Battle of Liège
| Battle of Liège | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Front of the First World War | |||||||||
Belgian troops defending a suburb of Herstal, north-east of Liège. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Germany | Belgium | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Otto von Emmich Erich Ludendorff | Gérard Leman (POW) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
28,900–31,200 troops 140 guns |
32,000 troops 280 guns. | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 3,300 (by 8 August) |
6,000–20,000 casualties including 4,000 captured | ||||||||
The Battle of Liège (5–16 August 1914) was the opening engagement of the German invasion of Belgium and the first battle of the First World War. The city of Liège was protected by a ring of modern fortresses, one of several fortified cities to delay an invasion to allow troops from the powers which had guaranteed Belgian neutrality to assist the Belgian Army in the expulsion of the invaders.
The German 1st Army arrived late 5 August 1914 and captured the city on 7 August when Erich Ludendorff drove in and convinced the garrison to surrender. The surrounding forts fought on and several attacks by German infantry were costly failures. Super-heavy siege guns arrived and destroyed the forts one by one; the last fort surrendered on 16 August.
The siege of Liège may have delayed the German invasion of France by four to five days. Railways in the Meuse river valley needed by the German armies in eastern Belgium were closed for the duration of the siege and German troops did not appear in strength before the city of Namur at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers until 20 August. With the experience gained at Liège, the German 2nd Army completed the Siege of Namur in two days.