Belgian resistance and German fear of Francs-tireurs, led the Germans to implement a policy of schrecklichkeit (frightfulness) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion, in which massacres, executions, hostage taking and the burning of towns and villages took place and became known as the Rape of Belgium.
After the Battle of the Sambre the French Fifth Army and the BEF retreated and on 25 August, General Fournier was ordered to defend the fortress, which was surrounded on 27 August by the VII Reserve Corps, which had two divisions and eventually received some of the German super-heavy artillery, brought from the sieges in Belgium.
Maubeuge was defended by fourteen forts, with a garrison of 30,000 French Territorials and c. 10,000 French, British and Belgian stragglers and blocked the main Cologne–Paris rail line.
Only the line from Trier to Liege, Brussels, Valenciennes and Cambrai was open and had to carry supplies southward to the armies on the Aisne and transport troops of the 6th Army northwards.

On 29 August the Germans began a bombardment of the forts around Maubeuge.
On 5 September, four of the forts were stormed by German infantry, creating a gap in the defences.
On 7 September the garrison surrendered.
The Germans took 40,000 prisoners and captured 377 guns.
After the capture of Maubeuge the line from Cologne–Paris line was of limited use between Diedenhofen and Luxembourg, until the bridge at Namur was repaired.
The Battle of the Marne began as the Maubeuge forts were stormed and during the Battle of the Aisne one of the VII Reserve Corps divisions arrived in time to join the German 7th Army, which closed a dangerous gap in the German line.
While the BEF and the French armies conducted the Great Retreat into France (24 August – 28 September), small detachments of the Belgian, French and British armies conducted operations against German cavalry and Jäger.

On 27 August, a squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) had flown to Ostend, for air reconnaissance sorties between Bruges, Ghent and Ypres.
British marines landed at Dunkirk on the night of 19/20 September and on 28 September a battalion occupied Lille.
The rest of the brigade occupied Cassel on 30 September and scouted the country in motor cars; an RNAS Armoured Car Section was created, by fitting vehicles with bullet-proof steel.
On 2 October, the Marine Brigade was moved to Antwerp, followed by the rest of the Naval Division on 6 October, having landed at Dunkirk on the night of 4/5 October.
From 6–7 October, the 7th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division landed at Zeebrugge.
Naval forces collected at Dover were formed into a separate unit, which became the Dover Patrol, to operate in the Channel and off the French-Belgian coast.
Belgian resistance and German fear of Francs-tireurs, led the Germans to implement a policy of schrecklichkeit (frightfulness) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion, in which massacres, executions, hostage taking and the burning of towns and villages took place and became known as the Rape of Belgium. After the Battle of the Sambre the French Fifth Army and the BEF retreated and on 25 August, General Fournier was ordered to defend the fortress, which was surrounded on 27 August by the VII Reserve Corps, which had two divisions and eventually received some of the German super-heavy artillery, brought from the sieges in Belgium. Maubeuge was defended by fourteen forts, with a garrison of 30,000 French Territorials and c. 10,000 French, British and Belgian stragglers and blocked the main Cologne–Paris rail line. Only the line from Trier to Liege, Brussels, Valenciennes and Cambrai was open and had to carry supplies southward to the armies on the Aisne and transport troops of the 6th Army northwards.
On 29 August the Germans began a bombardment of the forts around Maubeuge. On 5 September, four of the forts were stormed by German infantry, creating a gap in the defences. On 7 September the garrison surrendered. The Germans took 40,000 prisoners and captured 377 guns. After the capture of Maubeuge the line from Cologne–Paris line was of limited use between Diedenhofen and Luxembourg, until the bridge at Namur was repaired. The Battle of the Marne began as the Maubeuge forts were stormed and during the Battle of the Aisne one of the VII Reserve Corps divisions arrived in time to join the German 7th Army, which closed a dangerous gap in the German line. While the BEF and the French armies conducted the Great Retreat into France (24 August – 28 September), small detachments of the Belgian, French and British armies conducted operations against German cavalry and Jäger.
On 27 August, a squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) had flown to Ostend, for air reconnaissance sorties between Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. British marines landed at Dunkirk on the night of 19/20 September and on 28 September a battalion occupied Lille. The rest of the brigade occupied Cassel on 30 September and scouted the country in motor cars; an RNAS Armoured Car Section was created, by fitting vehicles with bullet-proof steel. On 2 October, the Marine Brigade was moved to Antwerp, followed by the rest of the Naval Division on 6 October, having landed at Dunkirk on the night of 4/5 October. From 6–7 October, the 7th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division landed at Zeebrugge. Naval forces collected at Dover were formed into a separate unit, which became the Dover Patrol, to operate in the Channel and off the French-Belgian coast.
German invasion of Belgium