... We
had only a weak force at Liege four days ago, for it is not
possible to prepare for such a bold undertaking by collecting large
masses of men. That we attained the desired end in spite of this is
due to the excellent preparation, the valor of our troops, their
energetic leadership, and the help of God. The courage of the enemy
was broken, and his troops fought badly. The difficulties against
us lay in the exceedingly unfavorable topography of the
surroundings, which consisted of hills and woods, and in the
treacherous participation of the entire population in the fighting,
not even excluding women. The people fired upon our troops from
ambush, from villages and forests--fired upon our physicians who
were treating the wounded, and upon the wounded themselves. Hard
and bitter fighting occurred; whole villages had to be destroyed in
order to break the resistance, before our brave troops penetrated
the girdle of forts and took possession of the city. It is true
that a part of the forts still held out, but they no longer fired.
The Kaiser did not want to waste a drop of blood in storming the
forts, which no longer hindered the carrying out of our plans.
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