th Brigade reached the center of Lieja. It was then when Leman realized his situation was desperate. On the afternoon of August 6, aware of the great power of the German forces and overwhelmed by reports of the cavalry reporting that the enemy was rushing over them, ordered the evacuation of his mobile troops from the 3rd Division before it was too late. So, when the 14th Brigade entered the Belgian defenses on the morning of August 7, it slowly began to realize that the resistance was weakening.

At this point, the Germans found themselves in the curious position of having taken the city, but not the thickness of the surrounding fortifications. The forts were reduced successively with a combination of heavy mortars of 21 cm, whose shots fortifications were able to resist, to which on August 12 was added the devastating power of the huge mortars of 42 cm (against whose power could nothing be done in) absolutely). Huge mortar projectiles caused serious damage to the forts, forcing them to surrender. When Pontisee's, from which the Moses Bridges are controlled in northern Liege, fell on August 13, the door to Belgium was left open so that the German I Army could start its advance the next day. General Leman was trapped in Fort Loncin when on August 15, at five a.m., the Germans launched a horrific bombardment that would last for nearly the entire day.

The last stronghold would surrender on August 16. Despite all the rush shown, Leman and his garrison barely affected the German army's main advance, which had already completed the mobilisation of their men by train. Perhaps their achievements were few, but the truth is that the firm resistance of the then barely-valued Belgian army would set an inspiring example for the Allied troops during the traumatic weeks ahead.