edwin
Active member
Below are some pics of my recent visit to Liège and the border between Belgium and the Netherlands.
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I first visited the hilly border region of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. This region is located in the very south of the Netherlands and from these hills one has a splendid view over the narrow area that comprised the so-called bottle neck and was used by the Germans during the initial days of the war to amass nearly 500.000 soldiers for the further invasion of Belgium.
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During the great war, the Germans sealed the border between Belgium and the Netherlands by means of an electrified fence. This monument is located in Sippenaeken and is dedicated to the victims that tried in vain to cross this fence in order to flee to neutral Holland. One should keep in mind that electricity was rather unknown to the ordinary civilians in those days and as a consequence knowledge how to deal with this was lacking.
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Further down the border near the town of Moelingen one can find these fields that were used as campsite for the vast German army, which eagerly awaited the fall of Liège before they could cross the Meuse river and progress with the Schlieffen plan.
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Near the German army camp two memorials can be found. Both are dedicated to civilians that were executed near the camp (hung) by the germans because of espionage or out of reprisal.
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Next, I visited the town of Vise, which is located on the Meuse river. This town was of key importance to the Germans because of its bridge across the Meuse, which could be used to deploy troops for an attack on Liège.
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The cavalry of General von der Marwitz was given the task to occupy Vise and to conquer the bridge crossing the Meuse. However, when the Germans entered Vise a few local police men tried to stop this German vanguard. During this encounter two police men were killed and are remembered on this monument.
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This bridge was the main goal for the Germans during the initial days of the war but, however, it was destroyed by the retreating Belgian army.
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Out of frustration because of the ongoing Belgian resistance at Liège, the Germans sacked and burned Vise. During the first days of the war more than 200 civilians were killed by the germans in the area of Vise alone. This memorial is dedicated to the civilians of destroyed Vise. After the war this town was rebuild, like Ypres.
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After the Germans discovered that the bridge at Vise was destroyed, they decided to construct a make shift pontoon bridge across the Meuse at Lixhe. This photo shows the location of this pontoon bridge. The area between Vise and Lixhe was known to either the Belgian military and the Germans as the hole of Vise, indicating that is was largely undefended. This because it was well outside the range of the Liège fortress guns and no additional forts were constructed near the Dutch border due to monetary reasons.
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In order to reach the bank of the Meuse opposite of Lixhe, the Germans had to use a small road which runs in part across Dutch territory at Eijsden. Therefore, Dutch neutrality was violated by the Germans. This photo shows the road that crosses the Dutch border and was used by the Germans.
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Despite the initial capture of Liège proper by the Germans during the night of 5-6 August (this attack was led by Luddendorf), the Germans could still not cross the Meuse because of the 12 fortresses that surrounded Liège and which controlled all access ways. The continued Belgian resistance forced the Germans to deploy their secret weapon, big Bertha, against the fortresses of Liège. One by one these fortresses were pounded into submission by the huge 420mm shells, which eventually led to the final fall of Liège. This enabled the Germans to finally utilize the bridges across the Meuse for the subsequent stages of the Schlieffen plan. Fort Loncin probably represents the best known example of the Liege fortresses and the destruction caused by the massive 420mm shells. This photo shows the entrance of the fort.
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On August 15th fort Loncin received an impact of a 420mm shell which resulted in a huge explosions in the munition depot. This explosion caused the roof to cave in, burying 350 of it soldiers.
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Fort Loncin was left in its 1914 condition and even now the massive damage caused by impact of the 420mm shell and subsequent explosion are still clearly visible.
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Fort Loncin also houses a small museum with a nice collection of German and Belgium uniforms, helmets and weapons. Moreover, several German artillery shells are on display, including a massive shell of the big bertha.
Regards,
Edwin
DSC03130 DSC03138I first visited the hilly border region of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. This region is located in the very south of the Netherlands and from these hills one has a splendid view over the narrow area that comprised the so-called bottle neck and was used by the Germans during the initial days of the war to amass nearly 500.000 soldiers for the further invasion of Belgium.
DSC03154During the great war, the Germans sealed the border between Belgium and the Netherlands by means of an electrified fence. This monument is located in Sippenaeken and is dedicated to the victims that tried in vain to cross this fence in order to flee to neutral Holland. One should keep in mind that electricity was rather unknown to the ordinary civilians in those days and as a consequence knowledge how to deal with this was lacking.
DSC03158Further down the border near the town of Moelingen one can find these fields that were used as campsite for the vast German army, which eagerly awaited the fall of Liège before they could cross the Meuse river and progress with the Schlieffen plan.
DSC03156DSC03160 Near the German army camp two memorials can be found. Both are dedicated to civilians that were executed near the camp (hung) by the germans because of espionage or out of reprisal.
DSC03179Next, I visited the town of Vise, which is located on the Meuse river. This town was of key importance to the Germans because of its bridge across the Meuse, which could be used to deploy troops for an attack on Liège.
DSC03162The cavalry of General von der Marwitz was given the task to occupy Vise and to conquer the bridge crossing the Meuse. However, when the Germans entered Vise a few local police men tried to stop this German vanguard. During this encounter two police men were killed and are remembered on this monument.
DSC03171This bridge was the main goal for the Germans during the initial days of the war but, however, it was destroyed by the retreating Belgian army.
DSC03166Out of frustration because of the ongoing Belgian resistance at Liège, the Germans sacked and burned Vise. During the first days of the war more than 200 civilians were killed by the germans in the area of Vise alone. This memorial is dedicated to the civilians of destroyed Vise. After the war this town was rebuild, like Ypres.
DSC03187 After the Germans discovered that the bridge at Vise was destroyed, they decided to construct a make shift pontoon bridge across the Meuse at Lixhe. This photo shows the location of this pontoon bridge. The area between Vise and Lixhe was known to either the Belgian military and the Germans as the hole of Vise, indicating that is was largely undefended. This because it was well outside the range of the Liège fortress guns and no additional forts were constructed near the Dutch border due to monetary reasons.
DSC03192 In order to reach the bank of the Meuse opposite of Lixhe, the Germans had to use a small road which runs in part across Dutch territory at Eijsden. Therefore, Dutch neutrality was violated by the Germans. This photo shows the road that crosses the Dutch border and was used by the Germans.
DSC03095Despite the initial capture of Liège proper by the Germans during the night of 5-6 August (this attack was led by Luddendorf), the Germans could still not cross the Meuse because of the 12 fortresses that surrounded Liège and which controlled all access ways. The continued Belgian resistance forced the Germans to deploy their secret weapon, big Bertha, against the fortresses of Liège. One by one these fortresses were pounded into submission by the huge 420mm shells, which eventually led to the final fall of Liège. This enabled the Germans to finally utilize the bridges across the Meuse for the subsequent stages of the Schlieffen plan. Fort Loncin probably represents the best known example of the Liege fortresses and the destruction caused by the massive 420mm shells. This photo shows the entrance of the fort.
DSC03122 On August 15th fort Loncin received an impact of a 420mm shell which resulted in a huge explosions in the munition depot. This explosion caused the roof to cave in, burying 350 of it soldiers.
IMG_7686 DSC03099Fort Loncin was left in its 1914 condition and even now the massive damage caused by impact of the 420mm shell and subsequent explosion are still clearly visible.
DSC03086[ L/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/nVWGcA]DSC03090DSC03092DSC03089Fort Loncin also houses a small museum with a nice collection of German and Belgium uniforms, helmets and weapons. Moreover, several German artillery shells are on display, including a massive shell of the big bertha.
Regards,
Edwin
