WITH THE NAVAL BRIGADES

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 50, 15 October 1914, Page 5

WITH THE NAVAL BRIGADES

<4st*-— -— ■" (Received 9.5 a.m.) London, October 14. Members of the Naval Brigades state that when they arrived at Antwerp they learnt that the Marines, on Tuesday were being- hard pressed by 30,000 Germans. The first and second naval brigades hurriedly reinforced the Marines and found that the Belgians had been withdrawn, leaving the flanks of the Marines exposed. The British retirement from the country of the Nethe was accomplished on Wednesday nigh't, the Germans not covering their withdrawal. This was fortunate, as the British were without field and machine guns. The naval guns arrived too late, and were not even mounted. Most of the Belgian forts and the intervening redoubts were manned by old Krupp guns firing black powder, while the Germans mostly used four to flight-inch guns against the forts. Four hundred navals on Thursday occupied a deserted fort and the other navals and marines occupied Belgian bomb-proof trendies, which were excellently constructed. Hence the losses were light. The trendies were'lightly held by men a couple of yards apart, and effectually bluffed the Germans, who did not try to rush the entrenchments. The situation was serious on Thursday. Many British were withdrawn and entrained for Ghent despite the German fire. Meanwhile, the party holding the fort repelled several attacks, inflicting heavy losses on the closely-packed Germans. The latter then re-commenced firing with fieir artillery. Early on Friday the defenders of the "fort found that their comrade-; were being forced to abandon the surrounding entrenchments, and they determined to retreat. The party lost half their men. but about 200 reached the Scheldt and found the Germans had cut the Ghent line and occupied the Lokoron roods, forcing the •party into Dutch territory.