The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-08-23
NAMUR, LIKELIEGE,
IS WELL FORTIFIED
Antwerp. Too. Is Prepared to
Offer Strong Resistance
to Invaders.
THEY OFFER FINE REFUGE
Troops There Are Safe From
MolestatiOn, but Can
Issue at Will.
THEY OFFER FINE REFUGE
From THE EVENING suS Of pesterdau.

From THE EVENING SuS Of yesterday
In the absence OF any announcement
OF their fall It is fair to assume that
the forts about Liege are still holding
out after nearly three weeks OF assault
and siege. What they have done to
delay the invasion by the valley OF the
Mouse may be Judged from the fact that
the German army. with the fortresses
at its rear. took two weeks TO advance
sixty miles TO Brussels. The Belgian field
army was able to hold back the over
whelming advance thus long only because
the Liege Notifications offered an OBJ
stacle to the ready advance OF the Ger
man columns.
From the resistance of the works at
Liege the observers of the war may
form an expectation OF the important
part which fortified positions are likely
to play In the campaign between Brus-
sells and Paris. While the story OF tho
defence OF Liege is calculated to sur
prise those who know only the dlspar-
ity in numerical strength between the
defenders and the besiegers. 1t is never
theless true that to those acquainted
with the technic of modern fortifica-
lions there 10 nothing extraordinary in
the news that a ring OF modern Isolated
forts should take at least three weeks
to reduce nor in the fact that an unlim-
tied supply OF infantry and field artil-
lery should prove as unavailing against
them as a rainstorm against block OF
granite.
To storm an isolated fortress is not
necessarily n hopeless task. Its sue
cess is bound TO be uncertain; but while
desperate and necessarily Il costly
venture It Is not necessarily n hopeless
one for the chief who does not hesitate
TO sacrifice men by the tens OF thou
sands What Is hopeless. as proved by
the recent German experience. In TO at
tempt to carry by rush all or part OF
ring OF forts linked In neutral de-
fence.
There remains to the assailants of such
a fortified place the recourse OF reducing
| II by bombardment and intrenched APP
proach. This process Is subject to s W
| eral sorts OF delay, some or which may
| prove very serious First comes the
i period required for bringing up heavy
! siege guns These great pi ces, the only
movable ordnance heavy enough to make
, serious impression on a modern fort.
| are OF vast weight, Their transporta-
! ton is laborious and slow and cannot
without great difficulty be accomplished
until tbs main body OF the army and Its
trains have passed by and ceased to con-
gest the railway routes.
( Next comes the time taken up In bring
ing the siege guns within effective range
/ OF the works. Owing to the Are OF the
/ forts 1t In at first impossible to place the
siege guns nearer than at a very long
range. Eventually, under cover OF sup
porting fire and OF earthworks. the bat
teries may be advanced to effective dis
lance, Yet even then they are obliged
to seek the destruction not so much OF the
defend, RS batteries. sheltered In steel tur-
rets or cupolas, as the demolition OF the
whole mass Of protecting earth and con-
! crete
The length OF time required for sucn
an operation even without the setbacks
| likely to affiict a besieglng force, 10 prob,