Battle of Liège
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Battle of Liège
The Battle of Liège was the opening battle of the German invasion into Belgium, and the first battle of World War I.
The plan
In 1870, soon after the German military defeated the French in the Franco-Prussian War, German military leader Helmuth von Moltke began formulating a plan to fight a two-front war, against France and Russia. Germany would have to invade one country while defending against the other. By the end of the 19th century, it was apparent that France was the more powerful and dangerous of the two countries -- Germany possessed Alsace-Lorraine, the fruits of their victory in the Franco-Prussian War, and France would eventually deploy her growing armies to retake those regions.Moltke's successor, the Count Alfred von Schlieffen, decided to cover the Russians' probable advance with a single army, while attacking and annihilating France with seven armies. However, this would be much more difficult than it seemed. The French, under the guidance of military engineer General Sere de Rivieres, had built defenses along its eastern borders. Germany could not attack through Switzerland -- the Swiss army was 500,000 strong, well-trained, and highly patriotic. They could not attack directly into France, because of the strong defenses placed there. Therefore, von Schlieffen and his successor, also named Helmuth von Moltke (the elder von Moltke's nephew), decided to invade through northern Belgium, utilizing their efficient railway system, and quickly march through the heart of France, and eventually straight into Paris. Meanwhile, they would leave a few armies along the German-French border, because the French plan called for a counter-offensive in case of a German attack.
However, there were two problems with this plan. It called for a violation of Belgium neutrality, which would certainly cause the United Kingdom to enter the war. Also, the city of Liège was in the path of the German forces.
Liège was a highly fortified city at the time. The river Meuse ran through its center: on the south bank, there were massive industrial facilities, factories, and other things that would assist the modern defense of the city. The city itself was placed in the Meuse River valley, with the Ardennes to its east and the rolling plains of Belgium to its west. It sat on the main rail line leading from Germany to Brussels, and eventually to Paris - the same railway that von Schlieffen and von Moltke had planned to use as transport into France. Finally, there was a line of 19th century fortifications surrounding the city, which would facilitate the defense of the city.
There were six forts on each bank of the river Meuse, and these forts were heavily-armed and easily-defended: a typical fort held two 15 cm and four 12 cm cannons, two 21 cm mortars, one 21 cm howitzer, and many 5.7 cm guns defending the approaches. The forts were not easily seen from the east, and would play a major role in the defense of the city.
The battle
Belgian order of battle
The 3rd Belgian Division defended the city of Liège; it was commanded by Lieutenant General Gerard Leman. Within the division, there were four brigades and various other troops:- 9th Mixed Brigade, including the 9th and 29th Infantry Regiments, along with the 43rd, 44th, and 45th Artillery Batteries
- 11th Mixed Brigade, including the 11th and 31st Infantry Regiments, along with the 37th, 38th, and 39th Artillery Batteries
- 12th Mixed Brigade, including the 12th and 32nd Infantry Regiments, along with the 40th, 41st, and 42nd Artillery Batteries
- 14th Mixed Brigade, including the 14th and 34th Infantry Regiments, along with the 46th, 47th, and 48th Artillery Batteries
- 15th Mixed Brigade (5 August), including the 1st and 4th Chausseur Regiments, along with the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd Artillery Batteries
- The Fortress Guards, including the 9th, 11th, 12th, and 14th Reserve Infantry Regiments, an Artillery Regiment, four reserve batteries, and various other troops
- 3rd Artillery Regiment, including the 40th, 49th, and 51st Artillery Batteries
- 3rd Engineer Battalion
- 3rd Telegraphist Section
- 2nd Regiment of Lancers
German order of battle
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.