Belgian army withdraws from the Gete to Antwerp
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Western Front
- Date:
- 19 August 1914
- Author:
- Natalia
- Battle:
- Battle of the Gete
On 19 August 1914 the Belgian army began its retreat from the river Gete to Antwerp. The decision had been taken the previous evening by King Albert I, when it became clear that the small army could not hold out in the open field against the main German forces.
The march to the fortress
The retreat took place in difficult conditions. The columns of troops became mixed up with crowds of refugees leaving their homes for fear of the Germans. Belgian rearguards covered the withdrawing divisions, fighting skirmishes with German cavalry and infantry. The army nevertheless managed to reach Antwerp in good order and shelter behind the ring of forts.
Antwerp was a huge fortress with a port through which the Belgians could maintain communication with Great Britain. Pre-war plans envisaged it as the national redoubt, the last bastion of the country’s defence. From there the Belgian army could threaten the flank and supply lines of the Germans marching on France.
Crimes at Aarschot
German troops entered behind the retreating Belgians. On 19 August they occupied the town of Aarschot. After the death of a German officer, shot in unexplained circumstances, the Germans accused the inhabitants of partisan attacks. More than a hundred civilians were shot, including the burgomaster and his son, and part of the town was burned.
Aarschot was one of the first places of mass executions in Belgium. In the following days similar crimes were committed at Andenne, Tamines and Dinant, and at the end of August in Leuven. In all, from August to October 1914 German troops killed about 6,500 civilians in Belgium. These crimes, called the “Rape of Belgium” in Allied propaganda, shocked world public opinion.
Significance
The retreat to Antwerp saved the Belgian army from destruction. For the following weeks it tied down considerable German forces at the fortress, carrying out sorties against their rear. Antwerp held out until October 1914, and after its fall the Belgian army withdrew to the river Yser, where it held a small strip of free Belgium until the end of the war.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
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Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 18 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the GeteOn 18 August 1914 the Belgian army faced the Germans on the Gete. Threatened with encirclement, King Albert I ordered a retreat to the fortress of Antwerp.
- 25 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of Mechelen beginsOn 25 August 1914 the Belgian army sallied out of the fortress of Antwerp and attacked the Germans near Mechelen. It was the first Belgian sortie from Antwerp.
- 27 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of Mechelen endsOn 27 August 1914 the Belgian army's first sortie from Antwerp ended. After three days of fighting near Mechelen the Belgians returned behind the line of forts.
- 17 August 1914 · Western FrontBelgian government moves from Brussels to AntwerpOn 17 August 1914, with the Germans approaching, the Belgian government left Brussels and moved to Antwerp, the country's strongest fortress.