On October 9, 1914 Antwerp was bombed by a Zeppelin. German forces occupied the city the next day. Postcard with an inset portrait of Count von Zeppelin.
Antwerpen unter Feuer eines Zeppelin.Antwerp under fire of a Zeppelin.Reverse:No. 1958 Charles Lehmann, Kunstanstalt, Berlin N.O. 43
". . . on the 28th [September, 1914] the Germans suddenly opened fire upon the forts of the Antwerp exterior lines with 17-inch howitzers hurling projectiles of over a ton. . . .The Belgian Field Army was about 80,000 strong, in addition to which there were some 70,000 fortress troops. Four divisions of the Belgian Army were defending the southern portion of the outer perimeter of the Antwerp defences, with the 5th Division in reserve, and one weak division was at Termonde. A cavalry division of about 3,600 sabres was south-west of Termonde guarding communications between Antwerp and the coast. Ghent was held by some volunteers."
After the falls of the forts of the Meuse River — Liège, Namur, and Dinant — the Belgian Army had fallen back first to Louvain, then to Antwerp. During the Battle of the Marne, they had sortied several times, and had pinned down German troops. British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill wanted to save the port of Antwerp. French Commander Joffre had little faith any fortress would long endure a German siege, but wanted to preserve a Belgian fighting force. Belgian Commander King Albert wanted to preserve his Belgian Army.
The World Crisis 1911-1918 by Winston Churchill, page 189, copyright © by Charles Scribner's Sons 1931, renewed by Winston S. Churchill 1959, publisher: Penguin Books, publication date: 1931, 2007
1914-09-28, 1914, September, Antwerp, Churchill,
