{"id":14855,"date":"2026-11-08T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/?p=14855"},"modified":"2026-11-07T10:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T09:08:16","slug":"aout-1914-forts-liege-ceinture-fortifiee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/aout-1914-forts-liege-ceinture-fortifiee\/","title":{"rendered":"August 1914: the forts of Li\u00e8ge facing the German army"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before the Yser trenches, before Verdun and the long war of attrition, one of the first battles of the Great War took place around Li\u00e8ge. For nearly two weeks, the city\u2019s forts held off an army of Germans who believed they could quickly cross the Meuse River. Their resistance would not save the city from occupation, but it would upset the timetable of the invasion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

In the early days of August 1914, Li\u00e8ge still did not have the appearance of a war-torn city. The streets were still bustling with activity, the shops were open, and the trams were running. However, in the east, the movements of troops were approaching. For several years, Belgium has known that in the event of an European conflict, its neutrality might not be enough to protect it. The city of Li\u00e8ge, gateway to the Meuse and major transportation routes, is one of the country\u2019s strategic points.<\/p>\n\n\n

A concrete belt around the city<\/h2>\n\n\n

Following the concerns arising from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, the Belgian government decided to strengthen the defense of the Meuse. On June 27, 1887, an extraordinary credit was voted to build forts in Li\u00e8ge and Namur. The Li\u00e8ge project was entrusted to General Henri-Alexis Brialmont, a renowned military engineer. Twelve forts were built around the city: six large and six small, distributed on both banks of the Meuse.<\/p>\n\n\n

Their mission is clear: to prevent an enemy army from freely crossing the region, to protect the bridges and communication routes, and above all to gain the time necessary for the mobilization of the Belgian army. Forts do not form a continuous wall. They are spaced out, arranged in a circle around the settlement, and must be supported by their fire. Between them, gaps remain to be defended by field troops.<\/p>\n\n\n

The fortifications are impressive for their time. Constructed of concrete, protected by ditches and equipped with reinforced domes, they house cannons, machine guns, barracks and reserves. But their design is based on the military knowledge of the 1880s. In 1914, artillery had advanced at a considerable pace. The shells were more powerful, the calibers heavier and the methods of bombardment changed. This gap will weigh heavily in the days that follow.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Le
The Loncin fort after the German bombings of August 1914. Historical photograph, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Plan
Plan of a large triangular fort designed by General Brialmont. Extract from the Archives of the Great War, Paris, 1922. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

August 4: Belgian neutrality is violated<\/h2>\n\n\n

On August 4, 1914, German troops crossed the Belgian border. Belgium refused the passage requested by Berlin: the invasion began. In the Li\u00e8ge region, the first battles quickly broke out. The Belgian force, under the command of Lieutenant-General G\u00e9rard Leman, had to face an army much larger in size.<\/p>\n\n\n

On the night of August 5 to 6, the Germans launched their attack against the fortified position. The fighting is particularly fierce in the gaps between the forts. At Herstal, Rabos\u00e9e and on the heights of the Sart-Tilman, the Belgian units put up an unexpected resistance. The German assault, conducted in confusion and with an imperfect knowledge of the terrain, was costly. Units were repulsed, others disorganized. The battle did not resemble the rapid march that the imperial headquarters had hoped for.<\/p>\n\n\n

On August 7, however, German troops managed to penetrate the city. Li\u00e8ge fell, but the forts continued the fight. This distinction is essential: the capture of the city does not mean the fall of the fortress. The fortifications, isolated from one another, become autonomous points of resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Barricades
Destroyed defenses of the Loncin fort, 1914. Bild Pressestelle Berlin, Der V\u00f6lkerkrieg (1914). Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

The forts hold out; heavy artillery comes into play<\/h2>\n\n\n

The Germans understand that they will not be able to use the communication axes freely as long as the forts remain. They then deploy siege artillery of a power rarely encountered by the defenders before. The 420 mm mortars, soon associated in the narratives with the \u00abGrosse Bertha\u00bb, fire projectiles capable of breaching the fortifications\u2019 defenses. The bombardment targets not only the domes: it shakes the vaults, destroys the installations and sometimes makes the air unbreathable inside.<\/p>\n\n\n

