Second Edition ANTWERP.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 4, 22 August 1914, Page 6

Second Edition ANTWERP.

ITS STRATEGIC VALUE. A POINT OF VAST IMPORTANCE. Unlike most capitals, Brussels is not now a fortified town, and has no designed modern means of defence. Antwerp is a fortified town of great strategic importance, and may yet be an ob- . ject of attack by the German forces, provided success attends their other operations. “Without heavy 'opposition in the field,” says a recent writer, “the Germans could almost take Brussels in their stride, whichever road they sought to follow from their present position. To hold Brussels would bo a magnificent asset to them, but, beyond its moral effect and such richness as the city would afford them as a prize, the capital is of comparatively small value. If the German army seeks a great strategic point in Belgium, they could find none more valuable than Antwerp—the commercial capital of Belgium and its whole neighbourhood. Whether they could take it is entirely another matter. Although the famous port is admittedly an objective of the invaders, there are a great many people who do not realise why it should -be jealously sought. It is not close to the German frontier; it is in a hostile country, and it could not be used by the Germans; if the object was merely to cripple the vast shipping of the Scheldt, that is fairly done now. Why, then, should Antwerp bo aimed at? A MOST CRITICAL POINT. . “Antwerp has for many generations of soldiers been regarded as one of the positions in Europe; and it is of peculiarly vital interest to England. Captain Mahan, a wellknown authority on the subject of sea power, points out that for the preservation of the commerce as well as the supremacy of a maritime State certain dominant positions, whether within or outside that State’s own boundaries, must never be allowed to pass into the possession of a powerful neighbour. Great Britain, realising this principle, has secured many such positions, including Gibraltar, Malta, St. Lucia, Aden, Egypt, and Cyprus—all vital for the' command of important waterways. But Antwerp is pre-emi- , nent. i : ‘

There is a famous work by Alison, devoted to the constant relationship of Antwerp to .the United Kingdom. He declares the Scheldt to be destined as the rival of the Thames. It flows through a country excelling even the midlands of England in wealth and resources, and adjoins some of the cities equal to any in Europe in arts andcommerce. It is the artery of Flanders, Holland, Brabant, and Luxembourg, .and it is the means of communication between the Low Countries, with their agricultural and manufacturing productivity and the other maritime States of the world. This from the commercial aspect GREAT NAVAL VALUE. t L . ■ t ■ 1 , ■'■ “But Antwerp is the key of the Scheldt Estuary, and is eminently adapted for a great naval arsenal. Such it was under- Phillip 11. of Spain; and as such was used by Ncpoleon when he dominated Europe. 1 ‘lt is the jjoint,’ says Alison, ‘from ’ which in every ago the independence ‘of those kingdoms has been seriously menaced. Sensible of her danger, it had been the fixed policy of Great Britain for centuries to prevent this formidable outwork from falling into the hands of her enemies, and the best days of her history are chiefly rrccupieid. with the struggle to ward off such a disaster.’

“It was to .protect Antwerp from the French that Charles 11. sided with the Dutch in 1670; that Anno declared war on Louis XIV. in 1704,. that Pitt, fifty years later, took up arms against the Revolution. Here is the outline of the position created because Napoleon, in 1809 held tho Scheldt, and the British arms did not wrest it from him. In the great dockyard he had made lay the nucleus of a powerful fleet. Eight line of battleships and ten frigates lay in mid-channel. Twenty vessels wore on the ships, and in the storehouses was equipment fpr twice that number. A LOST OPPORTUNITY. “Britain had but missed tho opportunity to crush Antwerp, as a. stronghold of Napoleon. Had she done so, scares of British- sKips would have Inen released to protect British shipping; Wellington in his groat campaign of 1813 would not have found, 'for the first time, that tho communication by sea of a- British Army‘was insecure; and Napoleon, who, while lie hold Antwerp, never gave up hope o overmastering Great Britain, might ou his own confession have relinquished the useless struggle against her. But the Walcheren expedition (Wald eren is the large island in the estuary on which stands the port of Flushing) failed because Lord Chatham stayed to hesiego Flushing instead of attacking Antwerp.

“Whether or not the Gorman advance will ho diverted still further n rth upon Antwerp the next few •days will probably tell. But this remains fairly clear; that just as L ; >go held out against the siege levelI d against it, so Antwerp will be aide to do; for Antwerp is one of the strongest cities in Europe. Tt is defended upon the seaward side by the ri .ai- and the low ground over which tho river waters can be let loose to* make 'a barrier impassable to any

army; and on the other three sides by a ring of modern and powerful fortifications.”