THE FALL OF NAMUR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 139, 5 November 1914, Page 7

THE FALL OF NAMUR.

COLLAPSE OF THE BELGIANS A SURVIVOR'S STORY. One of the survivors i<clls this tale of the fall of Xamur:—"Without troubling about l the forts, the Germans ct'ii:tred their rain of steel upon our entrenchments. For ten hours our fellows stood this without being able to fire a single shot in return. Any man who put his headi above tjhe ramparts simply had it mowed off.

"Lying flat! on our stomachs, using whatever ivc could' to shield our hea(U. all we could do was to wait under this storm of iron and' fire. Wc were, .ill i ■burning to emulate our valiant [' who fell a'i'Li'Sv. Imt who would nuL i..M disliean.'iied, with an enemy thus :if. tacking him and nothin™ to lie d<m;, | nothing to avenge the comrades ralK-i'..'i| ■roundV Whole regiments were Jiis!!a.'| decimated. The. lasses anions the n!i :• |

ccra was terrible, and gradually, he. .soldiers, iinled, bceamiK demoralised. In one hound, they rose and licit -a general sauve-qui-peut. "Meanwhile, many Oerman lim! been uirned on the. forts, especially on Maigeret and llarehovelelte. Armed Willi old-fashioned guns of much v.n.ilVn calibre, they could offer but e. feeble resistance, and 'Maigeret. in'faeU only ■lirali about ten shots, while it (received no less than lift) hells, ifired an the ra.le of twenty a minute. At Mjuv-hoveleiie I.~> men were killed in the batteries, and -both forts soon surrendered. The. other works, however, were, still holdin" out when Ihe anir" left tjhe town. The eventually of a retirement had n:it been' provided for, and jrvea't confusion ensued. Soldiers' declared that olfi'trs 'cried out. 'Ket. out as best you can.

The tjhing is to <:et to Antwerp.' V:i ■provision had been made for the ib'stniction of the immense stores, and all these, with the fortress' artillery, ami most of the field artillorv, iftie horses, of which had been killed, fell into enemy's hands. At •(he Cfldvl-s-' alon", there*was a stove-of three million daih' rations. The annbulance eoics lost 150 out of its fiflO. "Our line of retreat war, on SI (!evard. where we hoiied to ioiu "(lie French IVieade from "Dinant.. The, French, over-

whelmed at Dinant. had fallen back bv wnv of Morville. and could onlc send us two- regiments, which bravely fou'f'ui their war Uirouo'h to us and joined ns notl far from, Namur very reduced in numbers.

"Our rrenerals had' also hsdicve'd da! the blowiiur up of the bvidire a" ZaniVs would cover our retreat, but the <"!er■nijins cut our retreat near Bois-ler-Villers. AVe cut our wiv lhron'..'h. but

at 4 >ie nrien- of what losses! Our retreat eontnuert bv war of I'isoii. Laon 3ml Amiens to Rouen. As i.he Belgi-An Oovernmenl, was enx'ous An eon-enfraf". nil its forces in the Antwerp enceinte, ire were sent from Bouen to TTavrv, T.hpnr-e we were, taken to our own shores."

The Namur jyarrison nnd the troops Sent! to nccuuv in I-reals lief ween the forts numbered M.MO men. Thoi;' who have returned to Belgian soil numbered' 12,000.