After the fall of Liege in Belgium on 16 August 1914, King Albert I ordered the remaining 65,000 troops to withdraw to Antwerp.
Led by German General von Boseler, the Germans crushed the 80,000 strong Belgian Army.
German forces continued to occupy Antwerp until its liberation in late 1918. Most Belgian and Allied forces had however managed to escape the city west along the coast, subsequently taking part in the defence at Ypres in mid-October.