After the battle of the Marne, on September 22, 1914, the Germans attacked the fortress of Antwerp for the second time, this time undoubtedly in order to subdue it.
They carried out a so-called irregular attack in the
sector Walem-Lier, with 3 divisions in line, supported by the mighty
German siege artillery. A bombardment had to silence the artillery of
the forts first, and then the forts and the intervals had to be stormed.
The attack lasted two to three days. The forts, which were only
protected against impacts of 27 cm calibre, were soon silenced.
Address:
Fort Liezele vzw
Hoogstraat 29
B-2870 Puurs
Tel: +32 (0)3 890 76 20
Fax: +32 (0)3 890
76 92
fort.liezele@puurs.be
In the evening of October 2, King Albert withdrew the field army behind the line Rupel-Nete. The forts were abandoned to their fate. On October 7, the field army, fearing to be cut from the allies, with drew from the fortress Antwerp to the Yser. On October 9, the Right Bank surrendered; the left bank followed one day later. This was the end of the resistance of the National Reduit.
Fort Liezele did not lie in the German attack zone. Starting on August 4, fieldworks were executed around the fortress, mostly by civilians, later by the troops. In the intervals trenches, dug-outs and artillery positions were organised. Fields of fire were cleared up to 1 200 m and a continuous barbed wire obstacle was placed. The village of Liezele, great parts of the Heide, the Kimpelberg and the Essendries were burned down to the ground in order to clear the fields of observation. On the fort, the missing concrete rings at the turrets were constructed or camouflaged with sand- and concrete bags.
During the German attack on September 4, Fiévez did not intervene, in order to save ammunition. Startled by the unexpected attack, the next day the commander of the fort ordered the ruins of the village of Liezele to be levelled. That day King Albert visited the fort.
Several times the fort came under fire, but only by field artillery, so that the damage was minimal. The artillery of the fort intervened several times against suspected German assembly zones. After the redoubt of Letterheide, in the morning of October 7, had been abandoned by its garrison, Commandant Fiévez as well as Commandant Weyns from Breendonk, reoccupied the redoubt with their own soldiers. In the evening of October 8, the Germans attacked the redoubt, but were driven off by the fire of the 15 cm turret and the traditore battery of the fort. Germans carrying a flag of peace were sent away.
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All the houses in a radius of more than one km were burned down by the Belgians. Liezele was heavily damaged. |
The German breakthrough in the sector Walem-Lier and the retreat of the Belgian army isolated the forts of the 4th sector, including Fort Liezele. Put under pressure by the Antwerp municipality - because of the German threat to bombard Antwerp - Fiévez surrendered the fort on October 10 at the moment that the German ultimatum expired. Commandant Fiévez was permitted to keep his sword and followed his men as a prisoner of war into Germany. After the war he was court-martialled, acquitted and even congratulated oh his behaviour.
During the First World War the Germans occupied the fort. In 1917 they built the concrete bunkers behind the fort, which were part of a German defensive line around Antwerp. At the end of the First World War they blew up the turrets.