The tramp of many thousands cast into the atmosphere clouds of
fine dust, but even those in rear marched through it as if their
lungs were made of steel. No permission was granted to open out
for the circulation of air, though it was the month of August. It
is safe to assert there was not a single straggler in Von Bülow's
army. At the first sign of it he was admonished with a vigor to
deter his comrades. Discipline was severely maintained. At every
halt the click of heels, and rattle of arms in salute went on down
the line with the sharp delivery of orders.

On Wednesday, August 12, 1914, the town of Huy, situated midway
between Liege and Namur, was seized. It possessed an old citadel,
but it was disarmed, and used now only as a storehouse. Some Belgian
detachments offered a slight resistance at the bridge, but were
speedily driven off. The capture of Huy gave the Germans control
of the railway from Aix-la-Chapelle to France, though broken at
Liege by the still standing northern forts. But they secured a
branch line of more immediate service, running from Huy into Central
Belgium.

On August 15, 1914, Von Bülow's vanguard came within sight of Namur.
Before evening German guns were hurling shells upon its forts. Began
then the siege of Namur. Namur, being the second fortress hope
of the Allies--the pivot upon which General Joffre had planned to
swing his army into Belgium in a sweeping attack upon the advancing
Germans--a brief survey of the city and fortifications will be
necessary. The situation of the city is not as imposing as that
of Liege. For the most part it sits on a hillside declivity, to
rest in the angle formed by the junction of the Sambre and Meuse.
It is a place of some historic and industrial importance, though