Bombardment The German bombardment began on 28 September, with German siege guns directed by observation balloons on gun emplacements, flanking positions and
magazines, which were the most vital parts of the forts, had by on 29 September with
extraordinary accuracy, made Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver untenable and extensively damaged Fort Walem. Preparations to evacuate the Belgian Army to
Ostend were begun by the Belgian Army Headquarters on 29 September and wounded, recruits, untrained men, prisoners of war, transport, equipment, ammunition and industrial machinery were gradually moved from Antwerp. The route out of the city crossed the Scheldt on two narrow pontoon bridges at the city centre and at
Burcht. Trains had to run south along the right bank, cross the
Rupel near German infantry positions only from the siege guns at Mechelen and then cross the railway bridge at
Temse away. From trains with lights extinguished, ran each night unopposed. The 4th Division assembled at Dendermonde, where a German attack was expected and the Cavalry Division guarded the river line, to protect the escape route between the Dender and the coast. Early on 29 September, the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles de Broqueville, informed the British that if all the outer forts were lost, the government and field army of would withdraw to Ostend and leave the troops to hold Antwerp for as long as possible. The next day, de Broqueville formally appealed to the British and French governments for help.
German attack On 1 October the German attack began on Forts Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Walem and the Bosbeek and Dorpveld redoubts by the 5th Reserve and Marine divisions. By Fort Walem was severely damaged, Fort Lier had been hit by a shell, Fort Koningshooikt and the Tallabert and Bosbeek redoubts were mostly intact and the intervening ground between Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Dorpveld redoubt had been captured. A counter-attack had failed and the 4th Division had been reduced to The Belgian commanders ordered the left flank of the army to withdraw to another line of defence north of the Nete, which covered the gap in the outer defences and kept the city out of range of German super-heavy artillery. Proclamations warning the inhabitants that
King Albert I and his Government would leave Antwerp, were put up during the day. Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Dorpveld redoubt were taken during the night of but Walem and the Bosbeek redoubt were not captured until the afternoon of 2 October, after every available German gun was used to bombard them. German bombardment of gun emplacements, destruction of magazines and the exhaustion of Belgian ammunition led to Forts Walem and Koningshooikt falling to the Germans and the evacuation or surrender of the remaining defences in the 3rd Sector except for the Duffel redoubt. The Belgian 2nd Division at the east side of the 3rd Sector, began to retire across the Nete at noon and an hour later the 1st Division began to withdraw to an unfinished intermediate position, from
Rumst north-west of Fort Walem to Duffel and Lisp, above Lier, which had bridgeheads at
Duffel, Anderstad and Lier. The 2nd Division was relieved by the 5th Division and went into reserve. No attempt was made by the Germans to pursue during the retirements, despite the inundations on the south bank of the Nete being only deep and patrols reported that no attempt had been made to cut the line of retreat from Antwerp. The Duffel redoubt was evacuated on 3 October after the garrison ran out of ammunition and German artillery-fire was switched to Fort Kessel on the flank of the break-in. Next day German super-heavy guns began to bombard the fort, which forced the garrison to abandon the fort and German preparations for an attack on the line of the Nete were made, opposite Lier at the junction of the
Grote and
Kleine Nete and Duffel. The Royal Marine Brigade arrived opposite Lier in requisitioned
London buses on 4 October and occupied a position around the northern fringe of Lier, which turned out to be sections of a shallow trench between hedgerows, with one strand of wire in front. Some skirmishing took place in the town and the position was bombarded by German artillery, against which the British had no reply except from an armoured train. German attacks between the Grote and Kleine Nete forced back the defenders and crossed the Dender; attempts were made to cross the Scheldt at Schoonaarde and Dendermonde. At dawn on 5 October, two German battalions of Reserve Infantry Regiment 26 crossed the Nete at Anderstad farm, below Lier, under cover of enfilade fire from the outskirts of Lier, using a trestle bridge built in a creek nearby. The crossing-point was screened from view by vegetation and the two battalions were able to hold the river bank until dark when two more battalions crossed the river. Attacks at Lier had taken the town up to the line of the Kleine Nete and on the flank had reached the line of the inundations. German artillery commenced a bombardment of Fort
Broechem to the north, which was devastated and evacuated on 6 October. The Belgian commanders decided to continue the defence of Antwerp, since the German advance had not brought the inner forts and the city within range of the German heavy artillery. Orders for a counter-attack against the German battalions on the north bank were not issued until on 6 October and did not arrive in time to all of the Belgian and British units in the area. Attacks made at local initiative by some Belgian units which recaptured some ground before being repulsed. The defenders withdrew to another unfinished position midway between the Nete and the inner forts, from Vremde south-east of the centre of Antwerp, to the Lier–Antwerp road and then south-west around
