Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-26
History of Towns
In War Territory

Washington. D. c., Aug. &c. - The
National Geographic society's primer
OF today's war geography follows:
Hoboken---A Belgian town OF about
ID 600 population, on the right bank
of the River Scheldt, about four miles
above Antwerp II is only important
because OF the shipbuilding yard which
the Cockerill firm OF Seraing has es-
tablished there. Many wealthy Ant
werp merchants have villas in Hobo
ken, and it is the headquarters of sew
eral of the leading rowing clubs on the
Scheldt.
la Roche-A small town In the Bell
gian Ardennes, notable for its antiq-
uity and It's picturesque situation. Its
name is derived from Its position on
q rock commanding the River Ourthe.
In the 10th and 18th centuries the
French and imperialists fought fire.
quently in its neighborhood. 1t is IA
nous as tourist center Among the
local curiosities is the Ciable chateau,
a freak of nature. being the apparent
replica of medieval castle.
soIsnies-A fiourishing town Of the
province of Hainaut, Belgium, owing
its prosperity to the important blue
granite quarries in the neighborhood-
The forests of Soignies extended In
the middle ages over the southern
part of Brabant up to the walls of
Brussels, and Is immortalized in By
ron's "Childe Harold" The first blow
toward its gradual contraction was
struck when Napoleon ordered $4,000
oaks to be cut down in it to. build the
celebrated Boulogne f1otilla for the in
vasion of England A considerable
portion of the forest in the neighbor> /
hood of Waterloo was assigned in 1915
to the Duke of Wellington and TO the |
holder of the title as long as it en- |
dured.
StaveIot-An ancient town of Bel |
GUM, in the southeast of the province |
of Liege. Here Charles Martel gained |
a signal victory over Neustria in 719. !
A monastery had been established |
there half a century earlier by st. Re
macle, bishop of Tongres. Only the
tower of the old Benedictine abbey re-
mains and the shrine of st. Remacle |
is preserved in the parish church. The |
town has about 5000 inhabitants.
interchangeable burg" on the In
600 inhabitants and was founded in |
the 14th century by the knights of the
Teutonic order. In 1879 it was besieg-
ed by the Swedes, in 1890 it suffered |
severely from a fire, and in 1710-11
from pestilence. 1t is 81 miles by rail-
way east of Konigsberg. 1t manufac
lures machinery, shoes, cement, leath-
er and beer and has a considerable I
trade in cereals, vegetables, fax, lin
seed and wool.
Diedenhoffen-A fortified town of
Germany, in Lorraine, called by the
French Thionville. 1t is situated on
the Moselle river % miles north from
Metz, by rail. 1t is here that the Ger
man crown prince is said to have met
and defeated the French. Diedenhof-
fen was captured by Condo in 1913,
was afterward fortified by Vauban,
and was severely bombarded in 1870,
when it surrendered to the Prussians.
Maubueee town in northern
France, in the department of aIord,
about two miles from the Belgian
frontier. AS a fortress Maubuege has
an old encfente of bastion trace which
serves as the center of an important
camp of Is miles perimeter,
for the most part after
he war of 1870, but since modernized
and augmented.
1t is an important manufacturing
center. with a population of approx
nately 1900. The city was RACED a
lumber of times and was unsuccessful
y besieged in 1914, but was COM
1elled to capitulate after a vigorous
assistance in the hundred days.
Aneerapp-A river in extreme east
,rn East Prussia, running south and
southwest into the Mauer sea. It is
bout 20 miles long and parallels the
russian frontier its whole length.