page_title: Siege of Namur (1914)
section_title: Namur forts
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Namur (1914) / Background / Tactical developments / Namur forts
caption_attribution_description: English: Pentagonal Brialmont fort, 1914
context_page_description: The Siege of Namur was a battle between Belgian and German forces around the fortified city of Namur during World War I. Namur was defended by a ring of modern fortresses, known as the Fortified Position of Namur and guarded by the Belgian 4th Division. When the siege began on 20 August, the German forces used experience gained at the Battle of Liège and bombarded the forts using German super-heavy siege artillery and four batteries on loan from Austria-Hungary, before attacking with infantry.
  The French army was defeated at the Battle of Charleroi and managed to pass only one regiment into Namur as a reinforcement. The forts were destroyed by the bombardment, some being demolished by conventional heavy artillery rather than the siege guns, due to flaws in the concrete protection encasing the forts. The last of the Belgian fortress troops were forced to surrender on 25 August, after the survivors of the Belgian 4th Division had withdrawn to the south through the French Fifth Army and eventually joined the Belgian field army at Antwerp during the siege.
context_section_description: The Meuse valley was a route by which France or Germany could be invaded and after the Franco-Prussian War, General Henri Alexis Brialmont fortified the valley at Liège and Namur, to deter France and Germany from violating Belgian sovereignty. The Fortified Position of Namur (FPN) was built from 1888–1892, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the centre of Namur, to a standard design of triangular and quadrilateral shapes, to minimize the number of defensive batteries in the fort ditches, with the point facing outwards. On the left bank of the Meuse lay the modernised forts of Fort de Malonne, Fort de Saint-Héribert and Fort de Suarlée, the unmodernised Fort d'Emines and Fort de Cognelée and the modernized Fort de Marchovelette. On the right bank were Fort de Maizeret, Fort d'Andoy and Fort de Dave, all modernized. The obsolete Citadel of Namur in the town became redundant.
  The forts were built of non-reinforced concrete but this could only be poured in daylight, which caused weak joints between each pour. A citadel was built and covered by 3–4 metres (9.8–13.1 ft) of concrete; caserne walls which were less vulnerable, had concrete of 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) thickness, inside a defended ditch 8 metres (26 ft) wide. The entrance had a long access ramp at the rear facing Namur, protected by a tambour with gun embrasures perpendicular to the entry, a rolling drawbridge retracting laterally over a 3.5 metres (11 ft) pit equipped with grenade launchers, an entrance grille and a 57-millimetre (2.2 in) gun firing along the axis of the gate. The forts at Liège and Namur had 171 heavy guns, with each fort equipped with 5–8 Krupp guns of 120-millimetre (4.7 in), 150-millimetre (5.9 in) and 210-millimetre (8.3 in) calibre, which were the most modern armaments available in 1888, mounted in retractable armoured steel turrets made in France, Belgium and Germany. Three smaller retractable turrets were built in the triangular forts and four in the quadrilateral forts, with 57-millimetre (2.2 in) guns for short-range defence and 6–9 more 57-millimetre (2.2 in) guns were mounted in casemates to defend the ditches.
  The forts of the FPN were built to withstand bombardment by 210-millimetre (8.3 in) artillery and were equipped with steam-powered electrical generating plant for lights, pumps and searchlights at a cost 29 million francs. The forts had a weaker side to the rear, to allow them to be recaptured by Belgian forces counter-attacking from the rear. Barracks and support facilities were built on the rear side, using the rear ditch for light and ventilation of living spaces. Provision had been made for the daily needs of the fortress troops but the latrines, showers, kitchens and the morgue had been built in the counterscarp, which could become untenable if fumes from exploding shells collected in the living quarters and support areas as the forts were ventilated naturally. Each fort had a detachment of infantry, to sortie from the fort to engage an attacker.
caption: Pentagonal Brialmont fort, 1914
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Gallery 6.0.6001.18000", "Image DateTime": "2014:01:17 22:49:52", "Image ExifOffset": "2202", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4420", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "1465", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "A9E189388FAD4B24926D2EF802655B66", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}