Evening star., 1914-10-12

LONDON. October 12, $50 am-Th<
story of the siege of Antwerp, told in the
form OF a diary. which chronicles the
events taking place between October :
, and October 10. inclusive. has been sen1
to the Morning Post by it's Antwerp cor
respondent. The diary follows:
October 2-The position seemed prac-
tically hopeless-the southern section Of
forts having been subdued and the Bel
gian field artillery being unable to stand
out against the heavier German guns
and the surrender of the city on Satur-
day October 81 seemed likely until this
evening. when news came that British
help was arriving. So great was the
power of the British name that spirits at
once rose, both among the populace and
the soldiers.
October 3-A wave of almost fanatical
confidence runs over the city! Prepara-
tions for the departure of the govern
ment have been suspended and the word
has been passed that the situation is
saved. The king and the queen are still
in the city.
People Continue Cheerful.
October 4-The cheerfulness contin-
ued The churches were crowded all day.
There is lull in the German attack. The
first British forces actually to arrive were
sent at once to trenches in the hottest
corner Of the defense position at Lierre.
Very tough fighters are these first of the
British forces. Their Sunday nights
work was one of the bright incidents of
the siege. They held the trenches under
a calling artillery fire, which was SO
well directed as to be proof that spies
within Antwerp had given to the Ger
mans the positions When the Germans
once ventured out into the open we
moved them down. Scarcely one of them
got back safely. The map shows that the
attack necessarily was centered at Lierre
because this route was the one offering
the least water resistance to the advance
OF the big guns. Therefore the real is
sue Of the battle was to hold the Nethe
river.
October 5-All day Monday the
Nethe river was held with the help OF
further British reinforcements, bu,
events proved that this powerful aid
which would have been sufficient q
week earlier. was not sufficient now
when section of the fortification al.
ready had been silenced. The cute,
suburbs begin to suffer from the shell
nre, but confidence is still general in
the city.
Circle of Fire Tightens.
October SjThe German circle ol
nre tightens on the city; stern facts
nave eaten into our confidence. The
men on the front stand the grueling
punishment without being able to see
the enemy; the men in the trenches
are tagged out and tormented. At the
Malines gate there clamors a great
horde of refugees from suburban
tOWnR ${v,oo To-
back by soldiers. Antwerp's own citi-
zens also are fleeing in terror. The
newspapers announce officially that the
situation is grave. The bulk Of the
people have set about preparations for
departure.
October THE newspapers today
publish official advice to the populace
as to their behavior during the bom-
bardment. The city's gas holders have
been emptied. The animals in the zoe
streets killing homeless dogs The
hospitals are being emptied and the
STATS of the legations and most of the
consuls are departing. There Is hardly
e carriage of any kind left in the city
The telegraph offices are closed, the
civic guard has been disarmed and the
newspapers have ceased publication.
On the front of the Nethe the line
has been abandoned. The partial re-
tirement from the field was followed
Broecheim was the last of the southern
forts to go. The German artillery has
pushed forward. A Belgian staff officer
made this explanation:
Outclassed in Artillery, =
1--WE were outclassed in artillery
from the first. AS a consequence the
Germans were able to destroy a Sec
ton of the outer forts. When the Brit
ish aid arrived the situation was al
most hopeless
1.-THE troubles of the staff are added
to by the fact that the Germans are
kept advised by spies on the actual
battle ground of our position.
october S-The bombardment of the
city proper was commenced at ! O'Clock
this morning with the Germans 2S-
centimeter guns. When the first of the
shells exploded in the southern quarter
the whole city seemed shaken by the
concussion. The people poured out into
the streets and began hurried flight
The night was clear and moonlit with
the glare from burning houses adding
to the illumination. Occasionally the
shrek of woman or the wall of a
child broke in upon the listless plod-
ding of the fugitives.
shells came in clusters OF six, very
methodically. into one particular quar-
ter, and then the guns were detected a
little to attack another quarter. The
Belgians let out all the oil from the
tanks along the Scheldt at Hoboken:
ION the battle line the defenders
yielded little by little. By nightfall
they got successfully across the
Scheldt bridges on their way to
Ostend.
Germans Enter the City.
October 9-The fall and Occupation
of Antwerp.
"It will thus be seen that the Ger
mans took a fortnight to drive their
wedge into the southeastern section OF
the defenses. and this speaks volumes
for the stubbornness of the defense.
after Monday it was merely ques-