A Last Stand.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 47, 12 October 1914, Page 5

A Last Stand.

Capitulation of Antwerp.

Safe Retreat of the Defenders*

The Inhabitants Terror-stricken.

Enemy’s Effective Siege Guns.

Allies’ Advantage in France

BIG DUTCH HEARTS.

GRAPHIC SCENES OF FLIGHT

The news issued, per extra, last evening that Antwerp had been in possession of the Germans since Friday proved, unforl unately, to be only too true. It transpires (according to a message from Ostend) that the Burgomaster of Antwerp issued a proclamation a week ago, quoting the Kaiser’s assurances of non-interference with the civil population. He warned the citizens against interference with foreign soldiers entering the town. The city, therefore, regarded surrender as a natural sequence, and the only sane policy of saving the city. During the bombardment the destruction of the waterworks by the Germans deprived the city of water and prevented the brigade extinguishing the fires. All the chief art treasures were removed, and the i suburbs of Borgehout, Zurimburg and Berchem were almost entirely burnt out. It is rumored that the Queen has sailed for England. i - SUDDEN SURRENDER—-40 HOURS’ BOMBARDMENT. ■ '.•<* ‘ . . . Amsterdam, October 10. A Belgian staff officer states that the Waver and St. Catherine forts offered the most stubborn resistance. A Zeppelin gave the range and dropped bombs. The cf ixie fort pretended that the fort was afire, whereupon the Zeppelin signalled for the infantry to advance. When they reached the glacis, the Belgian guns and qhiokfirers mowed down eight thousand. When the position became untenable, owing to the 180pound shells, the commander blew up the fort. Refugees state that the end came with unexpected suddenness. Antwerp surrendered at nine o’clock on Friday, after 40 hours’ bombardment. The Hotel de Yille (town hall), the Palace of Justice, and the Art Gallery suffered from shell ire. The Jslantin Morteus museum was considerably damaged. The , terror of the last 20 hours bailies'description. The inhabitants ; who had not fled took refuge in cellars. Many were struck as they were seeking shelter. Shops had been closed since Thursday, and the valuables from jewellers’ shops had been removed to safety, owing to the recollection of the German looting at Louvain. The sight rf the wounded Belgian soldiers traversing the city from the fortifications added to the terror of the population. Boats for Ostend were; dangerously crowded, and the trains for Holland packed with wailing pmmen and children, crying with hunger. At every stopping-place more tried to enter. They had been waiting unfed for hours. Men sank to the floor in the corridors in hysterical condition. The majority of the women had one desire—to get beyond ear-shot of the German guns. A horrible incident occurred when a chance German shell struck a train of fugitives leaving for Esschen. Several were killed, and an indescribable panic followed. The plight of the other fugitives is so desperate that the Dutch Government has issued a warning to the public not to treat the fugitives harshly if they behaved strangely,' as many were' partially demented' owing to the strain. Some refugees state that they saw the King of the Belgians with his arm* in a sling. A Belgian officer states that the garrison, when withdrawing across the Scheldt, fought a desperate rearguard action. The fighting is continuing fiercely to the westward. THE SURRENDER Of THE CITY WAS ORDERLY, the authorities hoisting white flags on the church towers and public buildings. All the graindaden boats in the harbor had been previously sunk. A fierce bayonet fight preceded the enemy’s entry into Berchen. Refugees from Antwerp opened holes in the walls to enable them to retreat, in case of emergency, from house to house along the whole street. While the main force was attacking the fortifications m the neighborhood of Lierre on Thursday, a heavy bombardment was proceeding on the inner fort line from the direction of Boon. As the fight progressed, large infantry bodies were flung against the redoubts of the inner circle, while other troops were feigning attacks in the direction of Termonde, Duffel, and elsewhere for the purpose of diverting attention from Lierre. The south-eastern and eastern forts, including Lierre, ceased firing on Friday morning, enabling the Germans to force their way into Antwerp, where the Belgians blew up the fortifications. The civic guard was disbanded, and the majority immediately volunteered for the regular army. DUTCH ARE BEHAVING WITH FINE GENEROSITY. People at every big Dutch station met the incoming trains and offered the fugitives bread, biscuits, tea and milk. Rotterdam, Maastricht, Tilburg, Middleburg, Amsterdam and Dordrecht are all taking large contingents. At Esschen a thousand fugitives are camping near the railway lines, stretching a tough covering from the telegraph poles as a protection from weather, and living in the railway coaches. The British, French, and Russian Ministers were the last to 'leave the city. They witnessed the first part of the bombardment, They state that from midnight there was a rain of projectiles, sometimes 20 per minute. They state that more than half the shells failed to explode. Many civilians were killed. The weather being calm prevented the spread of tue flnmefi. The Germans, in their to the inner forts, literally f’Vd the dykes with their dead, owing to the close formation. TV Belgian machine-guns went through them like a scytho. . Hordes of refugees have reached Flushing. All torts of —Ht, loaded to the gunwales with human freight, are the Scheldt. The panic is pitiful. TVenty-five tn mm.. ] u (r l to Holland. The Dutch arc nobly feeding the homeleV, including 300 orphans.