In the course of last Saturday news reached England of
the German occupation of Antwerp, but it was not until Monday that the full story was published, together with the news that in the last few days of the town's defence British reinforcements had been sent to the assistance of the Belgian garrison. The troops selected for this purpose were the Royal Naval Division, which, it will be remembered, was formed last month, and consists of two Naval Brigades and one Marine Brigade, in all some eight thousand men. The first of the British reinforce- ments—namely, the Marine Brigade—reached Antwerp late on the evening of Saturday, October 3rd, and proceeded at once to relieve the Belgian troops defending the line of the river Nethe, to the south-east of the town. It proved impossible, however, owing to the numerical inferiority of our forces, and owing to the lack of heavy guns, to hold the line indefinitely; and before the remainder of the British troops could come up and give effective assistance the Germans succeeded, after several desperate attempts, in forcing the river in the early hours of Tuesday morning (October Gth).
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