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Introduction
to
Machine
Learning

Fourth
Edition
Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning

Francis Bach, Editor

A complete list of books published in The Adaptive

Computation and Machine Learning series appears at the back
of this book.
 Introduction
to
Machine
Learning

Fourth
Edition

Ethem Alpaydın

The MIT Press

Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including
photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval)
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Typeset in 10/13 Lucida Bright by the author using .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Alpaydın, Ethem, author.
Title: Introduction to machine learning / Ethem Alpaydın.
Description: Fourth edition. | Cambridge, Massachusetts : The
MIT Press, 2020.
| Series: Adaptive computation and machine learning series
| Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019028373 | ISBN 9780262358064
Subjects: LCSH: Machine learning.
Classification: LCC Q325.5 .A46 2020 | DDC 006.3/1–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028373

d_r0
Brief Contents

1 Introduction
2 Supervised Learning
3 Bayesian Decision Theory
4 Parametric Methods
5 Multivariate Methods
6 Dimensionality Reduction
7 Clustering
8 Nonparametric Methods
9 Decision Trees
10 Linear Discrimination
11 Multilayer Perceptrons
12 Deep Learning
13 Local Models
14 Kernel Machines
15 Graphical Models
16 Hidden Markov Models
17 Bayesian Estimation
18 Combining Multiple Learners
19 Reinforcement Learning
20 Design and Analysis of Machine Learning Experiments
A Probability
B Linear Algebra
C Optimization
Contents

Copyright
Preface
Notations

1 Introduction
1.1 What Is Machine Learning?
1.2 Examples of Machine Learning Applications
1.2.1 Association Rules
1.2.2 Classification
1.2.3 Regression
1.2.4 Unsupervised Learning
1.2.5 Reinforcement Learning
1.3 History
1.4 Related Topics
1.4.1 High-Performance Computing
1.4.2 Data Privacy and Security
1.4.3 Model Interpretability and Trust
1.4.4 Data Science
1.5 Exercises
1.6 References

2 Supervised Learning
2.1 Learning a Class from Examples
2.2 Vapnik-Chervonenkis Dimension
 2.3 Probably Approximately Correct Learning
2.4 Noise
2.5 Learning Multiple Classes
2.6 Regression
2.7 Model Selection and Generalization
2.8 Dimensions of a Supervised Machine Learning
Algorithm
2.9 Notes
2.10 Exercises
2.11 References

3 Bayesian Decision Theory

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Classification
3.3 Losses and Risks
3.4 Discriminant Functions
3.5 Association Rules
3.6 Notes
3.7 Exercises
3.8 References

4 Parametric Methods
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Maximum Likelihood Estimation
4.2.1 Bernoulli Density
4.2.2 Multinomial Density
4.2.3 Gaussian (Normal) Density
4.3 Evaluating an Estimator: Bias and Variance
4.4 The Bayes’ Estimator
4.5 Parametric Classification
4.6 Regression
4.7 Tuning Model Complexity: Bias/Variance Dilemma
4.8 Model Selection Procedures
4.9 Notes
4.10 Exercises
4.11 References
5 Multivariate Methods
5.1 Multivariate Data
5.2 Parameter Estimation
5.3 Estimation of Missing Values
5.4 Multivariate Normal Distribution
5.5 Multivariate Classification
5.6 Tuning Complexity
5.7 Discrete Features
5.8 Multivariate Regression
5.9 Notes
5.10 Exercises
5.11 References

6 Dimensionality Reduction
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Subset Selection
6.3 Principal Component Analysis
6.4 Feature Embedding
6.5 Factor Analysis
6.6 Singular Value Decomposition and Matrix
Factorization
6.7 Multidimensional Scaling
6.8 Linear Discriminant Analysis
6.9 Canonical Correlation Analysis
6.10 Isomap
6.11 Locally Linear Embedding
6.12 Laplacian Eigenmaps
6.13 t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding
6.14 Notes
6.15 Exercises
6.16 References

7 Clustering
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Mixture Densities
7.3 k-Means Clustering
 7.4 Expectation-Maximization Algorithm
7.5 Mixtures of Latent Variable Models
7.6 Supervised Learning after Clustering
7.7 Spectral Clustering
7.8 Hierarchical Clustering
7.9 Choosing the Number of Clusters
7.10 Notes
7.11 Exercises
7.12 References

8 Nonparametric Methods
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Nonparametric Density Estimation
8.2.1 Histogram Estimator
8.2.2 Kernel Estimator
8.2.3 k-Nearest Neighbor Estimator
8.3 Generalization to Multivariate Data
8.4 Nonparametric Classification
8.5 Condensed Nearest Neighbor
8.6 Distance-Based Classification
8.7 Outlier Detection
8.8 Nonparametric Regression: Smoothing Models
8.8.1 Running Mean Smoother
8.8.2 Kernel Smoother
8.8.3 Running Line Smoother
8.9 How to Choose the Smoothing Parameter
8.10 Notes
8.11 Exercises
8.12 References

9 Decision Trees
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Univariate Trees
9.2.1 Classification Trees
9.2.2 Regression Trees
9.3 Pruning
9.4 Rule Extraction from Trees
 9.5 Learning Rules from Data
9.6 Multivariate Trees
9.7 Notes
9.8 Exercises
9.9 References

10 Linear Discrimination
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Generalizing the Linear Model
10.3 Geometry of the Linear Discriminant
10.3.1 Two Classes
10.3.2 Multiple Classes
10.4 Pairwise Separation
10.5 Parametric Discrimination Revisited
10.6 Gradient Descent
10.7 Logistic Discrimination
10.7.1 Two Classes
10.7.2 Multiple Classes
10.7.3 Multiple Labels
10.8 Learning to Rank
10.9 Notes
10.10 Exercises
10.11 References

11 Multilayer Perceptrons
11.1 Introduction
11.1.1 Understanding the Brain
11.1.2 Neural Networks as a Paradigm for Parallel
Processing
11.2 The Perceptron
11.3 Training a Perceptron
11.4 Learning Boolean Functions
11.5 Multilayer Perceptrons
11.6 MLP as a Universal Approximator
11.7 Backpropagation Algorithm
11.7.1 Nonlinear Regression
11.7.2 Two-Class Discrimination
 11.7.3 Multiclass Discrimination
11.7.4 Multilabel Discrimination
11.8 Overtraining
11.9 Learning Hidden Representations
11.10 Autoencoders
11.11 Word2vec Architecture
11.12 Notes
11.13 Exercises
11.14 References

12 Deep Learning
12.1 Introduction
12.2 How to Train Multiple Hidden Layers
12.2.1 Rectified Linear Unit
12.2.2 Initialization
12.2.3 Generalizing Backpropagation to Multiple
Hidden Layers
12.3 Improving Training Convergence
12.3.1 Momentum
12.3.2 Adaptive Learning Factor
12.3.3 Batch Normalization
12.4 Regularization
12.4.1 Hints
12.4.2 Weight Decay
12.4.3 Dropout
12.5 Convolutional Layers
12.5.1 The Idea
12.5.2 Formalization
12.5.3 Examples: LeNet-5 and AlexNet
12.5.4 Extensions
12.5.5 Multimodal Deep Networks
12.6 Tuning the Network Structure
12.6.1 Structure and Hyperparameter Search
12.6.2 Skip Connections
12.6.3 Gating Units
12.7 Learning Sequences
12.7.1 Example Tasks
 12.7.2 Time-Delay Neural Networks
12.7.3 Recurrent Networks
12.7.4 Long Short-Term Memory Unit
12.7.5 Gated Recurrent Unit
12.8 Generative Adversarial Network
12.9 Notes
12.10 Exercises
12.11 References

