THE FALL OF NAMUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15750, 27 October 1914, Page 9

THE FALL OF NAMUR.

NEW GERMAN TACTICS.

OVERPOWERING ARTILLERY

One of the mysteries of the war was the collapse of Naniur. Here was a fortress deemed to be much stronger than Liege, but it collapsed at the first attack. The mystery was elucidated in a long Renter's message from Of tend, which said :—

Namur was strongly protected by modern forts, which bad. during the defence of Liege, been further strengthened. Large areas had been mined, the field of fire from the forts bad been very largely cleared by dynamite, while barbed-wire obstructions, carrying electric currents of 1500 volts covered all the approaches. Stores of ammunition and provisions had been accumulated, and it was anticipated that its siege would cost the Germans weeks of time and at least 50.000 men. Instead, it fell practically at the first attack. Members of the garrison suggest that the defenders let the enemy como too close without attacking him, and they waited too long for the delayed French arm v.

For a week the Belgians on the one bank of the Meuse waited for the Germans on the other bank to attack. Every day. they thought, was a day gained on the path of victory. But all this time the Germans were painfully bringing up that enormous, slow-moving, heavy siege artillery, whose power and even existence have only since been revealed. Taught by their losses before Liege, the Germans held back their storming forces and waited for the big guns. The movement of these and of the main German fines were screened bv the curtain of cavalry.

! General Mil he! and his staff are i riticised ' for inaction during 'his period. In a log the Germans got their 32 now siege guns into position where they could concentrate on a single sector of the fortress ring. They were at a minimum distance of three miles from the Belgian trenches, and out of range of the Belgian tire. The Germans were accurately informed ; one officer taken prisoner had photograph* of trenches dug up only a few days before.

One of the survivors tolls this tale of the ' fall of Xamur: — "Without troubling about the forts, the Germans centred their rain ; of steel upon our entrenchments. For 10 j hours our follows stood this without being able to fire a shot in return. Any man who put his head above the ramparts I simply had it mown off. I " Lying flat on our stoluaelis. using whatever we could to shield our heads, all we could do was to wait tinder this storm of iron and fire. We were all binning to emulate our valiant blethers who fell at Liege, but who would not be disheartened, with an enemy thus attacking him and. nothing to be done, nothing to avenge the comrades falling around? Whole regiments were being decimated. The losses among the officers were terrible, and gradually the soldiers, unkxl, became demoralise;!. With one bound they rose and tied— general sauve-quipeut. " Meanwhile, many German guns had been turned on the forty, especially mi Maigeret and Marchovcletle. Armed with old-fashioned guns of nun smaller calibre. they could offer but a, feeble resistance, and Maigeret. in fact, only fired about, ten shots, while it received no lew) than 1200 shells, fired at the late of twenty a minute! At Marchovelette 75 men were killed in the batteries, and both forts soon surrendered. The other works, however, were still holding out when the army left the town. The eventuality of a, retirement had not been provided for. a n,j great confusion ensued. Soldiers declare that officers cried out. '(Jet out, as best you can. The thing is to ;;et in Antwerp.' No provision had been made for the destruction of the immense stores, and all these, with the fortress artillery and most of the field artillery, the horses of which had been killed, fell int., the enemy's hands. AJ the Cadets' School alone, there was a store of three million daily rations. The ambulance corns lost 150 "out of it« 600. "Our line c ! retreat was on St. Gerard, where we booed to join the French Brigade from Dinaut. The French, overwhelmed at Dinant. had fallen bade by way of Morville, and could only scud us two regiment", which bravely fought their way through to us and joined us not far from Xamur \erv reduced in numbers. "Our generals had also believed that the blowing up of the bridge at Zainbes would cover our retreat, but the Germans rut yur retreat near Bois-les-Villers. We cut our way through, but at the price of what louses' Our retreat continued by way i f Hirson. Laou, and Amiens to Rouen. As the Belgian Government was anxious to concentrate all its forces in the Antwerp enceinte, we were sent from Jtouen to Havre, whence we were taken to our own shore;-." The Xamur garrison and the troops sent to occupy the intervals between the forts numbered 26.000 nun. Those who have returned to Belgian soil numbered 12.000. LOSSES OF THE GERMANS. AN* OFFICIAL STAT KM F. XT. A Dutchman who was recently in Betlin, writing to an Fnglish friend, states that the authorities in Germany estimate, the total losses in Frame and Belgium up to the middle of October at 700,000 killed, wounded, and missing--in addition to 150.C00 in Fast Prussia and Galieia. The .Austrian losses are estimated at over 500.000. No official lists have yet been published of the Bavarian, Saxon. Hanoverian, and Wiiilemburg troops. NON-COMBATANTS FREED. INCIDENT AT TsTNG-TAU. The British Official I'ress Bureau Mate.; tint the Japanese commanders of the be'sieging troops and the blockading squadi ron at Tsing tan sent a wireless message to the garrison offering to succour non- | combatants. ' Representatives of eadi side met in parley and arranged to escort to Tientsin the American Consul, Chinese subjects. I and German women and children.