The garrisons endure the heat, the dust, the fumes and the vibrations of explosions. Communications become difficult. Electricity and ventilation may be interrupted. In the galleries, the soldiers live in almost permanent darkness, amidst the wounded and the debris. However, the resistance continues, one after another.<\/p>\n\n\n

The fort of Barchon capitulated on August 8. Other fortifications fell in the following days. The Germans gradually concentrated their fire on the forts still active, whose domes were sometimes put out of service. The defenders knew that the situation was almost hopeless, but General Leman\u2019s orders remained to hold on for as long as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Le
The damage caused to the Loncin heavy battleship by a 42 cm shell. Bild Pressestelle Berlin, Der V\u00f6lkerkrieg (1914). Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Loncin, August 15, 1914: the explosion that marks memories<\/h2>\n\n\n

General Leman established his headquarters in the fort of Loncin. On August 15, after several days of bombardment, a shell hit the powder reserve area. At 17:20, the explosion was terrible. Part of the fort was blown away, the vaults collapsed and dozens of soldiers were buried alive. General Leman was found alive, seriously wounded and unconscious. The Germans captured him and treated him with the respect due to an adversary whom they recognized for his courage.<\/p>\n\n\n

Loncin becomes the symbol of the Li\u00e8ge resistance. The site still preserves the traces of the disaster and remains a place of remembrance. Most of the forts in the belt surrendered or were neutralised over the course of the days. On August 16, the last fortifications ceased fighting. The Battle of Li\u00e8ge is over.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Le
The Loncin fort after the German bombings of August 1914. Historical photograph, unknown author, public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

A military defeat, a strategic setback<\/h2>\n\n\n

The city is occupied, the forts are destroyed or damaged, and Belgium did not prevent the invasion. Yet, the resistance in Li\u00e8ge had a scope that went beyond the local outcome. It slowed down the German advance and contributed to disrupting the planned timetable for the offensive. The time gained counted in the concentration of Allied forces and in the preparation of the French defense.<\/p>\n\n\n

On August 7, 1914, France decided to award the Legion of Honor to the city of Li\u00e8ge. The decoration recognized the courage of the defenders of the square, the soldiers of the 3rd division, and the garrisons of the twelve forts. Li\u00e8ge became the first foreign city to receive this distinction.<\/p>\n\n\n

The fortified belt had not stopped the German army. However, it had imposed a battle on the invader that he did not expect, and given the city a unique place in the history of the beginning of the Great War. In August 1914, Li\u00e8ge was not an invincible fortress. It was a place that held out for long enough to count.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Le
The Loncin fort and its necropolis, August 27, 2013. Natacha Eve, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 license.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

To go further<\/h2>\n\n\n

The Province of Li\u00e8ge offers a timeline of the battle and a presentation of the twelve forts. The State Archives recall the conditions under which they were built and the place of the Brialmont project in the Belgian defense.<\/p>\n\n\n

The Battle of Li\u00e8ge \u2013 Province of Li\u00e8ge<\/a> \u00b7 The forts of Li\u00e8ge in 1914 \u2013 Province of Li\u00e8ge<\/a> \u00b7 The forts of the province of Li\u00e8ge \u2013 State Archives<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\"La
The necropolis of the Loncin fort. Natacha Eve, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 license.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

An article in the Li\u00e8ge 360 series dedicated to the history of the fortified belt of Li\u00e8ge.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In August 1914, the twelve forts built around Li\u00e8ge became the first major obstacle to the German invasion. A battle that slowed down the enemy advance and revealed the limits of an already outdated fortification.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","advanced_seo_description":"En ao\u00fbt 1914, les douze forts de la ceinture fortifi\u00e9e de Li\u00e8ge r\u00e9sistent \u00e0 l\u2019invasion allemande. Chronologie, r\u00f4le du g\u00e9n\u00e9ral Leman et chute du fort de Loncin.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Ao\u00fbt 1914 : les forts de Li\u00e8ge face \u00e0 l\u2019arm\u00e9e allemande | Li\u00e8ge 360","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"article","_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[399],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-histoire-de-liege"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcSPnF-3RB","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.liege360.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/fort-loncin-1914.jpg?fit=495%2C323&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14855"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14933,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14855\/revisions\/14933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}