13 Local Models
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Competitive Learning
13.2.1 Online k-Means
13.2.2 Adaptive Resonance Theory
13.2.3 Self-Organizing Maps
13.3 Radial Basis Functions
13.4 Incorporating Rule-Based Knowledge
13.5 Normalized Basis Functions
13.6 Competitive Basis Functions
13.7 Learning Vector Quantization
13.8 The Mixture of Experts
13.8.1 Cooperative Experts
13.8.2 Competitive Experts
13.9 Hierarchical Mixture of Experts and Soft Decision
Trees
13.10 Notes
13.11 Exercises
13.12 References

14 Kernel Machines
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Optimal Separating Hyperplane
14.3 The Nonseparable Case: Soft Margin Hyperplane
14.4 ν-SVM
14.5 Kernel Trick
14.6 Vectorial Kernels
 14.7 Defining Kernels
14.8 Multiple Kernel Learning
14.9 Multiclass Kernel Machines
14.10 Kernel Machines for Regression
14.11 Kernel Machines for Ranking
14.12 One-Class Kernel Machines
14.13 Large Margin Nearest Neighbor Classifier
14.14 Kernel Dimensionality Reduction
14.15 Notes
14.16 Exercises
14.17 References

15 Graphical Models
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Canonical Cases for Conditional Independence
15.3 Generative Models
15.4 d-Separation
15.5 Belief Propagation
15.5.1 Chains
15.5.2 Trees
15.5.3 Polytrees
15.5.4 Junction Trees
15.6 Undirected Graphs: Markov Random Fields
15.7 Learning the Structure of a Graphical Model
15.8 Influence Diagrams
15.9 Notes
15.10 Exercises
15.11 References

16 Hidden Markov Models

16.1 Introduction
16.2 Discrete Markov Processes
16.3 Hidden Markov Models
16.4 Three Basic Problems of HMMs
16.5 Evaluation Problem
16.6 Finding the State Sequence
16.7 Learning Model Parameters
 16.8 Continuous Observations
16.9 The HMM as a Graphical Model
16.10 Model Selection in HMMs
16.11 Notes
16.12 Exercises
16.13 References

17 Bayesian Estimation
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Bayesian Estimation of the Parameters of a Discrete
Distribution
17.2.1 K > 2 States: Dirichlet Distribution
17.2.2 K = 2 States: Beta Distribution
17.3 Bayesian Estimation of the Parameters of a Gaussian
Distribution
17.3.1 Univariate Case: Unknown Mean, Known
Variance
17.3.2 Univariate Case: Unknown Mean, Unknown
Variance
17.3.3 Multivariate Case: Unknown Mean, Unknown
Covariance
17.4 Bayesian Estimation of the Parameters of a Function
17.4.1 Regression
17.4.2 Regression with Prior on Noise Precision
17.4.3 The Use of Basis/Kernel Functions
17.4.4 Bayesian Classification
17.5 Choosing a Prior
17.6 Bayesian Model Comparison
17.7 Bayesian Estimation of a Mixture Model
17.8 Nonparametric Bayesian Modeling
17.9 Gaussian Processes
17.10 Dirichlet Processes and Chinese Restaurants
17.11 Latent Dirichlet Allocation
17.12 Beta Processes and Indian Buffets
17.13 Notes
17.14 Exercises
17.15 References
18 Combining Multiple Learners
18.1 Rationale
18.2 Generating Diverse Learners
18.3 Model Combination Schemes
18.4 Voting
18.5 Error-Correcting Output Codes
18.6 Bagging
18.7 Boosting
18.8 The Mixture of Experts Revisited
18.9 Stacked Generalization
18.10 Fine-Tuning an Ensemble
18.10.1 Choosing a Subset of the Ensemble
18.10.2 Constructing Metalearners
18.11 Cascading
18.12 Notes
18.13 Exercises
18.14 References

19 Reinforcement Learning
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Single State Case: K-Armed Bandit
19.3 Elements of Reinforcement Learning
19.4 Model-Based Learning
19.4.1 Value Iteration
19.4.2 Policy Iteration
19.5 Temporal Difference Learning
19.5.1 Exploration Strategies
19.5.2 Deterministic Rewards and Actions
19.5.3 Nondeterministic Rewards and Actions
19.5.4 Eligibility Traces
19.6 Generalization
19.7 Partially Observable States
19.7.1 The Setting
19.7.2 Example: The Tiger Problem
19.8 Deep Q Learning
19.9 Policy Gradients
 19.10 Learning to Play Backgammon and Go
19.11 Notes
19.12 Exercises
19.13 References

20 Design and Analysis of Machine Learning Experiments

20.1 Introduction
20.2 Factors, Response, and Strategy of Experimentation
20.3 Response Surface Design
20.4 Randomization, Replication, and Blocking
20.5 Guidelines for Machine Learning Experiments
20.6 Cross-Validation and Resampling Methods
20.6.1 K-Fold Cross-Validation
20.6.2 5 × 2 Cross-Validation
20.6.3 Bootstrapping
20.7 Measuring Classifier Performance
20.8 Interval Estimation
20.9 Hypothesis Testing
20.10 Assessing a Classification Algorithm’s Performance
20.10.1 Binomial Test
20.10.2 Approximate Normal Test
20.10.3 t Test
20.11 Comparing Two Classification Algorithms
20.11.1 McNemar’s Test
20.11.2 K-Fold Cross-Validated Paired t Test
20.11.3 5 × 2 cv Paired t Test
20.11.4 5 × 2 cv Paired F Test
20.12 Comparing Multiple Algorithms: Analysis of
Variance
20.13 Comparison over Multiple Datasets
20.13.1 Comparing Two Algorithms
20.13.2 Multiple Algorithms
20.14 Multivariate Tests
20.14.1 Comparing Two Algorithms
20.14.2 Comparing Multiple Algorithms
20.15 Notes
20.16 Exercises
 20.17 References

A Probability
A.1 Elements of Probability
A.1.1 Axioms of Probability
A.1.2 Conditional Probability
A.2 Random Variables
A.2.1 Probability Distribution and Density
Functions
A.2.2 Joint Distribution and Density Functions
A.2.3 Conditional Distributions
A.2.4 Bayes’ Rule
A.2.5 Expectation
A.2.6 Variance
A.2.7 Weak Law of Large Numbers
A.3 Special Random Variables
A.3.1 Bernoulli Distribution
A.3.2 Binomial Distribution
A.3.3 Multinomial Distribution
A.3.4 Uniform Distribution
A.3.5 Normal (Gaussian) Distribution
A.3.6 Chi-Square Distribution
A.3.7 t Distribution
A.3.8 F Distribution
A.4 References

B Linear Algebra
B.1 Vectors
B.2 Matrices
B.3 Similarity of Vectors
B.4 Square Matrices
B.5 Linear Dependence and Ranks
B.6 Inverses
B.7 Positive Definite Matrices
B.8 Trace and Determinant
B.9 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
B.10 Spectral Decomposition
 B.11 Singular Value Decomposition
B.12 References

C Optimization
C.1 Introduction
C.2 Linear Optimization
C.3 Convex Optimization
C.4 Duality
C.5 Local Optimization
C.6 References

