ALLIES RANGED IN VAST SEMI-CIRCLE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2235, 22 August 1914, Page 7

ALLIES RANGED IN VAST SEMI-CIRCLE

HOW THE GREAT BATTLE BEGAN : GERMANS DEFEATED WITH HEAVY LOSS AT TIRLEMONT POSITION OF THE ALLIED ARMIES. .... . . " Brussels, Augußt 20. ' n i r, a '® .! 10w ln a 7®sfc scmi-circle' from Diest, curving by way of r.!u. • i las c n !, \\? vro ' to tiivot. Tlio Frencli on Tuesday last occupied uotn sides of the River Mouse,from Godinne, halfway between Namur and l.uiant, to ..the French frontier. There have been constant skirmishes with the German cavalry about Godinne. i-a j ??'S' al J s c ' ur ' n K Tuesday gradually drew in a-long line. More troops Suittened it, and the Belgians are now holding a strongly entrenched second line, covering the approaches to Louvain, Brussels, anu Antwerp. The chosen ground is a splendid battlefield, the broken country veiling the strength from tlio enemy. _ _ . . .•' . . It is officially,pointed out in Brussels that the public must expect to see '. n • , Position of the or my along such a long line, but modifications ol the original position give 110 ground for anxiety. •GERMAN ATTACK ABOUT HAELEN. The Germans attack on. Tuesday developed at 6 o'clock in the morning, When o strong force of cavalry.and infantry,, supported by artillery and machine guns, attacked a seven-mile front, about Haelen, near Diest. The Belgiaff cavalry at Geet-Beetz, on the railway between Tirtemont and Diest, offered a, determined resistance. They dismounted and occupied the trenches, and then bravely withstood a hail of bullets for two hours. A party of Germans had meanwhile got in behind and shot the Belgian hwses. The ground was fought for inch by inch; Numbers of Germans were killed during the relentless forward match, and the ' Belgians also suffered severely. When a retreat was ordered the Belgian cavalrymen did their best to assist comrades who had lost their horses. At one point 240 Belgians held Up 2000 Germans. • When the Belgian cavalry retired the Germans shelled Diest and Tirlemont, pillaged the railway stations, and bombarded the towns with big guns, the inhabitants flying in .terror and leaving everything behind. The German cavalry at Tirlemont was particularly brutal, attacking the panic-stricken populace and shooting and sticking .them at random. One of the women states: ' -They shot my husband before my eyes, and trampled two of my ohildren to death." The Germans were obviously well served by,, spies. Thev pounced on Gembloux directly the Belgian troops and French cavalry had 'left , The Germans destroyed the main railway, but Were soon driven out. LARGE FRENCH FORCE AT NAMUR. , Throughout Monday the French were pouring ' into Namur. Detraining outside the town, they screened themselves with'provision bags against observation by aviators. ' • The way to Namur is blocked, but the Germans were allowed to entor through a gap on the north, by which they reached Gembloux, ten miles West of Namur. . The general impression in Brussels is that the Allies arc not making any . concentrate upon the defence of. Brussels, as the Germans are hot mS n i strength to warrant such an important ohalige of plans'. Belgian officers .assert that everything is turning out as anticipated. It is officially pointed out that the first task of tlio Belgian army is to gain time, and that the object of the present operations is not to cover a certain district or town! ' BELGIANS' WONDERFUL PLUCK AND 1 ZEAL. Meanwhile, the .Belgians are showing wonderful pluck and zeal. They are improvising fortifications to protect Brussels 'against.raiding parties. Private citizens are assisting. The. Civil Guards are entrenching. ■ They have already constructed a big trench, with barbed-wire defences on either sido. B Tile Belgians, at the outset of. the war, purchased an enormous number of motor-cafs. This has changed the whole conditions of transport. An official note published in Brussels indicates that the British Army is en route. ; Their gun-carriages nre garlanded with flowers, and the troops are followed by iheermg people. The size of the British provision train astonished the Belgians. The locality of the British march has not been disclosed. FIERCE ACTION AT AERSCHOT.' - , London, August 20. , , Router s agent at Ghent reports a fierce aotion at Aerschot, twenty miles north-east of Brussels. ;On Wednesday two Gernun aeroplanes reconnoitred the Belgian positions, and then German infantry with machine guns attacked an inferior Belgian force, which resisted desperately. Two regiments which had already fcught' splendidly at Liego were in the forefront, and tlipy tenaciously held their ground for two hours, inflicting severe losses. Finally the Belgians being assailed on tlio front and right flanks: began to retreat to Louvain, covered by Major Gilsou's force. _ LARGE GERMAN FORCE CROSSES MEUSE. / • • ' TYa ' v./ • Paris, August 20. _ It IS stated that a large German force has crossed tho Meuse between Liege and Namun . ■ The French cavalry was successful, in an encounter with the a? - the Belgian town of .Florenville, sixteen miles east of Sedan. .I . " BELGIANS'FORCED TO FALL BACK. e ■ ' ■■■.■; . - ' London, August 20. ' The Press Bureau reports that the Beleian Army lias been forced to fall back. Communication with Brussels is difficult. , The Press Bureau adds that tlio 'Belgian retirement v. as tactically necessary, and had been ■ anticipated for somti days. Belgium has already admirably performed her djity of dolaying the Gorman advance, and enabling tho Allies to complete their concentration. GERMANS DEFEATED AT .TIRLEMONT. . (Press Association Extraordinary.) . ' • (Rec. August 21, 6.15 p.m.) . , Londop, August 20, evening. The Allies have defeated the Germans with Jidavy losses at Tirlemont, 25 miles east by south of Brussels. SLOW GERMAN. ADVANCE FROM METZ. (Rec. August 21, 10.25 p.m.) . ~ " , Paris, August 21, morning.) . A slow German advance is reported ;in the regiou of Longwy and Briey, . whioh lie twenty-five miles apart in France, near the frontier of Luxemburg. The enemy have cntrenched themselves beforo Briey, four miles inside French territory, with support from Metz. 9