THE FALL OF ANTWERP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15737, 12 October 1914, Page 6

THE FALL OF ANTWERP.

The report of the fall of Antwerp, which first came from German sources, has been officially confirmed- Without minimising the strategical value of this famous gateway to Belgium and the Low Countries, or the moral effect of their capture upon the German armies, it must be recognised that this is, after all, only one a of the incidents of a struggle depending for its ultimate conclusion upon operations in far wider fields. Belgium is drinking to the dregs the bitter cup forced upon it by German violation of its guaranteed neutrality and integrity. From the firing of the first gun at Liege to the present moment, when Belgian independence is temporarily confined to a mere strip of coast, the Belgians have fought heroically and have more than justified their national existence. The great superiority of the German artillery and the enormous masses of men whom the Kaiser could place in the field, have gradually overwhelmed the Belgian forts. The shame of Liege was to the captors and not to the defenders, and the same will be said of Antwerp when the history of the barbaric German raid is written. The. ancient city, sacked of old by the Spaniards, and now shattered by the German bombardment, will rise Phoenix-like to greater prosperity when the tide of invasion ebbs away. Though Belgium lies torn and bleeding under the German heel while the world sympathises with its sufferings and the Allies battle for its redemption, it has dragged the mask from the pretensions of Germany and has rendered final German victory utterly impossible The possession, of Antwerp by the Kaiser only advantages him to the extent of relieving for service in France the army corps which were

employed in Northern Belgium, for under the savage system of terrorism characteristic of the Prussian, a very small army of occupation is required. It cannot be used as a German naval base, for the British Fleet commands the North Sea, and there are no German warships in the Scheldt. It cannot seriously strengthen the retreating German battle line, for it lies on the verge of neutral territory and would be cut off by any successful Allied advance to the German frontier of Belgium. Whatever supplies were in the city would be invaluable to an enemy seriously pressed for food and raw material, but otherwise its possession, while valuable t<j the Allies, is obviously of much less advantage to a power shut from the sea. We must hope that the growing vehemence of public opinion throughout the world will prevent the Germans from displaying their customary barbarity in the great seaport of the little State they have so outrageously violated, and that before many months have elapsed the Allied armies will have carried the war into the territory of the invaders.