Index
Other documents randomly have
different content
in command of the cannon, who both opened fire on the assailants.
The machine-gun entered into action as well, whilst the soldiers of
the 13th Line Regiment fired direct on the German troops who,
nevertheless, managed to get a footing on the bridge.
The officer of the Engineers who had mined it had two discharges.
Seeing that the assailants who were killed were instantly replaced by
others, and that the enemy was threatening the left bank, this brave
man established the electric contact. To our stupefaction, no
detonation followed. The Germans had now reached the end of the
bridge. Without any excitement, the officer seized the second
discharge. A formidable explosion took place, flinging into the
distance the ruins of the bridge, fragments of human beings, and
various objects of their equipment. All fell pêle-mêle into the river
and on to the banks, covering the soldiers who were hidden there
with blood and with human shreds. In face of this disaster, the
assaulting column stopped short, horrified, and then rushed back in
disorder towards the town, whilst huge flames rose from the piles of
the bridge which had been soaked in petroleum.
The surprise attack had failed, and two more weak attempts were
cut short by our shelling. The usual vengeance was then resorted to.
The enemy Artillery concentrated its fire on the vicinity of the bridge.
Our brave troops lived through one of those critical moments when
the destructive power of the human machine is only comparable to
the grandeur of souls ready for any sacrifice. For one long hour, our
soldiers were submitted to a storm of steel which, with a hellish
clatter, warned them of a fresh attack. It was necessary to conquer
the intense nervous strain, to watch without ceasing, and to
examine all the impenetrable and threatening fortification works on
the other bank of the river. It was whilst examining all this, from
above the shield of his cannon, that Sub-Lieutenant Hiernaux fell,
just at the critical moment, struck between the eyes by a ball. His
fine death proved to us once more all that there is of energy, sang-
froid, and courage among our subaltern ranks.
Quartermaster Francotte ordered the officer's body to be carried to a
neighbouring shelter and he covered it over with a wrap. He then
took Hiernaux's place at the cannon and kept his aids there all night,
whilst the neighbouring trenches had to be abandoned for a time, as
they were impossible, on account of the gas from the explosion of
the shells.
Two days later, Sub-Lieutenant Mayat was on service at the bridge.
In the afternoon, the Commander of the group and his aid came to
examine the adversary's organisation. The heads of the three
officers, Sub-Lieutenant Mayat between the other two, were just for
an instant above the shield formed by the cannon. This formed an
excellent target for those on the other side. A ball whizzed by and
one of the heads disappeared. Mayat, without uttering a cry, fell
against his chief, and a stream of red blood spurted from his pierced
temple and inundated his face, which had turned suddenly livid.
At present, the two friends are sleeping their glorious sleep side by
side, in the little cemetery of Grembergen, where we buried them
reverently. The day will come when those who know of their noble
death and who, more fortunate than they, have been spared, will be
able to go and place flowers on their tombs, in order to show their
gratitude and admiration.
But no homage can be equal to the tears of sincere grief of the
officer who was sent to take Sub-Lieutenant Mayat's place, when he
saw his comrade lying at his post, in all the rigidity of the last sleep.

