1914_0825_01s: The Rage of Dreaming Sheep (1st Sortie) - FWWC 01 France '14

Antwerp, Belgium, 25th August 1914: At the start of hostilities in 1914, a German staff officer remarked that the Belgian's were nothing more than "dreaming sheep" in response to their refusal of German passage through their country and their decision to take up arms. Truly, these "dreaming sheep" had fled from the Gette before the awesome might of the German army and took refuge in the fortified city of Antwerp to avoid committing to a major battle. Save Belgium's defiant stand at Liège and Namur, it appeared that they were living up to this name. Shortly after the Belgian retreat, the German III and IX.Reservekorps were detached from 1.Armee to contain the Belgians and keep them bottled up in Antwerp. Following a full days recon on the 24th of August, the Belgian Army made the first bold sortie out of Antwerp with the intent of assisting British and French troops who were fighting at Charleroi and Mons by drawing off German attention and, on a grander scale, by disrupting the German lines of communications passing through Louvain and Bruxelles. Although the sortie would eventually be contained, it was yet another example of how Belgian rage proved, and would continue to be, both problematic and obstinate. [Size: medium] *See the notes document for information on scenario design decisions and historical notes.