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War Gazetteer

j Louvain —Town, Belgium. On ■ river Dyle, 16 miles N.E. of Brussels. Population about 40,000. Formerly j capital of Duchy of Brabant, and had J six times as many inhabitants as now. Blamont. —Town, France, department of Meurthe, on river Vezouse. , Population about 3000. Kiao-chau. —Germany’s centre of operations in the Far East is Kiao- | chau. This colony, which is held by Germany on a ninety-nine years’ lease, is on the south side of the promontory of Shantung. In 1897 a German fleet seized it, nominally to secure reparation for the murder of two missionaries, and in the negotiations which followed it was arranged that Germany should have a lease of Kiao- ' chau Bay and a certain area of land, in all about 200 square iles, for I ninety-nine years. A month after ' the lease w r as agreed to Germany declared the colony a protectorate of the German Empire. Provision was

made in the lease for the defence of the colony, and Germany has exercised her right, so that should the Japanese attack Kiao-chau a fight may follow. The garrison is not large, and consists mostly of marines. Inded, the colony is held by the naval authorities, and a naval officer is the Governor. The total strength of the garrison is about 3125 men. As a port, Kiao-chau is of some importance. In 1911, 614 vessels, aggregating 1,070,000 tons, entered the bay. The loss of the colony would seriously damage German prestige in the Far East, besides ruining her trade in Shantung. is an industrial town in the province of Eastern. Prussia (Germany) on the River Pissa ; population 14,6001.

D lest. —A small town in the province of Brabant,. Belgium, situated on the Demer, at its junction with the Sever. It has a population of over 8000. It lies about half-way between Hasselt and Louvain, and is one of the five fortified places in Belgium. It contains many breweries. Tirlement—Town in Brabant, Belgium, eleven miles south-east of Louvain, with a population of 20,000. It still preserves its enceinte, six miles in circumference. Its principal church, Notre Dame du Lac, begun in the twelfth century, is still unfinished.

Louvain.—A town of 42,000 inhabitants in Belgium, in the province of Brabant, of which it was the capital in the fourteenth century before the rise of Brussels. The University of Louvain is attended by about two thousand students. The moat remarkable building in Louvain is the Hotel de Ville, one of the richest and most ornate examples of pointed Gothic in Belgium. The church of St. Pierre contains the tomb of Henry I, Duke of Brabant, who died in 1235. Longwy.—Stands on the river Ciders, and has a population of 10,000, It is or was a fortress of the second class, and has belonged to France since 1678. It was taken by the Prussians in 1792 and 1815, and by the Germans in 1871. The town is in two parts, which are united by a tramway. In the lower town are several important iron-works and a porcelain factory.

Pola.—The great naval base and arsenal of Austria. It is situated almost at the south-west extremity of the peninsula of Istria, which juts out into the Adriatic between Trieste, on the north, and Fiume on the south. The harbor of Pola communicates with the sea by a channel in some parts less j than 2300 feet in width. In the centre ■of the harbour basin are two islets, Santa Caterina and Santa Andrea, covered with heavy fortifications. An | aviation station has been established 'on the former. There is a large ship- ; building slip in Pola harbor, two large | Government dry docks, a floating dock j 584 feet in length, capable of lifting a vessel of 22,000 tons, and a smaller floating dock for light cruisers and destroyers. Large sums of money have been expended during the last two years on naval dockyard works and fortifications at Pola.

Dinant.—Town in Belgium, on river Meuse, 14 miles S. of Namur. There is a citadel on a lofty hill overlooking the town. Population about 7000. It was taken by Phillip, Duke of Burgundy, in 14G6, when 800 inhabitants were taken two by two, tied back to back and thrown into the Meuse. The Town was also razed, but in 1493 vras (rebuilt. In 1554 and 1675 it w r as again itakon by the French. llamillies—Village Belgium, 28 miles S.E. of Brussels. In 1706 the Duke of Marlborough here defeated a French army.

Gembloux.—Town Belgium, on an affluent of the river Sambre, 10 miles ,north-west of Namur and 25 S.E. of Brussels. In 179! the French here had a victory over the Austrians. Population about 3000. Brussels, Gembloux and Namur lie about in a direct line. Neu-breisach.—A town and fortress of Germany in the Imperial province Alsace-Lorraine, situated on the RhineRhono canal, 12 miles east of Colmar by the railway to Freiburg-im-Breis-gau. The population, including a garrison of 1200 men, is about 3520. It is built in the form of a hectagon, and, together with Fort Mortier, which lies on an arm of the Rhine opposite, forms a place of great strategic strength. In the Franco-German war it was bombarded from November 2 to 10, 1870, when it capitulated. Jodoigne. —A small Belgian town a little over thirty miles west of Liege. Antwerp. —The decision of the Belgian Government to remove the seat of Government from Brussels to Antwerp is easily understandable, for be-

sides being the chief commercial port

of Belgium the latter city is the great est fortress in the country. Ancient for.

tificatious have to a great exteat disappeared, but Antwerp to-day is defended, not only by an enceinte (or inner continuous line of fortification;), but by an outer line of fifteen forts and batterieSj large and small, at a distance varying from six to nine miles from the enceinte. Antwerp is regarded as one of the best fortified positions in Europe, and it is considered practically impregnable, so long as its communications by sea are preserved intact. Situated on the right bank of the Scheldt, Antwerp is a finely laid ..-out city, with a succession of broad avenues and long streets and terraces of fine houses. The population numbers about 400,000. Antwerp has been a great centre of commerce since the end of the fifteenth century, and today is one of the leading commercial cities of the world. The place has had a chequered history. In 1576 it was plundered in “the Spanish Fury,” and 6000 citizens were massacred. Over two millions sterling of damage were done in the town on that occasion. In 1585 the Duke of Parma captured the city and sent all its Protestant citizens into exile. In 1830 the city was captured by Belgian insurgents, but the citadel continued to bo held by a Dutch garrison under General Chasse. For a time this officer subjected the town to a periodical bombardment, which inflicted much damage. At the end of 1832 the citadel was besieged by a French army, and Chasse, after a gallant defence, made an honorable surrender.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/STEP19140825.2.21.26

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 6, 25 August 1914, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,181

War Gazetteer Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 6, 25 August 1914, Page 3

War Gazetteer Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 6, 25 August 1914, Page 3

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