CHAPTER XIX
The No. 7 Armoured Car

By Sub-Lieutenant G. Thiery, of the 1st Regiment of Guides, in

Command of the Group of Armoured Cars of the 1st Cavalry Division
What an easy and pleasant task it is to relate the adventures of
another person and to praise the exploits and the courage of a
friend. But how delicate and trying it is to describe one's own deeds!
To the man who considers himself rewarded by the feeling of having
done his duty, it is by no means easy to have to say: "I was there
and this is what happened to me...." However, since I am requested
to give this account, I must do so.
It was at Wommelghem, near Antwerp, that, on the 4th of
September, 1914, I was given command of the No. 7 armoured car
attached to the Cavalry Division. I will begin by congratulating those
who invented and thought out this engine of warfare. Some have
been built which were six months in the work-shops. Of these, some
are monuments which can never be utilised, and others are wonders
invented in offices, which need to be stripped of three quarters of
their improvements, in order to be of any use under fire. In three
weeks, the Minerva factory and the Cockerill work-shops delivered to
the Belgian army what I believe to be the best armoured car in use.
It is sure, easily worked, rapid, strong, and efficiently protected. The
No. 7 car brought me a number of brave men. First there was Count
Guy de Berlaymont, the personification of courage and indifference
to danger; then Constant Heureux, bravery and abnegation made
man; finally Dujardin and Gouffaux, two good and valiant soldiers.
All of them, like myself, were volunteers.
Without any preliminaries, we found ourselves at once in the midst
of the drama.
On the evening of the 5th of September, at the Criterium at
Antwerp, Lieutenant Hankar, Count Henri de Villermont, Prince
Baudouin de Ligne, Misson, Philippe de Zualar, Berlaymont and I
were sitting round a table, discussing our departure joyfully.
On the evening of the 6th, Berlaymont and I were again at the
Criterium, and big tears came to our eyes, as we looked at the
empty seats which had been occupied, the previous evening, by our
friends. That afternoon, whilst patrolling round Herenthals, we heard
that their vehicles had been attacked near Zammel. All that we were
able to snatch from the enemy had been three dead men, four
wounded ones, some weapons, and two armoured cars.
The Germans had now a fresh item, and a very big one, on the
account that we had to settle with them.
On the 8th of September, we had our revenge. For the second time,
the army made a sortie from Antwerp, and the Cavalry Division,
forming the left wing, advanced towards Louvain. Information of all
kinds poured in at Headquarters and one detail struck General de
Witte, that chief of whom I can never speak without the greatest
respect and admiration. The General had been told that the village
of Werchter was only weakly guarded. A bold stroke might make us
masters of the passage of the Dyle. This stroke was to be
attempted.
The execution of it was confided to the Battalion of Cyclist
Carabineers, that heroic phalanx which does not need to be
introduced to any one, so well is it known. Everyone is acquainted
with our diables noirs (black devils), those of Haelen, and of
everywhere else where there were blows to be given and laurels to
reap, that band of brave men who always set out laughing, dressed
their wounds whilst singing, and returned to the fight the following
day, their natural ardour increased by the desire to avenge the
deaths of the previous day.
My armoured car set out at the head of the little column. Between
Schriek and Tremeloo, a Company of Cyclists was left to serve as
support for the two others who went forward. We arrived at
Tremeloo. In this devastated and deserted village, Lieutenant Fritz
de Menten and half a platoon of the 2nd Lancers were awaiting us.
They confirmed the information that Werchter was only held by a
small force. They had been assured that the Boche foot-soldiers,
with the exception of those who were doing the cooking in the
Square, were all busy getting drunk on yack op at the wine-shop.
What enthusiasm there was amongst us! Our two hundred and fifty
Cyclists were relishing the joy that they would have in seeing their
old acquaintances again, the Prussian pilferers, house-burners, and
torturers. They set off in three columns. The middle one, which I
led, took the direct road. Another one turned to the left, in order to
attack Werchter, by the Dyle. The third column took the plain to the
right, in order to approach the village from the north. Lieutenant de
Menten's half platoon served as scouts for the column on the left.
We rushed off at full speed. The bridge over the Laak, a small
tributary to the right of the Dyle, was soon crossed, the cycles were
then left, and the sharp-shooters went off at a trot, stooping in order
to be hidden in the harvest fields.
I reached the first houses in Werchter with my car. There was not a
soul to be seen! This silence and mystery did not seem natural to us.
A hundred yards away, the chief street was barricaded. An inhabitant
assured us that the few Boches who had occupied Werchter had
already taken flight in the direction of the bridges. We immediately
took the machine-gun out of the car, together with its support and
the cases of cartridges, intending to carry all this over the barricade,
which the motor-car could not cross, and then sweep the bridge with
balls, so that our prey should not escape us.
Berlaymont, with the machine-gun on his shoulder, and a cyclist
carrying two cartridge cases, were the first to enter the street. They
had not gone ten steps when they were greeted by a volley of
bullets. The shooting was from all the windows and the cyclist had
his arm broken. This volley was evidently a signal, as the whole
circumference of Werchter now broke out into short flames. An
infernal firing then took place, interspersed with the tac-tac-tac of
Maxims. Werchter was a trap. We were attacking the enemy one
against four, and our adversary was invulnerable behind the walls of
the houses. Our retreat was obligatory, but the question was, Could
the destruction of the Battalion be avoided?
It is in these tragic moments that the worth of a troop can be
judged. In reply to their officers' whistling, the Cyclists fell back in
good order, replying at the same time to the enemy's firing. Just as
though they were at drill, my men put back the machine-gun
support in its box, and strapped it up, whilst the chief gunner put his
cannon on its battery and awaited the order to fire. In the car, each
man took the place assigned to him beforehand: the chief gunner
standing up by the side of the driver. The latter charged the machine
and also attended to his driving. The second gunner was seated in
Turkish fashion at the back. He passed the charges full and arranged
the empty cases. The chief was kneeling down at his side, the upper
part of his body higher than the plating. It is his part to direct the
aim, with the aid of his field-glasses. This is the dangerous post, at
which three quarters of those killed in armoured cars have had their
skulls pierced. I have been wounded twice in the head at this post.
Our Cyclists were now beginning to recross the Laak bridge, and we
opened a rapid fire on the limits of Werchter, where the enemy
appeared to be coming out in our pursuit.
Firing attracts firing, and a shower of balls crackled over the
armoured car, passing close to our ears with the noise of huge,
furious flies buzzing quickly through the air.
Our brave Hotchkiss fired without ceasing. The second gunner was
tending his machine as though it were a pet animal. As soon as it
had spit forth its shower of a hundred balls, he quickly put a pinch of
vaseline on the piston and a damp rag over the cannon. In five
minutes, a thousand cartridges had been fired. The cannon was
getting warm. From black, it had changed to blue and was mottled
with spots. It had to be changed. We were advancing towards the
Laak bridge, which all the Cyclists had now crossed. As we went
along, we encouraged the wounded ones who were trying to crawl
along as far as there. We changed the cannon, whilst under fire.
There was a bolt to draw, then a few blows of the mallet on a big
key, the cannon was grasped between rags and plunged into a basin
of cold water. With a hissing noise, a long spurt of boiling water
flowed up-hill. Whilst the chief gunner examined the mechanism of
his machine and greased it, his helper drew the second cannon from
its sheath and put it in its place. With a thud, it settled and, the
whole operation having taken forty seconds, we were once more
ready to fire.
The enemy was now coming out from Werchter. I could see the lines
of sharp-shooters distinctly. They were advancing in the fields of rye
and beet-root.
"Do you see them?" I asked.
"Yes."
"At three hundred yards, mow them down with volleys of sixty, if you
like, Fire!"
And our Hotchkiss continued its noise, which sounded like a huge
sewing machine. Over yonder, we saw the grey fellows tumbling
over each other, running, hiding. And the balls whizzed round us
quicker than ever.
The Cyclists were still five hundred yards away from us in their
retreat, but our cannon was again getting warm and, besides this,
the extractor was dirty and some of the balls failed. We fell back a
second time and, behind a hedge, the changing of the cannon again
took place. This time we had the additional complication of changing
the extractor. The enemy took advantage of this for advancing at full
speed.
"Quick! quick! is everything ready?"
The car fell back. A hundred yards from the bridge there was a good
place for it. From there we could see for five hundred yards along
both sides of the route skirting the Laak. This time we were keenly
on the watch. We no longer replied to the firing intended for us: it
was no use wasting munition haphazard. The chief gunner to the
right, and I to the left, watched the groups which arrived on the
bank of the river.
Rrann!... and there was a charge[6] for each group. How many fell
like that! It was good firing, with certain result. And there was no
hurry now, so that the cannon only got gradually warm.
The combat had been going on for forty minutes. The Cyclists must
have reached Tremeloo. There were still the wounded ones to look
after. Berlaymont and I got down and picked up six or seven of
them. We placed them on the chests, on the wings, on the platform,
at the back, and even on the hood. This exasperated the Boches,
who fired on us furiously. We now made off, but on the Tremeloo
road, we came across about twenty poor wounded men, dragging
themselves along in the most lamentable way. They stretched out
their hands to us, beseeching to be picked up. It was impossible to
abandon them. Six volunteers of the Cyclist rear-guard offered their
