")
As the rest of the Commanding General's staff, with the horses, was
going to follow, and collected on the market place, suddenly rifle fire
opened from all the surrounding houses, all the horses being killed and
five officers wounded, one of them seriously.
Simultaneously fire opened at about ten different places in town, also
on some of our troops, just arrived and waiting on the square in front
of the station, and on incoming military trains. A designed co-operation
with the Belgian sortie from Antwerp established beyond doubt. Two
priests caught in handing out ammunition to the people were shot at once
in front of the station.
Street fights lasted till Wednesday, the 26th, in the afternoon,
(twenty-four hours,) when stronger forces, arrived in the meantime,
succeeded in getting the upper hand. Town and northern suburbs were
burning at different places and by this time have probably burned down
altogether.
On the part of the Belgian Government a general rising of the population
against the enemy had been organized for a long time; depots of arms
were found where to each gun was attached the name of the citizen to be
armed.
A spontaneous rising of the people has been recognized, at the request
of the smaller States at The Hague Conference, as being within the law
of nations as far as weapons are carried openly and the laws of
civilized warfare are being observed; but such rising was only admitted
in order to fight the attacking.
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