At Antwerp, the German concentration of troops on the south-eastern side of the line had left a gap to the north from the Dender to the Dutch frontier.
The gap spanned about 13 miles (21 km) at the confluence of the Dender and the Scheldt rivers at Dendermonde, through which the defenders of Antwerp retained contact with western Belgium and the Allied forces operating on the coast and in northern France.
After the Siege of Maubeuge in France, German super-heavy artillery was moved towards Antwerp which like Liège and Namur, would be untenable unless it could be incorporated into the main Allied front line, like the fortified regions of Verdun and Belfort in France.
On 25 September the French General Staff (GQG) requested another sortie from Antwerp and the Belgian General Staff began to plan another operation.
Signs of German preparations for a general attack on Antwerp, led to the forces intended for the sortie being reduced.
The 5th Division, elements of the 4th Division and the Cavalry Division, which held the defences on the west side of the National Redoubt at Dendermonde and the Waasland, attacked German troops moving westward from Aalst.
Although they succeeded in making a small advance, a counter-attack by the 37th Landwehr Brigade, supported by heavy artillery, led to the cancelling of the assault.
On 28 September, the German bombardment of the Antwerp fortresses began.
At Antwerp, the German concentration of troops on the south-eastern side of the line had left a gap to the north from the Dender to the Dutch frontier. The gap spanned about 13 miles (21 km) at the confluence of the Dender and the Scheldt rivers at Dendermonde, through which the defenders of Antwerp retained contact with western Belgium and the Allied forces operating on the coast and in northern France. After the Siege of Maubeuge in France, German super-heavy artillery was moved towards Antwerp which like Liège and Namur, would be untenable unless it could be incorporated into the main Allied front line, like the fortified regions of Verdun and Belfort in France. On 25 September the French General Staff (GQG) requested another sortie from Antwerp and the Belgian General Staff began to plan another operation. Signs of German preparations for a general attack on Antwerp, led to the forces intended for the sortie being reduced. The 5th Division, elements of the 4th Division and the Cavalry Division, which held the defences on the west side of the National Redoubt at Dendermonde and the Waasland, attacked German troops moving westward from Aalst. Although they succeeded in making a small advance, a counter-attack by the 37th Landwehr Brigade, supported by heavy artillery, led to the cancelling of the assault. On 28 September, the German bombardment of the Antwerp fortresses began.
Siege of Antwerp (1914)