A Better Rifle at Halloween

Francs-Tireur
27th August 1914, Aarschot.

The reprisals had begun almost immediately on the death of the brigade commander Colonel Jenrich, he had replaced Colonel Stenger who had died in the siege of Liege. He had been shot on the balcony of the Mayor’s house by Belgian Francs-Tireurs. Many houses had been burnt, civilians of all ages shot or bayoneted.
The mayor, his son aged 15 and his brother had been shot along with other hostages, the total death toll in the town stood at 350. The son of the mayor was accused of shooting at the Germans from the cellar of the house, he was not the only child to be shot that day.
The Brigade had come through the assault on Liege with significant casualties, they had lost the original commander and over 300 men killed with a further 850 wounded. This was a significant fraction of the brigade’s strength, they had had that made up with men from the reserves transferred in, but the heavy Belgian resistance had frustrated the brigade, Their training was drawn from the experience of the Prussian Army in the Franco Prussian war, which stressed the harm done by civilian resistance and standing orders allowed for reprisals, hostage taking and shooting Franc-Tireurs out of hand. The men who had been shot had been gathered in the square and shot in batches, their bodies left as a warning. The village priest, deacon and two sub-deacons had joined the hostages in exchange for other men.
The escalating resistance was proving problematic, the Belgian Army was largely withdrawn from the fray, retiring back on Namur and Antwerp, but Belgian Cavalry and Garde Civique units were still contesting the German advance. Worse and in an unplanned and unsanctioned manner it seems that many Belgian patriots had been emboldened by the defence of Liege, unofficially they had joined the fighting, seldom taking on the advancing infantry units but taking every chance to strike a blow against the supporting units. The German commanders from Army down knew that they had to engage with the main enemy France, before they got completely bogged down.
The damage caused by the destruction of Liege was severely delaying railway transport, already over 10,000 men had been impressed to repair the tracks, bridges and other infrastructure, temporary lines were being planned to bypass the damaged sections, but it was not known how long that would take. Spare rail track was being sourced from all over the German Empire, the foundries and rolling mills were working as quickly as they could to produce more. But the real damage was the loss of the specialised parts of the railway network such as the turntables those items could not be fabricated quickly and the Belgians had ensured their total destruction prior to the fall of the city.
 
Ah, Yes, the official counter-Insurgency doctrine of the Imperial German Army, actually officially titled in its English translation "Frightfulness".
 
Ah, Yes, the official counter-Insurgency doctrine of the Imperial German Army, actually officially titled in its English translation "Frightfulness".

That was a real name for it? That's...horrific! Also excellent update, and if these massed shootings news gets out its only going to turn folks more against the Germans, and would make for very very good propaganda overseas.
 
Are Belgian children having their hands amputated? Are nuns being burned? Are priests being executed? The propaganda value of what the Germans supposedly done has yet to hit the newspapers...
 
Are Belgian children having their hands amputated? Are nuns being burned? Are priests being executed? The propaganda value of what the Germans supposedly done has yet to hit the newspapers...
Are you justifying the Germans actions in Belgium during WWI by comparing them to the horrors of the Congo Free State? Two wrongs do not make a right.
 
IRL, the Germans claimed they had been fired upon by franc-tiruers in Leuven/Louvain ( claim is disputed, partly because if true, German response was remarkably swift, within minutes of said incident). Apart from those they shot, they also deliberately burnt part of the University Library containing books dating back 600 years or more. Interestingly, the Germans claimed they developed it based on lessons from the US Civil War, specifically Sherman’s March to the Sea.
 
Are you justifying the Germans actions in Belgium during WWI by comparing them to the horrors of the Congo Free State? Two wrongs do not make a right.
No, no. There were claims that the Germans amputated the hands of Belgian Children, burnt Belgian nuns, shot Belgian Priests, etc. in 1914.
 
IOTL a quarter of a million Belgian refugees made their way to Britain and told their stories in the cities, towns and villages where they were housed. Not to mention the many who got to France and the Netherlands. ITTL many more will be able to flee perhaps with the delays in this timeline.
 
