The Guns Of August

As the ground war begins, Germany and France move around each other like a revolving door, Germany’s far right wing traveling through Belgium and France’s far right wing through Alsace. The Germans want to capture Liege, and the French, to stir up sentiment, want to take back Alsace. Though Liege is heavily fortified, the Belgian army is outnumbered and undermanned. As Germany attempts to cross the Meuse River and finds that the bridges have been blown up, they also take on fire. The Germans believe that the Belgians will not fight them, and they want to terrorize other towns, so they shoot civilians. When they attack the forts surrounding Liege, they are cut down by machine gun fire, but stubbornly they throw themselves forward and die. The Belgian army defends against the Germans, but as the Germans break through, angered by the Belgian resistance, the Belgium Field Army falls back. While the world praises Belgium for her early defeat of the German army, King Albert seeks assistance from France and England, but French war plans do not include helping Belgium beyond offering her a token four divisions. With the Belgians gone, Germany takes the city of Liege, but the forts surrounding her still stand.