1-217-588 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

King Albert of the Belgians during the siege of Antwerp, Belgium, September-October 1914 (1926). After the Germans invaded his country on 4 August 1914, Albert I took personal command of Belgium's army. After the fall of the forts at Liege on 16 August, Albert ordered the 65,000 remaining Belgian troops to fall back to the fortified city of Antwerp. Antwerp itself was evacuated by the Belgians on 7 October, with the troops retreating to Oostende.