Prior to the First World War, Antwerp had been designated the ‘National Reduit’, the final safe haven for the Belgium King, army and government in case of a German invasion. To that end, Antwerp had been fortified with several fortified rings. Because of its renown as a safe place to seek refuge and because King Albert, government and army had indeed settled there, hundreds of thousands of Belgians had sought refuge in the fortified port city.
However, on 28 September the Germans started shelling the city, a siege that intensified over the subsequent 12 days, after which – on 9 October – the city surrendered. In the meantime, up to a million refugees had moved on from Antwerp, most of them towards the Netherlands, but also towards the United Kingdom. As such, Antwerp plays a crucial role in the initial chapter of the story of the Belgian refugees in Britain. The following concerns 29 September.
On 27 September the city of Mechelen (Malines), roughly 25km south of Antwerp, had been taken by the German generaal Von Beseler. This freed German forces to increase their pressure on the outer fortified ring, some forts of which were located literally north of Mechelen. The Teignmouth Post carried a report stating that “at the Antwerp side of the bridge thousands of people were massed with their horse vehicles, wagons and motors all waiting their turn to cross the bridge which has only a single track”. In this edition part of an editorial said “Many in Teignmouth are beginning to feel it is time our town began to make a move in this matter”-following news that 40 refugees had arrived in Newton Abbot.
On 29 September the German neared the river Rupel but were fired upon from the Fort of Walem. However, resistance did not last long there as a German granate blew up the munition chamber, destroying an important part of the fort. Nearby, the fort of Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver managed to resist for little more than a day too. Further east, the German army installed two ‘Dikke Bertha’ canon at Heist-op-den-Berg. They started shelling the fort of Lier, roughly 8km away. The Belgian army withdraws from the fort only two days later.
An estimated 1.5m refugees fled Belgium ahead of invading German forces in September 1914
