Page:The Great War.djvu/88

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76 The Great War until Friday night, August 7. Confused stories of bloody battles and terrific losses came from Brus- sels, but were accepted under great reserve and proved later to have been grossly exaggerated. What was vital was the comment of the German War Office that there was a delay due to the resistance of Liege. To understand the meaning of this it is necessary to grasp the object of the German advance, which was not to conduct operations in Belgium but to open a way into the north of France beyond the barrier forts. The Germans were before Liege on Tues- day morning, August 4; on Wednesday they should have been at Huy and on Thursday at Namur if Liege had surrendered promptly. Such a quick thrust, had It succeeded, would have given the Ger- mans possession of Namur, before the French could conceivably have reached that town. Had the German plan succeeded then by August 8 the advance guard of the Army of the Meuse would have been on either side of the Meuse above Namur, its right flank protected against Belgian or French attack by the forts of Liege, Huy and Namur. The advance guard of its left wing would have been in contact with the German Army of the Moselle, whose advance guard occupied Luxemburg on the same day the Army of the Meuse began to march toward Liege, while the left wing of the Army of the Moselle would have been solidly protected by the German forts of the Thionville-Metz barrier

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