New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-11
The Surrender of Antwerp.

mont of land Notifications has not hep' paw ~
.Ao ao,.olonment Of siege artillery. The newest
,or.rossos in Enrope are not modern in the sense
T.. .h,on rho newest Krupp howitzers are modern
In the competition between the military ensine''
and the gun manufacturer the former mas 10 'o'''
fess himself outstripped
Ijace and Namur we're considered up-toua'e
fortresses They were constructed on tue ou'''
ring principle and were intended to endure pon'-
hordment by the most powerful long range GUNS
IN. no,,har could withstand the terrific fire OF inc
cormsn siege batteries The only problem TOT 'ne
hsiegers was to establish themselves wi'nln piope'
range After that the process OF reducing INC
.-.s xos rurely mechanical. Maubeuge held out
,,..,o ,oncsr than did the two Belgian fortreSses
in the Meuse Valley. But as soon as 1t was i'''
90 lis own resources its days were numbered
The French Quickly learned the first big lesson
~, this war and aba ndoned to the enemy the o'ner
front,er fortresses which they could not ueieh'
nth tho aid Of mobile troops. They evacuated
lilo Ieon. La Fere and Rheims when they were
-,,;,od % fall back before Won Klucks advance
They clung to verdun and the other eastern IRON
tier strongholdS only because those forh'eu put
., .,o octnal hattie line. verdun has not yet been
iso,ated and the Germans have never been aoie %
gain positions from which they could oonloaru II
80 ,ois,,ra with their big guns. 1t would doubtless
foil &C other fortrcsses have fallen, if 1t shouid
~, oo,o strinred OF the defence which the presence
e large bodies of mobile troops has assured It,
The Belcan field army fought valanty to keep
tho Germans at safe distance from the outer
ring of Antwerps forts. new outer circle mao
been MANNED to supplement the inner Circle
deemed sufficient twenty years ago bu' 'nes7
,,.,r,s wore not completed or fully armed For nearly
,,., months while the Germans had their hands
,,u in Northeastern France. the Belgian army Kept
tho invaders at arms length. But the protracted
,oodIoc, on the ATSne enabled the Germans 10
,rrr thoir attention again to isolated Antwerp and
when they drove the Belgians across the Nethe
River 10 the southeast of the city they got the
foothold necessary for an effective bomoardment'
,ftor that the Belgian authorities had to choose
hotween evacuation or subiecting the city to use
less destruction.
The official report from Berlin says that the
Belgian army withdrew on Friday. making its
way toward the west. The city had not been in
vested on that side and the Germans probably did
not have sufficient forces to attack from all quar-
,crs. It is probable that the greater part Of the
Belgian troops retreated toward Client or to the
.orth Of Client. toward Bruges and Ostend The
~rnms had not been in that part of Belgium
for several weeks. Their outposts were between
BRUSSELS and Client, and the presence of body
Of their cavalry was reported on Friday at Cour-
trai southwest of Client and northeast of Lille.
The allied turning movement has now been
pushed across the Belgian border, and the troops
rctreating from Antwerp may be able to get III
touch with the garrison of Ostend and the French
cavalry operating between Lille and the Channel
coast The Germans will naturally try TO prevent
This junction by hemming King Alberts army in
against the Dutch border. But if they have
enough troops in Belgium to undertake such
movement it is hard to understand why they die
not invest Antwerp all sides and thus compe
the garrison to surrender outright or to make Il
dash northward into Holland.
II was beyond the strength Of the Allies TO raise
the siege of Antwerp. Keeping in view the "a
tional development of their campaign and adapt
ing their present efforts to their resources they
could not risk an insuhcently supported move
ment into Northern Belgium. Belgiums fate de-
uends in the last analysis on the outcome of the
6ghting on the Asne and on the line from verdul
10 foul. But while Antwerp could not be saved
General Joffres thanking movement to the nortl
may have cleared the way for the retreat of the
Belgian field army and extricated it in time tC
play an important part in the defence of the Bel
gian and French Channel ports.
The fall of Antwerp will have a considerable
moral effect. II will encourage those among the
Germans who are willing TO shut their eyes TO the
enormity of the toll which Germany is exacting
from an unoffending and helpless neutral state 1t
may impress some people outside Germany who
still worship the doctrine that might makes right
hut it will not materially affect the course of the