of the 8th Brigade, which having been isolated at Huy, had blown the bridge over the Meuse on 19 August and retired to Namur. During the day the Guards Reserve Corps of the German 2nd Army arrived to the north of the fortress zone and the XI Corps of the 3rd Army, with the 22nd Division and the 38th Division, arrived to the south-east. A siege train, including one and four Austrian howitzers accompanied the German troops and on 20 August, Belgian outposts were driven in. Next day, the German super-heavy guns began to bombard the eastern and south-eastern forts. The Belgian defenders had no means of keeping the German siege guns out of range or engaging them with counter-battery fire. By evening two forts had been seriously damaged and after another the forts were mostly destroyed. Two Belgian counter-attacks on 22 August were defeated and by the end of 23 August, the northern and eastern fronts were defenceless, with five of the nine forts in ruins. The Namur garrison withdrew at midnight to the south-west and eventually managed to rejoin the Belgian field army at Antwerp; the last fort was surrendered on 25 August. See also Liège Medal Siege of Przemyśl (September 1914–March 1915) Notes Footnotes References Books Websites Further reading Books Websites External links German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial German Official History map of the advance to Liège OÖLB German and Belgian Order of Battle, Lüttich (Liège) 3–7 August 1914 Hoet, J. C. Histoire des fortifications de Liège The Battle of Liège, 1914 Siege of Liège, 5–15 August 1914 The Fortresses of Liège Sambre–Marne–Yser (French) Battles of World War I involving Belgium Battles of World War I involving Germany Battles of the Western Front (World War I) 1914 in Belgium Conflicts in 1914 Battle of Liege August 1914 events Attacks on military installations