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In the early autumn of 1914, as the unforgiving storm of the Great War swept across Belgium, the ancient and proud city of Antwerp found itself under the crushing weight of a modern siege. What had begun as a symbol of resistance to the German advance quickly disintegrated into a maelstrom of fear, confusion, and human desperation. Civilians flooded the city’s streets carrying what little they could salvage, animals and possessions alike jostling against a tide of refugees seeking safety beyond the looming battle lines. The beleaguered population, already wearied by weeks of bombardment and deprivation, became part of a vast, disorderly exodus as the message went out for all inhabitants to abandon Antwerp “without delay.”
Amid this turmoil, the Royal Naval Division – hastily recruited, poorly equipped, and barely trained – fought a bitter rearguard action on behalf of Belgium’s defenders. From their first march into the outer works of the city they were thrust into fighting far beyond anything their preparation had foreseen. For days they contested the German advance, holding fragmented trenches and improvised defences as the Belgian field army dissolved and the civilian flight became a flood. By the evening of 8th October the city’s fall was inevitable. Orders to withdraw came late, and confusion in the relaying of commands, clogged roads choked with refugees, and the burden of heavy kit exacted a violent toll on cohesion and morale. Many units straggled, some reached Zwyndrecht only to be pushed on toward St. Gillaes-Waes under the shadow of the pursuing enemy, while others, cut off and overtaken by the German advance, spilled over into neutral Holland where they would remain interned for the duration of the war. |
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| The retreat from Antwerp and its chaotic aftermath – including the loss of so many men – cast a long shadow over the Division’s reputation. Back in England, questions swirled about command decisions made in the smoke, dust, and panic of that October. These questions ultimately led, after the armistice, to the convening of a Court of Inquiry at Chatham in February 1919, presided over by Rear Admiral the Honourable Victor A. Stanley, C.B., M.V.O. as President, Brigadier General C. McN. Parsons, C.B., R.M., and Captain H.L.P. Heard, D.S.O., R.M. This court would hear testimony from those who survived Antwerp’s chaos, examine the decisions taken in extremis, and set the stage for a detailed record of the events that had forever marked both the city and the men of the Royal Naval Division. | ||||
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| Evidence presented is based on the document “1st R.N. Brigade R.N.D. – Internment in Holland – Court of Enquiry” ref. ADM 116/1814, held within The National Archives. These summaries do not reproduce the evidence verbatim, but seek to draw out what each witness said happened, where accounts agree or diverge, and how their individual positions and experiences shaped their view of events. | ||||
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