being reserved for the defence of the fortresses. Loyal to her international obligations, Belgium had disposed her forces so as to defend all her frontiers. The first division kept watch in England's direction; the third confronted Germany; at Namur the fourth defended the entrance of the Meuse Valley; while the fifth, concentrated in Hainault, guarded the French frontier.
Germany's ultimatum showed on which side danger lay. Yet the Belgian Government, wishing to sustain to the last mo- ment the part assigned to it by the treaty of 1839, still refused the support of France. It was only when Germany's intention to cross her territory became evident that Belgium informed the nations who had guaranteed her neutrality ' that she assumed the defence of her fortresses, and that she declared herself ready to cooperate with the Powers in maintaining the integrity of her territory. The third division of the army, under General Leman, was charged with the defence of Liege; the fourth division held Namur; the bulk of the army was massed in the centre of the country, covering Brussels and the lines of communication with France, so as to be prepared for all eventualities.
The Government had convoked the Chambers for Aug. 4 on grounds of urgency, and the King had announced his intention of making the speech from the throne. On the morning of Aug. 4 the King, accompanied by the Queen, proceeded to the Parlia- ment House, in the midst of -great popular enthusiasm. His speech affirmed the country's definite decision to offer the enemy an unyielding resistance. The Chamber greeted these words with wild enthusiasm. After the departure of the King, who proceeded immediately to G.H.Q., Baron de Broqueville, as head of the Government, read the note just sent by Germany to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, expressing her intention " to execute, if necessary by force of arms, the measures of security rendered indispensable in view of French menaces." Parliament unanimously accepted war with all its consequences. M. Van der Velde, leader of the Socialist party, announced that his group would support the Government unreservedly. All parties rallied round the King. The Government, moreover, ceased to be a party-government, MM. Goblet d'Alviella and Hymans, leaders of the Liberal Left, and M. E. Van der Velde being appointed Ministers of State.
The Chamber at once set to work on the measures of law necessitated by the situation. Suddenly M. de Broqueville rose to read a telegram announcing the violation of Belgian territory by the German army. The deputies from Liege and its neigh- bourhood informed their colleagues of the news that their dis- tricts had been brutally invaded and occupied; and at once de- parted for their constituencies, to afford help and protection to the suffering inhabitants. As hour by hour the invasion of Belgium proceeded, the Chamber continued to pass laws delegat- ing its powers, in the event of the invasion of each locality, to the local authorities; augmenting the contingent of the army; granting the Government a preliminary credit of 200,000,000 frs. ; penalizing crimes and offences calculated to endanger the safety of the State; cancelling the ineligibility of soldiers for member- ship of Parliament, in order to permit the immediate enlistment of several members.
The spirit of the country was the same as that of the Chamber. Volunteers were besieging the recruiting-offices. In two or three days 40,000 had been equipped, and tens of thousands, still in their civilian clothes, had been dispatched to the camps for volunteers that were being formed in all direct ions.
A series of regulations were issued by the Government intended to prevent food-hoarding and the raising of prices, and to assure the food supplies of the nation. Bread was rationed at 400 grammes per head per day; in Sept. this ration was reduced to 250 grammes. Maximum prices were fixed for bread and the various kinds of flour. The right of requisition was given to governors of provinces for bread and flour; to burgomasters for potatoes, salt, sugar and rice; in the event of the invasion of a province the governor's powers of requisition passed to the commissaires d'arrondissement, in the case of their retreat to the burgomasters of the communes.
At the Ministere de I'interieur a Central Commission was formed, consisting of one delegate for each province, with repre- sentatives of the central administration and of the army, its duty being to see to the sharing-out of the food supplies among all parts of the country. In each province the deputation per- manente (standing committee) of the provincial council was made responsible for the victualling of the province, and had to form committees in the communes to distribute provisions. Each week a return of all the food in the province had to be made by the deputation permanente.
To ensure the proper working of this great system of food control and distribution, newly created in every detail, penalties were decreed for anyone trying to withhold goods from requisi- tion; such hoards were to be confiscated and handed over to the Bureaux de Bienfaisance.
While these regulations were framed to safeguard the nation's economic life, its administrative life was being safeguarded in the event of enemy occupation by the measure passed by the Chamber on Aug. 4 providing for the delegation of powers, which was supplemented later by various royal decrees. Notices were posted in every commune of the country, warning the public that civilians were definitely forbidden to take part in operations of war, and that all arms must at once be given over into the hands of the authorities.
The Invasion. During the night of Aug. 3-4 the German army crossed the Belgian frontiers. It immediately put into practice a system of terrorism in its dealings with the inhabitants, hoping in this way to terrorize the Government, demoralize the army, and break the national resistance.
The forward march of the German army was marked by an uninterrupted succession of atrocities. Once it was perceived that the Belgian army meant to offer a resistance on which Germany had not counted, pillage, burnings, and massacres began.
On the pretext that the inhabitants were armed, that/ranw tireurs attacked the German troops, the invading military com- mand methodically organized the devastation of the country. Maps were issued to the officers indicating what towns and villages were to be burned down. The siege of Liege, with the preliminary repulses suffered by the German regiment which first attacked the outer forts, gave the signal for a campaign of reprisals directed against the civil population. The villages of Berneau, Mouland, Blegny-Trambleur, Barchon, Melen, Sou- magne, Romsee, Harcourt, Hermee, Heure le Romain, Vivegnies, Julemont, Olne St. Hadelin, Battice, Grivegnee, Sprimont, Erneux, Francorchamps, and the towns of Vise and Herve, were burned to the ground, although they had been occupied for several days by the German army. Scenes of indescribable savagery were enacted: 623 persons were shot, massacred, or driven with blows of the rifle-butt into the flaming houses to be burnt alive. At Melen 72 men chosen haphazard were shot en masse, and finished off by blows with the butt-end under the eyes of their wives and children, who were then ordered to bury them at once. At Soumagne 55 men were shot by the firing- party detailed for executions, while the soldiers perpetrated shocking massacres of men, women and children in the village. At Vise, after the massacre of more than 20 persons, 631 men were led away captive. Not a single village escaped the fury of the troops; everywhere there was a reign of fire and sword. The burnings were scientifically organized. All units were provided with incendiary pastilles, and petrol was sprayed on the houses to be destroyed. At Herve, where more than 300 houses were burned, German inscriptions written by the troops revealed that the abominable deed had been performed by the " In- cendiary Army of Diisseldorf."
The entry of the German troops into Liege was marked by tragic incidents. Although the town was completely in the invader's hands, on Aug. 7 German companies suddenly opened fire in the most frequented quarters, where they also set fire to 38 houses, shooting down the inhabitants as they tried to escape. Fifty-two persons perished in the flames or fell by the German bullets.
