s and marines. His army
was now between 250,000 and 300,000 men. This placed overwhelming odds
against the Belgians. But for four days they fought a stubborn battle at
Weerde.

This was from September 13 to 16, 1914, and resulted in the capture of
the Louvain-Malines railway by the Germans. The Belgians had now fought
to the extremity of what could be expected without aid from the Allies.
The sole action left for them was to fall back for a defense of Antwerp.
Von Kluck's right wing of the whole German offensive had completed its
task on Belgian soil.

CHAPTER V

COMING OF THE BRITISH

We now come to the arrival of the British on the Continent. In using the
term British, it is expressly intended to comprise the united forces of
the British Isles.

On August 3, 1914, the British Government practically gave up hope that
war with Germany could be avoided, though it would appear to have
lingered until the ultimatum to Germany to vacate Belgian soil remained
unanswered. On that day the army was mobilized at Aldershot.

On August 5, 1914, Lord Kitchener was recalled at the outset from a
journey to Egypt, and appointed Minister of War. No more fortunate
selection than this could have been made. Above all else, Lord
Kitchener's reputation had been won as an able transport officer. In the
emergency, as Minister of War, the responsibility for the transport of a
British army oversea rested in his hands. On August 5, 1914, the House
of Commons voted a credit of $100,000,000, and an increase of 500,000
men to the regular forces. Upon the same day preparations went forward
for the dispatch of an expeditionary army to France.

The decision to send the army to France, instead of direct to a landing
in Belgium, would seem to have been in response to an urgent French
entreaty that Great Britain mark visibly on French soil her unity with
that nation at the supreme crisis. For some days previously British
reluctance to enter the war while a gleam of hope remained to confine,
if not prevent, the European conflagration, had created a feeling of
disappointment in France.

The British expeditionary army consisted at first--that is previous to
the Battle of the Marne--of two and a half army corps, or five
divisions, thus distributed: First Corps, Sir Douglas Haig; Second
Corps, General Smith-Dorrien; Fourth Division of the Third Corps,
General Pulteney. The Sixth Division of the Third Corps and the Fourth
Corps under General