services. They discovered a cart and an old horse which, by some
miracle, had remained among the ruins of a farm and, whilst they
were doing this, the machine-gun received certain indispensable
repairs. The car then started once more towards Werchter, followed
by the cart transformed into an ambulance. About one hundred
yards in front of the bridge, a wounded man was lying across the
road. He begged to be picked up at once. We fastened him to the
platform and thought no more about him, for the balls were raining
down again. The Boches had crossed the bridge and we had to drive
them back, so that we could pick up the wounded men. We
advanced slowly, giving our enemies a hellish fire. They were
running from hedge to hedge, quite near to us.
Lieutenant de Menten, who had been taken prisoner at the
beginning of the action, and was freed later on, told us about this
part of the fight. The Germans, two battalions and a squadron
strong, dragged him along with them in the pursuit, and we came
very near freeing him ourselves. For a short time, he was
surrounded by the dead and he had to lie down flat in a ditch, in
order to avoid sharing the fate of his keepers. We were only one
hundred yards away. We had painted a gigantic 7 on our car, out of
sheer bravado. A German officer told him that evening that that
"cursed Number Seven" had killed more than two hundred men in an
hour.
Our provision of 4500 cartridges was coming to an end though. We
began to fall back a little, especially as the balls were now coming
from right and left. There were no longer any wounded men on the
road, as our brave Carabineers had worked well.
"Good Heavens!" we suddenly exclaimed "and what about the man
we picked up and put at the back of the motor-car?" When our last
volley was fired we visited him, expecting to find him in a piteous
state. Miraculously, he had not a single scratch more than when we
had picked him up, and yet the back of the car was riddled with
marks of bullets. What a piece of good luck for him and, as for us,
our men were all there; we had not lost one.
During that second sortie from Antwerp, we had magnificent
chances of distinguishing ourselves every day. On the 10th of
September, for instance, we started from Rhode St. Pierre with some
Pioneers and, slipping between German posts and patrols, we
reached Cumptich, near Tirlemont, about ten miles behind the
enemy's lines. Whilst the Pioneers were destroying the railway line
from Louvain to Liége, we kept a lookout on the road. A red auto
came along. It was a Pipe, 12 horse-power, 1912, driven by a
German soldier, and there were two conceited-looking officers in it.
Berlaymont seized his carbine and, at a hundred yards' distance,
fired twice. Each ball hit an officer straight. The car stopped short
and the chauffeur held up his arms. We rushed forward, our
Brownings in our hands. The two officers were on the floor of the
car, with their heads open.
"What a pity," said Berlaymont, regretfully, "they have made a mess
of the leather!"
After securing the chauffeur, we started along the road in our car. On
approaching the sentinels, we called out to them: "Come here, or
you are dead men."
Not one of the five prisoners we made attempted to defend himself.
As soon as they saw the armoured car, they threw down their
weapons and put their hands up. Some of them knelt down and
asked for pardon. On returning, our captured car came to a stand-
still and the prisoner chauffeur repaired it with the most obsequious
eagerness. The climax was that, just as we were setting off again,
we heard a voice calling out: "Stop, stop, you have forgotten me." It
was one of our prisoners, who had got down while the car was being
repaired and whom we had not missed.
That same day, the 10th of September, I had two more big fights,
and was able to advance as far as Blauwput, a suburb of Louvain.
Unfortunately, this cost me the life of Corporal Royer, a very brave
man who had already had honourable mention in his Division. In the
afternoon, we had the Pellenberg fight, where the violent resistance
of the German Marine Fusiliers stopped our progress.
Until we reached the Yser, my car was engaged on an average three
times a day. It would be impossible to tell of all our skirmishes, so I
will only give the most interesting episodes.
On the 27th of September, at Alost, my car was sheltering in the
little street of the Morseel bridge, behind a barricade made of
herring barrels. We had to wait there and could see nothing, whilst
shells were falling all round us. Suddenly, a projectile fell right on the
barricade and filled our car with herrings. It was a perfect infection,
and never had our nostrils been poisoned by any odour as
disagreeable as that. Whilst we were raging and holding our noses,
a tall American fellow came up with a cinematograph photo
apparatus.
"Captain," he said, "I am the operator of an American
Cinematograph Company. May I have the honour of taking views of
your motor-car in fighting position?" We had scarcely recovered from
our amazement, when a shell dropped on a neighbouring house,
which immediately fell on us and on the American, in the midst of a
cloud of dust and a frightful noise. With the most superb calmness,
Berlaymont called to me: "Look out, it is always a good thing to
notice the objective." He got up and began searching for the
objective. Just at this moment, we saw the Cinema American, who
had stepped back a few yards and, with his apparatus still on its
three feet, was taking views phlegmatically.
Between eleven o'clock and twelve, we received orders to fall back
one hundred yards, in order to support the platoon of the 5th
Lancers, under the command of Lieutenant van den Elschen. It was
entrenched behind a barricade of tan bales. Our enemies were not
visible and we were only aware of their presence by the arrival of
shells. One of these projectiles broke in the window of the Delhaize
grocery shop. It was most providential for us, as it allowed us to
lunch copiously on the verandah, free of charge, with a musical
accompaniment, composed of the latest tango airs, played on the
piano by Lieutenant Poncelet. Things went on very well until another
shell knocked down a chimney. As this fell on the verandah, we had
to move from there. We returned to our barricade and found the
Cinema operator getting our horsemen to rehearse a "Defence of
Alost." "I have only taken a bombardment, so far," he explained,
"and I should like to get a real fight."
Amused at this idea, the officers allowed him to direct operations.
Commanded in nigger French, our horsemen first repulsed an
imaginary attack of the enemy, by fire, and then executed a brilliant
counter-attack. Victims were now wanted.
"Some dead men now, the ground must be strewn with corpses,"
ordered the American.
The excitement of the troops was such, though, that he had to
repeat his injunctions, in order to keep the corpses lying still on the
ground until the film had finished turning. These views appeared in
the Daily Mirror, of October 1, 1914, under the title of "The Defence
of Alost," and have been given in all the London Cinemas. My
readers may, perhaps, see them later on on the screen at Brussels.
They will know then that, of the whole story, only the bombardment
was authentic.
On the 6th of October, our motor-car came very near having a fine
feat of arms to its credit. At Schoonaerde, on the road from
Wetteren to Termonde, the Germans had placed a battery of field
Howitzers, which was bombarding our trenches on the left bank of
the Escaut. The armoured car 7 and the Lancers were on
observation about two miles away, near Wetteren, at the entrance to
Wichelen. Between Schoonaerde and us, the road was only barred
by the hamlet of Bohemen, which was weakly guarded by the
enemy. We decided to attempt a big venture. Whilst Berlaymont, the
man who feared nothing went off by the railway line with three
sharp-shooters to attack Bohemen, I rushed into the hamlet at full
speed with the motor-car. Some carts had been placed in a way to
bar the road. Our car knocked them over, and we were then within
six hundred metres of the enemy battery in action.
My chief gunner, Heureux, opened fire. It was a thing to see the way
the artillery-men, taken by enfilade, came down! Those who
survived, and there were very few of them, cut the tethers of the
horses, sprang on to their backs, and made off. We thought the
battery was ours, but alas! it was not. The Belgian Artillery saw an
armoured car in a place where there could only be Boches. It
opened a quick fire on us. Their shells ploughed up the ground and
our armoured car was riddled with shrapnel fragments. The Belgians
aimed too well and we were obliged to leave. Half an hour was lost
in telephoning to the Commander of the Artillery that he was
mistaken. We rushed into Bohemen again and saw our cannons once
more. What joy it was!
But the Boches had had time to cover them. To our right, fifty
metres away, the hedge along the railroad was held by sharp-
shooters with a machine-gun. In front of us, a farm and its kitchen
garden on the road were also occupied, and we were greeted by a
fearful, direct fire. I gave up my steering wheel, for when
Berlaymont is not there, I am the only one who can drive, and
directed the fighting. Handled by Heureux, a clever marksman, our
machine-gun spit forth what was certain death. The firing became
weaker from every place on which we turned our gun. Suddenly, I
felt a double shock in my right arm. The Boche machine-gun had
just presented me with two balls. Heaven be thanked, I had seen it
though, and Heureux silenced it by bringing down its gunners.
Suddenly, and without ceasing his work, Heureux called out to his
aid: "Go on charging, I cannot do any more."
I looked and saw that his left hand had been torn off by a dum-dum
ball. I had another terrible shock myself, this time in the head. I was
conscious of falling from the car to the ground ... and then ... I knew
nothing more. When I came to myself I was lying at the bottom of
the car, and my gun was still fizzling. It was being worked by the
second gunner. Heureux, who had looked after me until I was
conscious again, said, quite simply:
"Now that I have picked you up, it is your turn. You must drive the
car." It was by no means easy. My right arm was useless, and the
blood from the open wound on my temple half blinded me. As well
as I could, altering the speed with my right foot, I was able to start
the car. Under the fire of the Boches I had, once more, to overturn
the carts they had again put in place.
At Wichelen, Berlaymont joined us again. He was furious that we
had had an armoured car fight without him. And whilst the
ambulance took Heureux and me off, he obtained a reserve
machine-gun, installed himself in the car, all dripping with blood, and
went off to kill a score of the Boches who had treated his friends in
such an evil way.

