Second Edition. THE CITY OF ANTWERP.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 48, 13 October 1914, Page 6

Second Edition. THE CITY OF ANTWERP.

ITS IMPORTANCE TO BRITAIN. Captain Mahan, a well-known authority on the subject of sea-power, describes Antwerp as one of those dominant positions which must never bo allowed to pass into the possession of a powerful neighbour. Great Britain has secured many such positions, including Malta, St. Lucia, Aden, Egypt, and Cyprus—all vital for the command of important waterways. But' lie considers that Antwerp, in this respect, is pre-eminent, and must not on any account, be allowed to fall, into German hands. There is a famous work by Alison devoted to the constant relationship of Antwerp to tlie United Kingdom. He declares the Scheldt to be destined as tlie rival of the Thames, It flows through a country excelling even the Midlands of England in wealth and resources, amT adjoins some of the cities equal to any in Europe m arts and commerce. It is the artery of Flanders, Holland; Bfabant, and Luxemburg, and it is the means of communication between the Lou Countries, with their agricultural and manufacturing productivity and the other maritime States of the woild. This from the commercial aspect. But it is also, the key of the Scheldt Estuary, eminently adapted fOr a great naval arsenaJL Such it was under Philip 11. of Spain ; and as such was used by Napoleon when he dominated Europe. “It is the point,” says Alison, “from which in,every age the independence of these kingdoms has been seriously menaced. Sensible of her danger.it; had been the fixed policy of Great Britain for centuries to prevent this formidable , out work from falling into the hands of betenemies, and ; the best- days of her history are chiefly occupied with the struggle to Ward off such’; a disaster.” PREVIOUS WARS FOR IT. It was to,, project Antwerp from the French that' sided with the Dutch in 1670 : ; that Anne declared war on Louis , XIV. in ' 704; that Chatham supported Prussia in 1742; that Pitt, fifty years later, took up arms against the Revolution Here is the outline of the position created because Napoleon in 1809 bold the Scheldt, and the British arms did pot wrest it from him. In the great .dockyard he had made lay the nuclei’s of a powerful' fleet. Eight lino of battleships and ten frigates lay in midchannel! Twenty vessels' were on the slips, and in the storehouses was equipment for twice that number. Britain had, but missed, the opportunity tfi crush Antwerp, as a strong: hold of Napoleon. Had she done so scores of British ships would have been released to protect Brithn shipping; Wellington .in his great earn paign of 1813 would not have ibUpd; for the first time, that the communication by sea of a Britisli Army was insecure; and Napoleon, who, while he held Antwerp, never gave up hope of overmastering Great Britain, might on his own Confession have relinquished the useless struggle against

her. But the Walcheren expedition \ (Walcheren is a large island : n the estuary on -which stands the port- of Flushing failed' because' Lord Chatham stayed to besiege Flushing instead of attacking AhiVerpi;'

HOWS THE FORTS CREW. Antwerp is now one of the vital points in the German scheme. Germany’s original hoa-st was that she

would reach the port in five days—

and that then the British would' never ' reach it. That was two months ago. To-dav she is trying to make up for • lost time'. The defences, ’how are nearly wholly modern. Nothing remains of

the old “enceinte,” or enclosing wall, , or even of\the old citadel, which was ’defended as lately at 1832 by General Chasse,, except, ( the . Steen,, which is a museum of .antiquities. In. 1859 the whole, system of. Belgium defence was Seventeen,of the twenty-four fortresses which yvere- constructed under Wellington’s supervision in 18 1 51818, were dismantled. At Antwerp the old enceinte and the citadel were , removed, and a new enceinte, tight miles in length, was made, and two villages, Berchem and Borgerhout, were absorbed, into the city. This enceinte, which is a fine example of the art of fortification, still exists.

The area within, it is roughly square. On the the ‘ town.' is protected by . tMe Scheldt'' river" and a great area of 1 inundation, and" the encein£q,!( guards the north-east, the south-east The enciente is protected by, a broad wet ditch, and within it are the magazines and, Stote oharnbers of the fortress. The rampart' is pietcecl by nineteen gateways, but only,.twelve are used,Hy the Aa soon as it was finished, eight detscbsd',, Forts were constructed to two, and a half miles- away from' 'the -ramparts, beginning, on the\ortji-west, close' to the area of inundation at Wynoghem, and terminating on the, south-east at Hoboken—roughly lying,,in a semicircle, In 1870 Fort Merxem,, and the reddijbts of Becendreclit and Oordereri , were built for' the ( defencp of the area to. be inundated north of Antwerp. ( A line ~ of railways, a branch of the main linq to Bergen, runs right, round the town, just f ,J ~ side the ring of forts. NEW CONDITIONS. In 1878, it-was recognised, in consequence of the increased • power of guns and explosives, that the ’existing

fortifications were becoming useless, and out of date, and it was decided to change it from a fortress into a fortified position, by making an outer lino of forts and batteries at a distance from six to nine miles from the enceinte. This lino was to consist of fifteen forts, large and small: By’ 1898 only live of these had been made ; but two years later five more had been finished, and by 1908 the whole line was nearing completion. As a result, Antwerp came to be regarded as onq, pf tire best fortified positions in Europe, and it has been field tliat as long as its communications Uy sea are preserved intact, it will be practically impregnable, "■