Lower coast gazette., 1914-08-29
lovain and Aerschot Vie With
DieSt and 1irlemont
in Her0ism
GERMANS OCCUPY BRUSSELS
Thronss Flee Belgian Capital a.
Forces Of Kaiser Apprenticeship
o. How Teutonie Army Took
the City.
BY ERNEST SMITH.
Correspondent Of the London Daily

(SoTreSpohoenI OF the Ionoon Oaily
News.)
Ostend.-After the heroic defense of
Diest and Tirlemont 1t was the turn
OF Louvain and Aershot to try with
handfuls Of troops to keep the invader
at bay while the main Belgian army
was reforming its position.
The battle Of Tuesday before Tirle-
mont had gone on till ten o'clock at
night. and even after that, during
the few hours before daybreak, rifles
snapped out the notice there would
be no sleep in the land that night.
Under the cover Of darkness the
Belgian general staff and army was 81
iently moving to its new position. To
have fought where 1t was at that
moment would have given away all
the advantages Of the allies and
would have been to risk heavy loss,
and perhaps defeat.
Germans Charge Trenches.
1t was, however, not to do military
experts work that ! started to write
this. but rather to follow the fortunes
OF the plucky e guard Of Belgians
left behind to harrass the oncoming
Germans.
At dawn on Wednesday I saw the
Germans hotly attacking the trenches
that had been filled up during the
night with fresh men. Part Of them
were Of tho famous Liege field force
that had decimated the Germans who
approached the trenches before the
Liege forts. They had begged to be
sent back to Lege to meet the en-
envy again there. This could not be
done, but they had their opportunity
aow, A-despesAte ono, Il IL true, tor
each Of those men knew he was
marked down to be sacrificed II nee
essary in the interest of the plans Of
the defense.
HS 0COVSo S0S V0UV0.
Two German a~eroplanes flying auda.
ciously low swept over the trenches to
see how they we're held. Almost i'm
mediately afterward the German ar
ttllery got the range Of the trenches
and commenced bursting shrapnel
over them. Infantry and machine
guns were quickly at work and the
little band of defenders settled down
to keep thu enemy's masses of troops
at bay as long a. possible.
BY six o'clock the attack was gen.
eral along the whole line, but it was
particularly violen: in front of Aer-
shot. There was q pitiless and deter
mined onslaught in which the German
commanders showed the same disre-
gard for the loss Of men as elsewhere.
Two Of the heroic regiments from Liege
bore the brunt Of the attack in the po-
sition northeast OF town. They were
outnumbered by ten to one. but they
stuck to their positions with the cour-
age Of desperation and inflicted a fear
ful loss on the Germans. Their own
losses we're terrible.
Germans Entsr Louvain.
By 10 O'Clock the Germans were in
Louvain. They had brought their In
fantry and machine guns up by motor
cars. moving quickly. Az the civil
guard already had been disbanded.
there remained only the rear guard in
the town to harass the enemy as long
~ possible.
II was the same story at Diest.
Tirlemont and Aerschot. A brief hero.
ic resistance vas followed by the In
svitable development Of the vast
forces the Germans were pushing for
ward. There were desperate combats
ct Corbeckloe and loventoul and the
honorable retreat had been sounded
once more.