FOOTNOTES:
[6] A charge comprises thirty cartridges placed on a metallic
band.

CHAPTER XX
The Wavre-St. Catherine Combat

By Sub-Lieutenant Henroz, in Command of the 1st Company of the 1st

Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of Fortress Carabineers
 (September 28-October 10, 1914)
As the Germans were harassed by the Belgian army and uneasy as
regarded the flank of their line of communication, they decided to
take their revenge on the Antwerp fortress, which was the refuge of
our army after each of our offensive operations.
At the end of September, the enemy had received a reinforcement of
troops of all kinds of arms, but more particularly of siege Artillery
and Pioneers, as these had been freed by the fall of Maubeuge.
On the 27th of September, at 7 in the morning, I received orders to
occupy the trenches with my Company and to suspend all work. My
Company was in the interval of the Dorpveld redoubt and the Wavre-
St. Catherine Fort. It was supported on the right by the Company of
the Staff Deputy Captain Commander Havenith, who was in
command of the interval. The Germans, that day, had commenced
driving back the detachment of the 1st Army Division, which was
holding the front of the line. We knew, therefore, that they were
going to attack us, but we were convinced that our positions were
absolutely inviolable, as we had organised them so carefully and
they were bristling with engines of warfare of every kind. We
awaited the first contact, therefore, with the greatest confidence.
The whole day was very calm all around the Fort. A Belgian
aëroplane was brought down and fell in our lines, near to our little
post.
Monday, September 28th. There was every promise of a fine day. Far
away, in the background, two Boche captive balloons went up. They
were rocking about at the wind's pleasure, in a threatening way. We
could hear the purring of their motors. Both these signs were
prophetic of an imminent attack. Towards 11 o'clock, a distant
whizzing sound was heard. This was soon transformed into a
thunderous roaring, which increased all the time and finished in a
formidable explosion. Through the trench lookout, we could see, at
about 150 metres in front of the Wavre-St. Catherine Fort, a column
of smoke at least twenty yards high. It was a 420 millimetre which
had just exploded. Exactly eleven minutes later, a second shell fell,
with the same noise, within fifty yards of the glacis. Every man was
ready, and all eyes were fixed on the Fort with anguish. We did not
have to wait long for the third shell. Eleven minutes later it burst,
straight on the Fort....
"Poor Catherine!" said the men. In spite of her wounds, though,
Catherine continued spitting forth her balls. The firing of the 420
continued, at intervals of eleven to twelve minutes, the whole of the
morning. During the afternoon, the firing was still more intense and
the shells then arrived in salvos of two. Many of them, fortunately
for the Fort, missed their mark, but the resistance was seriously
endangered. The cementing and the plating had only been
calculated in view of a bombardment with guns of twenty-one
centimetres at the most. We frequently saw five or six of the
artillery-men come out from the earthworks and, between two
storms, climb quickly on to the Fort and fill up the excavations, made
by the projectiles, with sacks of earth. At the approach of the next
bolides, they rushed away again as quickly as they could. Some of
them even, braving the metal monsters, continued their work. These
courageous men gave the soldiers in the trenches a fine example of
heroism. We watched them in amazement and felt our own courage
increase. The bombardment ceased at exactly 4.30 in the afternoon.
The cement of the Fort was cracked and the passages blocked by
the sickening odour of the gases. There was no victim on either side.
The Wavre-St. Catherine Fort had received its baptism of fire.
Tuesday, September 29th. The 1st and 2nd Divisions were now in
the 3rd Sector, Waelhem-Lierre; the 3rd and 6th Divisions in the 4th
Sector, Waelhem-Escaut; the 4th Division occupied Termonde, and
the 5th formed the general reserve. The bombardment began again
at daybreak, and very soon the huge shells were falling thickly on
the Fort. Occasionally, one of these masses, badly aimed, burst on
the interval. It was a regular earthquake. The ground shook and it
seemed as though the earth were about to open and swallow us up.
Presently, the firing increased in intensity. At certain moments, the
Fort was cannonaded, at a speed of twenty to twenty-five a minute,
with shells of every calibre. The noise was deafening. We could
scarcely hear each other speak. Everyone feared for the Fort and
each time that a shell was "drunk in" by it, the men murmured:
"Poor Catherine!" Towards ten o'clock, the firing of shrapnels on to
the interval commenced. Commander Havenith gave me the order to
occupy the fighting trench, with a section. The remainder of my
troop took up their quarters in the trench-shelter, about fifty yards
behind us.
During this change, a volley of shrapnels fell on the communication
trench. Four men were very slightly wounded, one of whom was
Sergeant Claudot, a volunteer. We were obliged to evacuate him.
Presently, it was the turn of the Wavre-St. Catherine village to get its
share. Several of the volleys made a fair number of victims, some of
whom were civilians. This caused a panic and the people, terrified
and wild with fear, rushed off taking with them a few of their
possessions. The women, in tears, dragged their little ones along
with them, and the children, without knowing why, uttered the most
heart-rending cries. Just as the darkness was coming on, several
houses were in flames. We were present, and absolutely powerless,
at this lamentable scene, and we were furious at not being able to
avenge these unfortunate people. On every side, the cannon was
thundering. The air, saturated with smoke, was bitter, and the odour
of the powder was suffocating. Gradually, everything became calm
once more and the sentinels went to their posts, just beyond the
network of barbed wire. Up to the present, our cooking had always
been done in the trench, by the side of the machine-gun shelter.
During the bombardment, a wretched shell had plunged into the
water in which the soup was cooking, and had scattered the meat
and broth everywhere. As all communication with our rear was cut,
it was impossible to get fresh food. I advised my men to be
economical with what they still had and, above all, to keep their
reserve rations at any cost. They were quite calm, unmindful of the
danger they had run during the day, and they did not protest in the
least. They went bravely to their observation posts, whilst their
comrades took a little rest. The night passed by without any
incident.
Wednesday, September 30th. The Company was still occupying the
same position. The sun had scarcely risen, when the bombarding of
the Forts, of the interval, and of the redoubt began as fresh as ever.
A reinforcement arrived for me, the 2nd Company of the 3rd
Battalion of the 6th Line Regiment, which at once occupied the
shelter trench. More than three hundred men were huddled together
in this hole. I began to fear a 42 dropping on this trench. What a
horrible carnage it would be! I trembled to think of the danger my
men were in. They never even thought of this themselves. They
were delighted about the unexpected reinforcement and their one
idea was victory. Shells of every calibre were raining down from
every side, and shell-mines were exploding with a frightful noise.
The firing was getting more exact and reached our parapet. The
trench shook, and I wondered whether it would fall in. Fragments of
the shells fell at our feet, and suddenly one shell hit the trench. As
soon as the smoke was dispersed, we saw, with horror, that several
men were buried under the débris. We could hear them calling out
and, for the first moment, we all remained motionless, riveted to the
spot in stupor and horror. Then several men rushed to the rescue of
their comrades. I advanced and saw that our poor Vander Stappen
had been decapitated. His head lay intact at his feet. Three others,
one of whom was Sergeant Dooms, were seriously wounded. The
shells continued to arrive in showers. It was frightful! The men were
lying down on the ground, with their blankets over their heads to
protect them from the shell fragments, and in order that they might
not see anything. A soldier, near me, took out of his pocket-book the
portrait of his wife and children. There were three of them grouped
around their mother. During this infernal bombardment, the poor
man, seeing death so near, wanted to see his own family once more.
With tears in his eyes, he shook his head sadly. I sat down by him
and, in a few words, I managed to revive his courage. He got up
suddenly and, shaking his fist in the enemy's direction, called out:
"Come on then, you vile Boches, we shall see whether you are as
good with the bayonet as with your 42." He had scarcely uttered the
last word, when a still more formidable explosion than all the others
made us start. The powder room of the Fort had been blown up.
Poor Catherine! Our Artillery, placed in the intervals, although like us
subjected to a violent bombardment, was answering courageously.
Our men were encouraged by this; they felt they were being
supported. It was now exactly 11.45. A breathless messenger
arrived and, with a trembling hand, gave me a sealed letter. It was
an order from the Commander of the fortified position of Antwerp.
"In spite of the bombardment, no matter how terrible it may be, you
must resist to the uttermost, even to death!" Good, we will resist!
I dismissed the messenger, a boy of eighteen. Without troubling in
the least about the shells and shrapnels, he hurried back to his post.
The Germans were still bombarding the Dorpveld redoubt furiously.
A 42 fell on a house near the Fort. Nothing was left of it but a heap
of ruins, and some of the bricks fell into our trench. The hours
passed by and the day gradually came to an end. In the evening,
the cannonading was less intense and the soldiers took advantage of
this to move about and stretch their limbs. They were gay, glad to
see each other again, and to have escaped death. They were also
awaiting the arrival of the Boches most hopefully. The results of the
day's combat had been: one killed and five wounded. When once
the little posts were all organised, everyone was on the watch. None
of the men wanted to rest. They were convinced that there would be
a night attack and they all wanted to be there, in order to fire the
first shot, and to receive the enemy in a proper way. Contrary to our
expectation, the night passed by without incident, except for a few
patrols being seen near the village.
Thursday, October 1st. The Company occupied the same post. The
bombardment, both in the intervals and on the positions in the rear,
began again and was still more terrible than on the preceding days.
The Boches poured down upon us their projectiles of every calibre.
Our men remained there undaunted, in spite of showers of shot. The
batteries replied all the time. The Forts alone were silent, as they
had been completely destroyed. The bombardment continued with
the most intense violence, as though the enemy wanted to crush us
completely, by means of the heavy artillery, against which we were,
of course, powerless. The noise was beyond all description. In less
than twenty minutes, I counted three men killed and about ten
wounded. My trench seemed likely to be entirely destroyed and, at
all costs, it was necessary to repair it. At my request, several
volunteers came forward and, in spite of the bombardment, worked
energetically. The losses were great, but not a man dreamed of
budging from his post. The order had come to resist to the
uttermost, to hold out in spite of everything, and we intended to
obey. We were resolved to die at our posts if necessary. The shells