Kontich during the day. The Marine Brigade moved to trenches north of the Lier–Antwerp road, under command of the Belgian 2nd Division. from
Fort Kessel, split by a direct hit from a 305 mm shell (
Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna) On the western flank at Dendermonde on the Scheldt, south of Antwerp, Landwehr Brigade 37 was reinforced by Reserve Ersatz Brigade 1 and attempted to cross the river from at Schoonaarde, Dendermonde and Baasrode, downstream but were repulsed. By the afternoon of 6 October the 3rd and 6th divisions still held ground in front of the outer forts, between Fort Walem and the Scheldt to the south-west of Antwerp and around to the west but in the south and south-east the German attack had reached a line within of the city, which would be in range of the German guns as soon as they were brought across the Nete. The 6th Division was moved through Temse to reinforce the 4th Division and the Cavalry Division, which was guarding the escape corridor to the west. Two British naval brigades had arrived early on 6 October to reinforce the Marine Brigade but were diverted to of the inner ring, where the trenches were again found to be shallow and the ground cleared for in front which made them easily visible to German artillery observers. In northern France, German troops engaged in mutual outflanking attempts, from the Aisne northwards since September, had reached Arras. Lens was captured by
I Bavarian Reserve Corps on 5 October. Three German cavalry corps had attempted another flanking manoeuvre to the north and
IV Cavalry Corps had reached
Zwartberg and
Mont des Cats near Ypres. The advance of the German army threatened to block the western retreat route of the Belgian army out of Antwerp. On 6 October discussions between the British and Belgians, led to a decision to withdraw the field army to the west bank of the Scheldt, where it could maintain contact with a relieving force and avoid the danger of being trapped on the east bank. On the night of the 1st, 3rd and 5th divisions crossed the river and joined the Cavalry, 4th and 6th divisions, as the eight forts of the inner ring were taken over by fortress troops. Intervening trenches between were occupied by the two British naval brigades and the 4th and 7th Fortress regiments, with the Belgian 2nd Division and British Marine Brigade in reserve. The British forces under the command of Major-General
Archibald Paris, were ordered by
First Lord of the Admiralty,
Winston Churchill, to continue the defence for as long as possible and to be ready to cross to the west bank rather than participate in a surrender. Early on 7 October, two battalions of Regiment 37 were able to cross the Scheldt at Schoonaerde by boat, during a thick fog. The Belgian 6th Division made several counter-attacks which were repulsed and a bridge was built by the evening over which the rest of the Landwehr crossed. The width of the escape route from Antwerp had been reduced to fewer than , which led to the Belgian commanders ordering the field army to retreat behind the
Terneuzen Canal, which ran from Ghent northwards to the Dutch border. The 1st and 5th divisions, which had lost most casualties and a brigade each of the 3rd and 6th divisions moved first and the remaining troops less the 2nd Division in Antwerp, formed a flank guard on the Scheldt and the Durme. The Belgian army headquarters moved to
Zelzate further west. A Belgian improvised brigade was at Ghent and British troops in the area were requested to move to Ghent, after a German cavalry division was reported to be near
Kruishoutem to the south-west. Later in the day German troops entered fort Broechem and the
Massenhoven redoubt to the north unopposed, which widened the gap in the Antwerp defence perimeter to and began to move German super-heavy artillery over the Nete, which took until 8 October. At on 7 October German howitzers began to bombard the city. By the night of 7 October the Belgian 2nd Division, the
Royal Naval Division and the fortress garrison held the line of the inner forts at Antwerp, the Belgian field army was moving west between Ghent and the coast, a French naval brigade was en route to Ghent and the British 7th Division had concentrated at Bruges. Further west in a gap wide to the south-west of Ghent, Allied cavalry covered the ground between Lens and Hazebrouck, against three German cavalry divisions probing westwards. On 8 October at Antwerp, Brigade 37 was reinforced by Bavarian Brigade 1 and Brigade 9 from the 4th Division, which was being relieved by the Marine Division. The German attack pushed forward , which was close to
Lokeren and also from the Dutch border. German air reconnaissance had reported that roads west of Antwerp were clear and many people were moving north towards the frontier, which was assumed to mean that the Belgian army was not trying to escape to the west. The Belgian command had expected to withdraw the 1st and 5th divisions by rail but a lack of rolling stock led to most troops moving by road, while the 2nd Division remained in Antwerp, the 3rd Division was at Lokeren, the 4th, 6th divisions were on either flank and the Cavalry Division was to the west, covering the railway to Ghent.
