Germans attack the fortress of Namur
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Western Front
- Date:
- 21 August 1914
- Author:
- Natalia
- Battle:
- Siege of Namur
- Tags:
- Namur, Belgium, Germany, siege artillery
On 21 August 1914 German troops began their attack on the fortress of Namur. After the fall of Liège, it was the last great fortress on the Germans’ route through the Meuse valley into France.
A fortress where rivers meet
Namur lies where the Sambre flows into the Meuse. At the end of the 19th century it was surrounded by a ring of nine forts, designed, like the forts of Liège, by General Henri Brialmont. The fortress was defended by the Belgian 4th Division together with the fort garrisons, some 37,000 soldiers in all under the command of General Michel.
On the other side stood the group of General Max von Gallwitz, part of Karl von Bülow’s 2nd Army. The Germans had learned the lessons of Liège, where the forts had long resisted the infantry. This time they brought up the heaviest artillery straight away: German 420 mm mortars, the so-called Big Berthas, and batteries of Austro-Hungarian 305 mm Škoda mortars.
The forts under fire
The bombardment began on 21 August. The heavy shells pierced the concrete vaults of the forts, destroyed the armoured turrets and buried the garrisons in their underground chambers. The forts, built with much lighter artillery in mind, stood no chance. Nor did the nearness of the French help the Belgians: General Lanrezac’s army was at that time fighting hard on the Sambre, in the Battle of Charleroi, and could give the fortress no real support.
On 23 August General Michel concluded that further defence of the town was impossible and led the 4th Division out to the south. On the same day the Germans entered Namur. The last forts capitulated on 25 August.
Significance
Namur fell much faster than Liège. This showed that fortresses built in the 19th century could not withstand modern siege artillery. Some of the defenders, however, managed to avoid captivity. About 12,000 soldiers of the 4th Division made their way through France and returned to Belgium by sea to join the army defending Antwerp.
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Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 25 August 1914 · Western FrontGermans capture NamurOn 25 August 1914 the last forts of Namur capitulated. The Belgian fortress at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse fell after a five-day siege.
- 27 September 1914 · Western FrontSiege of Antwerp beginsOn 27 September 1914 the Germans began the siege of Antwerp, Belgium's last fortress. The next day heavy mortars began to smash the outer forts.
- 25 August 1914 · Western FrontSiege of Maubeuge beginsOn 25 August 1914 German troops began to encircle the French fortress of Maubeuge on the Sambre, left behind by the retreating Allies.
- 7 September 1914 · Western FrontCapitulation of MaubeugeOn 7 September 1914, after almost two weeks of siege and bombardment, the French fortress of Maubeuge surrendered to the Germans. Its garrison was captured.