IOTL a quarter of a million Belgian refugees made their way to Britain and told their stories in the cities, towns and villages where they were housed. Not to mention the many who got to France and the Netherlands. ITTL many more will be able to flee perhaps with the delays in this timeline.
That is of course how Hercule Poirot ended up in England. 😂
 
No not yet, the British haven’t seen any action yet, the delays due to liege are still impacting on the germans, but don’t worry they will be soon
 
Advance of the 5th Army
28th August 1914, Namur.

The morale of the Belgian troops defending Namur was excellent, they had seen glorious stand of Liege. The time those men had purchased with their lives was being put to good use, the defences had been significantly upgraded with more barbed wire, more sandbags and deeper trenches.

The rumours of what had happened in Aarschot had reached Namur that morning, adding to the rumours that civilians found under arms in Liege had also been shot. To better prepare the city for siege and in light of suffering of the civilians, and with the additional time made available by the siege of Liege. The evacuation of the city had been largely carried out, some civilians had remained but they were mainly men impressed for labour and those associated with the hospitals.

The King had broadcast a strident warning to the Germans that any German soldier found to have executed Belgian Civilians would be tried if captured and shot if found guilty. This was seen by many as a sign of truth of the stories of German atrocities for the Belgian state had effectively abolished the death penalty years prior with the last execution taking place in 1863.

General Lanzerac at the head of his 5th Army had arrived in Namur two days ago, his initial unwillingness to advance into Belgium had been overcome by the dogged defence of Liege and the blunt warning from Joffre that if he did not he would join General Louis Bonneau. In response he had deployed the I Corps to Dinant, the 2nd infantry division moving to hold Dinant with its critical crossing over the Meuse. At the same time X Corps was moved up to Namur with the 20thinfantry division moving into the Defences to directly support them. Aware of the risk of a gap opening between the I and X Corps, Lanzerac had gained the 3rd Cavalry division from the Cavalry Corps, it was to ensure that there would be no gap. With I and X holding Dinant and Namur the rest of the 5th army was moved up to hold the line from Namur to Charleroi. Sordets Cavalry Corps was holding the gap between the BEF and Charleroi, with the BEF holding the Mons-Condee Canal either side of Mons.
 
So many butterflies....... It's true that OTL the battle of the Marne saved the Entente, but Belgium was lost as well as the industrial heart of France.
A frontline in Belgium might save France from occupation, leading to an even greater industrial production, reducing the shortages suffered by the French Army in the period 1914-1916.
 
So many butterflies....... It's true that OTL the battle of the Marne saved the Entente, but Belgium was lost as well as the industrial heart of France.
A frontline in Belgium might save France from occupation, leading to an even greater industrial production, reducing the shortages suffered by the French Army in the period 1914-1916.
It’s a bigger pod than that as without French soil under German control any potential overtures for peace talks won’t be instantly dismissed with Germany not holding so many cards.
 
I'm really enjoying Diesal's story and can't wait to see what effect the FH Rifles have on the early war period. Although i'm apprehensive about how the Teritorial Divisons fair ITTL. OTL these forces where not ready for was and required months of intensive training to bring them up to something approaching usefulness in an established defensive line. Even then the Terriers where considered with deep suspicion by senior officers in the BEF. Here they are deploying with the Pre War Regulars and there will be a very real and apparent gulf in quality between them and the Old Contemptibles. This was less apparent in 1915 OTL partly due to there beings so few regulars left!
 
Possibly... But they are potentially deploying into a far stronger defensive position than OTL, where superior volume of fire will make a big difference.
 
In 1914 the regulars hold the territorials in contempt so won't want to trust them with anything more than carrying food and ammunition to the "real soldiers" and shinning their boots.
 
It’s a bigger pod than that as without French soil under German control any potential overtures for peace talks won’t be instantly dismissed with Germany not holding so many cards.
More so than just that.

OTL, British and French forces had to keep pressing the offensive for political reasons, the need to liberate land, especially such industrially important land.
TTL, British and French forces are going to have a lot less political pressure for offensives while the Germans have a lot more.

While peace is an option, there's a very real chance that the German's end up the ones throwing a generation into the British and French lines.

And also a chance that they both do, creating a bloodier war and a stalemate that might actually end in an earlier armistice since neither side has any real advantage at the peace table.
 
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