continued all the time to rain down on us. In the village of Wavre-St.
Catherine, the ravages were terrible. The whole locality trembled
under a continuous roar like thunder. It was in this hell that the
soldiers entrusted with the defence had to hold out. Sub-Lieutenant
Blanckaert and his gunners were stationed near the church. They
took shelter as best they could, and one of the most imposing sights
was their coolness under the infernal bombardment. The enemy
Artillery, with its usual sacrilegious rage, aimed at the Church, which
was still standing. The steeple was just hit and some houses near
fell in ruins. From time to time, a more formidable explosion was
heard, and someone would remark simply: "That's another 42." It
was very evident that the enemy was endeavouring to render our
positions impossible by the intensity of the bombarding, hoping thus
to demoralise us. In our poor trench, which shook and rocked in a
way calculated to give us all sea-sickness, the sight was terrifying.
Each time that a shell of big calibre struck it, whole positions gave
way, burying together the dead, the wounded, and the living. Two,
three, and four huge shells a minute fell on it.
The captain of the 6th Line Regiment, M. Bisschop,[7] fell at my side,
with his shoulder shattered. In the trenches, the men held out, in
spite of the horrible nervous tension, of thirst, of the sight of their
comrades cut up, and of the plaintive moans of the wounded.
Sergeant-Major Demarche was also wounded. Our batteries were
firing at full speed, but they too suffered, as they were sighted by
the accursed captive balloons. Shrapnels and mine-shells burst over
our cannons, which were destroyed, one after the other. Our brave
gunners lay there at the side of them. It was horrible! The situation
grew more and more critical. In the absence of the Captain of the
6th Line Regiment, who had been evacuated, I had to take
command of the trench. At exactly 2.30 in the afternoon, we
suddenly saw two men in the wire network, two hundred yards in
front of the Fort. They were certainly Boches, but what were they
doing there, as their own shells were falling near them? Three
volleys were fired from the trench of Captain Commander A.E.M.
Havenith. One of the Boches fell and got up again. He fell a second
time, and the other one made off. A quarter of an hour later he
returned, accompanied by two comrades, wearing an armlet and
waving a Red Cross flag. Not a shot was fired, and the wounded
man was taken to the German lines. The bombardment continued
and was only less intense towards nightfall. The Commander of the
Fort, who had evacuated his stronghold, took advantage of the lull
to go back to it, but it was partly destroyed. The heavy shield of a
cupola of fifteen centimetres had completely disappeared, and its
ruins were also on fire. I had the dead buried, and the wounded
taken away. Towards five o'clock, I received an order from the
Commander of the interval to occupy the fighting trench with the
two Companies. An attack was expected during the night. When
once my observation sentinels were at their posts, we awaited the
arrival of the Germans. We took advantage of a moment's lull to eat
something. The men had nothing left but their last reserve rations.
We did not know what we should do for eatables the following day.
The men were very thirsty, their throats were parched, and there
was no water. Some of them found some behind the trench. It was
rather muddy, but that did not matter, as it refreshed them.
Guessing that I, too, was thirsty, one of the brave fellows offered me
his flask.
"Thanks," I replied, "keep it for to-morrow. I am not thirsty."
"But, Lieutenant, there is sugar with it!!!" he insisted.
I was just on my way to visit my posts, and had scarcely gone
twenty steps when a Corporal arrived.
"Lieutenant," he said, "the Boches are there, near the wire."
I listened and sure enough the bells fastened to the wire were
tinkling. There was no doubt about it. They were there. I gave the
command, "Fire!" and my men opened a vigorous firing on the wire
network. It was a hellish firing. The bullets cut the wire and
thousands of sparks were soon flying. The redoubt, that everyone
believed destroyed, was soon aglow like a furnace and sent showers
of shot on the enemy. My men shouted "Victory!" and were
delighted to open fire, but furious at not seeing any Boches. The
night was as black as ink and we could not see two yards in front of
us.
The Germans, surprised in their attack, replied energetically, but
they fired over us. Three quarters of an hour later, all was calm once
more. From time to time, a few enemy balls fell behind us, as
though they were aimed at a wall which did not exist. We all had the
same impression. They were explosive bullets. Several patrols were
sent to search in the neighbourhood. I let half of the men rest. As I
had scarcely any ammunition left, I sent Sergeant-Major Cromphout
to ask Captain Commander Havenith to let me have some cartridges
without fail. I learnt afterwards that the Sergeant-Major never
arrived. What happened to him? Was he killed, or had he only
disappeared? The night passed by without any other event.
October 2nd. At daybreak, the enemy's heavy artillery recommenced
its destructive firing. The Duffel bridge was attacked by shells of 13
centimetres. More than 250 shells fell on the station in less than two
hours and a half. The Wavre-St. Catherine Fort and the Dorpveld
redoubt were covered afresh with projectiles. These were the
preliminaries of an Infantry attack. Towards 6.45, over two hundred
men appeared, marching in close ranks, on the Malines road and,
crossing the fields, went at full speed in the direction of the redoubt.
I at once commanded quick firing. My men aimed well and, at two
hundred yards' distance, whole ranks were mown down. These were
quickly replaced by others, which, in their turn fell under the firing of
our Mausers. Suddenly, the whole band stopped short and a few
men began waving Belgian flags and white flags. We could now
distinguish their uniforms better and we saw that these belonged to
our Line Regiments.
"Stop firing they are our men!" called out the soldiers. Instead of
this, I gave orders to continue firing. The Germans had once more
violated the laws of warfare, by clothing their troops in our uniforms,
stolen from our dépôts. The firing began again more violently now
than before and, of all these troops, only about thirty men reached
the redoubt and at once hid in the ditches. One of them, who was
carrying posters, put these up at the top of the redoubt, the inside
towards the enemy. I could not read signals of this kind. The firing
ceased and, ten minutes later, one of the posters fell and about
twenty Germans then made off in the direction of their lines. A few
seconds later, we heard the mac-mac of their machine-guns placed
above the redoubt. They were turned in our direction and their balls
pierced our loopholes. Sergeant Chaignot, a volunteer, who had his
gun pointed at one of the machine-guns, fell down dead, hit in the
forehead. This brave boy, who was only just seventeen, was the only
son of a widow. A short lull enabled me to have our wounded men
evacuated.
The enemy now only bombarded our positions in the rear. Just when
the German Artillery began to lengthen its firing range, the enemy
Infantry suddenly emerged from somewhere, yelling! "Hoch!" They
rushed towards the Wavre-St. Catherine Fort. I had orders to hold
out to the uttermost, but, as I was turned on my right and had
scarcely any cartridges left, it was evident that I should be
surrounded. To the right, Captain-Commander Havenith, who was
outflanked, was falling back in good order. There was no safety for
me, therefore, on that side. I saw that I should be compelled to beat
a retreat in the direction of the chapel, some five hundred yards
behind our line. Corporal Deron and about ten men remained behind
to continue firing until the last soldier had left the trench.
I have to deplore the loss of many victims. The accursed machine-
guns of the redoubt mowed down about twenty of my men. Many of
them were wounded and, as we could not take them away, they
remained, unfortunately, in the hands of the Germans. When we had
reached the post at the chapel, which was our second line, I gave
orders to occupy the new trench. We had not time to do this, as
about fifty Teutons, whom I had not seen, fired, from their ambush,
at our flank and several of my men fell. We were compelled to
retreat again, leaving our wounded behind. We were pursued as far
as Poupelaerstraat, where, worn out and exhausted, my Company
halted for a short rest.
We were all thankful to have escaped the enemy. If we had stayed
five minutes longer in the trenches, we should all have been
prisoners. I next went in the direction of Elzemtraat, to our
concentration spot, the Duffel bridge. On entering the village, I met
Captain-Commander Havenith. He was glad to see me again after
these terrible days. He congratulated me on having held out valiantly
with my men during the five days of furious bombardment, and on
having fallen back in good order. During the rest that I gave to my
men, I found that seventy-five soldiers were missing at the general
roll-call. They had been killed or wounded, or had disappeared. Two
officers only remained, First Sergeant Coppens and I. We thought
we had earned a few days' rest in the rear, but, as soon as we had
been supplied again with cartridges and provisions, we received
orders to take up our position once more between Wavre-St.
Catherine and Duffel.
We were greeted there by a fresh bombardment. Outflanked on our
right, in the direction of Waelhem, we were obliged to fall back on
Duffel. It took us some time to pass through this village, as it was
being bombarded by shells of big calibre. We soon received orders to
fall back at any cost. We went along quickly, crossed the Duffel
bridge, which was being shelled with absolute frenzy. We rushed
along like a hurricane and drew up beyond the village, without
having lost a single man. We were then ordered to fall back on Linth,
where we arrived in the evening. Commander Havenith had received
the same order. The rest of the regiment was there. I was present
when the chief of the Corps congratulated Sergeant Delobbel on his
fine conduct under fire, and his bravery during the bombardment. At
the risk of his own life, he had saved his Commander (Commander
Van der Minnen), who had been buried in the trench. Another feat of
this sub-officer deserves to be recorded. His Company was just
between the Koningshoyckt Fort and the Borsbeek redoubt. The
gunners of a 75 battery, which supported the trench on the left, had
left their cannons behind. These cannons would be extremely useful
against the German cannons and the Boche Infantry, which was
installed only eight hundred yards away from the position.
Without any hesitation, carried away by his patriotism, Delobbel,
who knew how to handle a cannon, offered himself for putting the
battery into action again. With three men, one of whom was a
wounded gunner, he went to the battery. All the defences were
shattered and there was no longer any earthwork to count on. Under
the direct fire of the Infantry and the big cannons, Sergeant
Delobbel wanted to begin firing at six hundred yards, but
unfortunately the gunners had unfastened the breeches and other
parts before leaving. With the straps of their knapsacks, the brave
fellows improvised what was necessary and very soon their cannons
opened an infernal fire. Unfortunately, exposed to the firing of the
Infantry, two of the improvised gunners were disabled and a
fragment of shrapnel killed the third. Two cannons were thus
useless, but our sub-officer continued alone, and the shells fell fast
on the Boches. Very soon, though, completely exhausted, fired at
fiercely from ambush and his last cannon destroyed, he was obliged
to burrow, and it was impossible for him to return to the trench until
the evening. Needless to describe the welcome he received there!