Belgian withdrawal The 4th and 6th divisions began to retire during the day, although delayed by the German advance to Lokeren and during the night of most of the field army moved west of the Ghent–Zelzate Canal, with rearguards from Loochristy northwards; the 4th Brigade moved to Ghent, where French arrived in the morning. The British 7th Division moved from
Bruges to Ostend, to cover the landing of the 3rd Cavalry Division, parts of which arrived on 8 October. By the night of the Belgian field army had escaped from Antwerp and had assembled north-west of Ghent, which was garrisoned by three Allied brigades; at Ostend from Ghent, were the British 7th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division. At Lokeren, the German attack on Antwerp had begun to close the escape route and at Antwerp, German heavy artillery had been moved across the Nete to bombard of the inner ring and the city. Fires could not be put out after the waterworks had been hit; rampart gates on the (main defensive wall) where the wet ditches were bridged were also bombarded. The shelling of caused little damage but facing east, were attacked by Brigade 26 to outflank which faced south to cut off the garrisons. Erroneous reports to the Belgian and British commanders before dawn on 8 October that had fallen, led to a decision that if they were not recaptured, the inner line would be abandoned at dusk and the defenders withdrawn to the city ramparts. The ramparts were earth parapets with shelters underneath and had (passages) protruding on the flanks, with moats wide and deep in front. The Belgian and British commanders decided to continue the defence of Antwerp with the garrison troops and move the Belgian 2nd Division and the British troops across the Scheldt, when the erroneous report was corrected and it was decided that if were lost, the Royal Naval Division would withdraw at dusk. News arrived that the forts had fallen at and orders were sent to the Belgian 2nd Division and the British to retire. The Belgian division withdrew in stages between and and crossed the Scheldt by The British began to retire at but the orders failed to reach all of the 1st Naval Brigade, only one battalion of which withdrew. At the mistake was realised as the rest of the division began to cross the river from and moved west parallel to the Dutch frontier. The 1st Naval Brigade reached the Scheldt at midnight, only to find that the bridges were being demolished and under a German shrapnel bombardment. The troops crossed using barges and boats and set out for a rendezvous at
Zwijndrecht, which was reached at on 9 October. The British moved on to
Sint-Gillis-Waas, where information arrived that the Germans had cut the railway at Moerbeke. The British commander Commodore Henderson, decided to head for the Dutch border to the north and at half the original complement were interned and about forty stragglers managed to sneak along the border and escape. The British forces in Belgium were instructed on 8 October to cover the retirement of the Belgians and British from Antwerp to Ghent, Zelzate, Ostend,
Torhout and
Diksmuide and then join the left flank of the BEF, as it advanced into Flanders. On 9 October most of the 7th Division moved to join the French and Belgian forces at Ghent, as the 3rd Cavalry Division and the rest of the 7th Division assembled at Bruges; the French 87th Territorial Division was ordered to stop its move to Antwerp at Poperinghe. The British forces came under the command of the BEF as IV Corps, with the 8th Division once it arrived from England (11 November). The BEF II Corps was assembling at
Abbeville and Rawlinson, the commander of the new IV Corps, was instructed to hold on at Ghent for as long as possible. The retirement from Antwerp proceeded satisfactorily and no German troops were seen west of Aalst, south-east of Ghent. A German force encountered at
Melle from Ghent on the night of was driven off with many casualties by the French marines. A conference between the Belgians, French and British at Ostend on 10 October, decided to hold Ghent as the Belgian field army continued its retirement. By nightfall the 1st, 3rd and 4th divisions were at Ostend, the 5th and 6th divisions were at Torhout and Diksmuide and the Antwerp garrison troops were in an area north-west of Ghent. The German besiegers had not discovered the retirement and the 4th Ersatz Division and Landwehr troops at Lokeren and
Moerbeke, turned east towards the city before the withdrawal was discovered. The III Reserve Corps and the 4th Ersatz Division were then ordered to turn west and advance on
Kortrijk. The move was to prolong the main German front, before being sent towards Ghent and Bruges, with orders to reach
Blankenberge and Ostend on the coast. On 11 October, German troops were detected advancing on Ghent but by then the Belgian fortress troops had joined the field army and a staged withdrawal from Ghent from had begun, after which German troops entered the city. Several bridges were demolished during the retirement, although crowds of civilians on the main road and rail bridges led to those not being destroyed.
Capitulation Early on 9 October German troops found some of the forts of the inner ring empty; Beseler had the bombardment stopped and summoned the Military Governor, General Deguise to surrender. As German made their way to Antwerp, four civilian representatives, including the Mayor of Antwerp,
Jan De Vos, reached Beseler at Kontich, to request an end to the bombardment of the city. During the afternoon, under threat of a resumption of the bombardment, the civilian representatives signed a
capitulation of the city and such fortresses which continued to hold out. On the morning of 10 October, when the Chief of Staff of the Military Governor appeared with authority to discuss surrender, he was presented with a and had to agree to the terms already accepted. The last of the Antwerp garrison surrendered and the city was occupied by German troops until November 1918. of the Antwerp garrison fled north to the Netherlands, where they were interned for the rest of the war, as far as possible from the Belgian border, for fear of compromising Dutch neutrality. The British troops were interned at
Groningen and the Belgians were accommodated at
Zeist, Gaasterland,
Amersfoort, and
Oldebroek. The internees were employed in various industries. Germans who crossed the frontier were interned at Bergen. About one million civilian refugees left in 1914 for Great Britain, the Netherlands and France; most returned after the siege but a sizeable number of the refugees in the Netherlands remained after 1918. Several Belgian military refugees are nowadays buried or commemorated at the
Belgian Military Field of Honour 1914–1918 in
Harderwijk. == Aftermath ==