August 4th, German military crossed the border and headed towards Fortress of Liège. In order to capture this important fortress, German military formed Meuse Army Corps, consisting of 11th Infantry Brigade, 14th Infantry Brigade, 27th Infantry Brigade, and Composed of 34th Infantry Brigade, 38th Infantry Brigade and 43rd Infantry Brigade, with a total strength of more than 59,800 people and more than 100 artillery pieces, it is commanded by Otto? Feng? General von Emmich.
However, the Belgium army stationed at Fortress of Liège that German military has to deal with has more than 36,000 people and 252 cannons. In addition, there are hundreds of cannons on Fortress of Liège. In terms of artillery, German military is completely at a disadvantage.
Liege is located at the intersection of the Meuse River and Ourthe River, between Ardennes Forest in the south, Maastricht in the Netherlands, and Flemish Plain in the northwest. Meuse River flows through Liege along the deep valley, forming an important barrier for it. The main railway from Germany to Brussels passes through Liege, and this railway finally leads to Paris. Schlieffen and Moltke wanted to use this railway to transport troops into France.
However, if you want to win the following day, you must first win Fortress of Liège.
Fortress of Liège consists of 12 forts, which are generally 6-8 kilometers away from Liege City, and the forts are 3-5 kilometers apart. The 6 buildings on the east bank all face Germany, and the 6 buildings on the west bank are surrounding and behind Liège. These fortresses are like medieval castles built underground. Only a triangular top is exposed on the ground, and some arched covers extend out from the top to hide all the turrets. All other facilities are underground. There are inclined tunnels leading to the basement and communicating the connection between the turrets, the ammunition depot and the fire control room. The six large forts and the six small forts distributed among them have a total of 400 cannons, the largest of which is the Howitzer with a caliber of 210 mm. There are small turrets at the top corners of the triangle, a rapid-fire cannon in the tower, and a slope in front of the machine gun controller's fortress. Each fortress was surrounded by a 9-meter-deep trench and had a steel watchtower that, like its cannon, could be lowered to the ground and mounted with a searchlight. Each large fortress was garrisoned by two companies of artillery and one company of infantry, totaling 400 soldiers.
Before the war, in order to strictly maintain neutrality, Belgium's 6 Infantry Division and 1 cavalry division were deployed in various directions to deal with all invading enemies: the 1st Division was facing Britain's Ghent, the 2nd Division was in Antwerp, 3rd Division was facing Germany in Liege, the 4th and 5th Divisions were facing France's Namur, Charleroi and Mons, and the 6th Division and the Cavalry Division were in the central Brussels.
On August 3, King Albert officially took office as Commander-in-Chief of the Belgian Army. He personally nominated the 63-year-old General Lehmann as commander of the 3rd Division and military commander of Liege. The king asked him to "hold the position entrusted to you and fight to the end.
Belgians relied too much on Brialmont's well-designed fortifications. The defenders were undermanned and all reservists, with only one officer per company. It was not until August 2 that trenches were dug and barbed wire barricades were erected to defend the gaps between the forts and clear houses and trees that would obstruct artillery fire. These measures were just beginning when German military launched the attack.
After German military arrived at Fortress of Liège, he immediately launched an attack. Although, the combat effectiveness of the Belgium garrison stationed at Fortress of Liège is no match for German military. But they have a solid fortress as a backing. This makes it difficult for German military to defeat the Belgium army outside the fortress, but it is difficult to capture the fortress.
Passing through the fortress without taking it is no different from seeking death. The artillery deployed on the fortress will cause German military who attempts to pass through the fortress to pay extremely heavy losses.
On August 5, German military began to attack the fortresses of Fortress of Liège. But it was at this time that the attacking German military's disadvantage of lacking artillery was completely exposed. Although German military soldiers are very brave, they are still flesh and blood, and they will also be torn into pieces during the shelling.
"Boom! boom! "On the German artillerymen position, the cannons fired desperately in an attempt to provide artillery support to the infantry attacking Fortress of Liège. However, these Howitzer, which were not large in caliber, posed no threat to the solid fortress. In addition, the disadvantage in the number of artillery also made them unable to provide sufficient fire support for the infantry.
"Open fire and kill those damn Germany guys! "A Belgium officer ordered loudly.
The cannons of the Belgium army deployed inside the fortress were firing wildly, and the shells fell like raindrops one after another, exploding in the ranks of the attacking German military.
Although, the German offensive queue is very open and sparse. But there were still many soldiers who were torn to pieces in the gunfire.
"Boom! "A large-caliber fortress cannon shell fell, and a violent explosion sounded. A deep pit with a diameter of four or five meters appeared on the ground, and all the German military soldiers nearby were killed.
"Da da da!"
The heavy machine guns of the Belgian army deployed on the fortress were also firing. They fired condescendingly, and dense bullets came like a storm. Many German soldiers fell in a pool of blood.
"Hell! Belgians's combat effectiveness is not very good, but their defenses are too strong. If we don't destroy their defenses, we won't be able to capture Fortress of Liège! "German military 11th Infantry Brigade Commander Major General von Wechtel looked angry as he watched his troops falling into a pool of blood. In order to avoid greater losses, he had to order the troops to temporarily stop the attack.
Meuse Army Corps Commander Otto? Feng? General von Emmich, his face was also very ugly. The battle to attack Fortress of Liège was German military's first large-scale battle in this war. If it is blocked here, it will have a great impact on German military's morale. Once the blame comes from above, he will definitely not be able to bear it.
Subsequently, Otto? Feng? General von Emmich launched several more attacks, but they were still resisted by the Belgium army.
Even during the battle, German military also invested a lot of new weapons, including Zeppelin airships and tanks produced by German Arms Company.
However, these weapons are really not of much help in taking down the fortress of the Belgium army. The solid fortress has become an obstacle to German military's progress.
With no other option, Otto? Feng? General von Emmich had no choice but to report the situation to General Staff Headquarters. They can't waste too much time at Fortress of Liège, they must break through as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will give the enemy more time to react. At that time, it will be even more disadvantageous for them.