FOOTNOTES:
[7] In spite of several operations the Captain is still crippled.
 CHAPTER XXI
The Death-Struggle of Lierre Fort
By an Officer of the Garrison
No harvest of impressions will be found in this account, for, although
it might seem that the garrison of a Fort must be crowded together
within the narrow surface occupied by the building, it is in reality
dispersed everywhere: three men here, ten there, in the cupolas, in
the munition stores, at the observation posts. Each man is in his
special department and the contact is much less close than among
the troops in campaign.
When, on account of the destruction of certain parts of the Fort, the
garrison comes gradually nearer together, the moral tension, the lack
of sleep, the irregularity of the alimentation transform the garrison
into a passive troop under an avalanche of blows. The men are still
capable of reaction and of desperate efforts, but the efforts are
silent and, as it were, mechanical. Those who have never lived
through such hours can never know the intensity of the suffering
endured by the defenders of the Fort.

September 27, 1914. The cannon is roaring in the distance and

appears to be coming nearer. We can hear Waelhem and Wavre-St.
Catherine firing quite distinctly. Huge tufts of white smoke rise above
the trees in the distance. The Malines Tower has disappeared
entirely in the smoke.
For the last few days, every man has been at his post. German
troops, probably on patrol, have been signalled to us by our
watchers, at a distance of more than 8500 yards from the Fort. They
are too far away for us to do anything. The attack is imminent.
Our men are resolute and their one wish is to open fire.
The day and night have passed without any incident.
September 28th. The morning has been calm for us. The cannon is
roaring all the time. Our telephonic communications inform us that
Waelhem and Wavre-St. Catherine are being bombarded violently. At
two in the afternoon, our observation posts signal to us the
occupation, by enemy groups, of localities within our radius of
action. The cupolas of fifteen centimetres open fire and will continue
until evening.
The first firing of our cannon was a veritable relief. The nervous
tension, caused by waiting, is over, and the whole Fort is gay and
animated.
At 8 o'clock, bombardment by the Forts of the agglomerations along
the Aerschot road, where we had been informed that the enemy was
quartered.
There has been no reply from the enemy.
The aviation had informed us of the construction of siege batteries
within our defence sector. We could do nothing against them, on
account of the distance.
September 29th. With the exception of our firing yesterday, all has
been calm.
At 7.30 this morning, characteristic whizzing sounds warned us that
shells were passing over the Fort. The explosions took place a long
way off, probably at Lierre. The screen of trees hides the town from
us. By telephone, we heard that shells were falling at the gates of
Louvain. Before long, it was our turn. Shrapnels came first, and their
strident, metallic explosion surprised our men. Presently shells burst
on the masonry of the barracks. Our T.S.F. antenna is cut. This is the
first phase of our isolation. We are replying vigorously to the
enemy's fire.
At 11 o'clock, suspension of the firing. The men brought into the
firing gallery fragments of shells and shrapnels, bullets and fuses.
From one of the fuses, we found that the measurement of the
Germans is at 5200 yards, which is the average of our own
measurement on the batteries indicated.
At 2 o'clock, the firing on both sides began again. We received
projectiles of 13 centimetres by 5, one of which had fused and came
rolling in front of our office. The town of Lierre was still being
bombarded and we were informed that the civil hospital had been
struck and that eight persons had been killed.
At 5 o'clock, suspension of the firing. At 7.30, renewal which did not
last long and was not very efficacious.
With all this the Fort has not suffered much. There are a number of
holes, chiefly in the barracks masonry, above which simili-cupolas
had been installed. A cupola of fifteen centimetres had been grazed
and a few window-panes broken. All is well and the spirits of the
men excellent. They, are getting bolder and bolder and we are
compelled to stop them moving about in the open.
Sixty-four shells have struck the Fort. We learned, by telephone, in
the evening, that Wavre-St. Catherine Fort, shattered by formidable
shells, had been evacuated. We have heard nothing about the
Waelhem Fort. It has no doubt met with the same fate. This sad
news was only announced to the officers.
At 11.30, an observer warned us of the approach of a column by the
Aerschot road. We accordingly fired on this road and the land around
until about 1.30.
September 30th. At 3.40, a grouping of enemy troops was
announced to us beyond the village of Koningshoyckt. At the same
time the Fort of that name and the Tallaert redoubt, which were
both being attacked, appealed for support to the Lierre Fort. Acting
on information from them, and with the aid of their interval
observatories, we opened fire which continued until 6 o'clock. There
was no sleep for any one at night, and this will not be the last night
of the kind. From henceforth there will be no more rest for us.
At 8 o'clock, the bombardment recommenced, not only on the Lierre
Fort but also on the interval constructions and on the forts and
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