Show GERMAN TROOPS OCCUPY ANTWERP CHIEF CITY OF BELGIUM NOW IN HANDS OF FOL LOWING bombardment buildings crushed to pieces on every hand by siege guns and panic stricken of citizens t eizens are driven from their homes london tho the germans are now in complete occupation of oc antwerp belgium the actual surrender took place at friday afternoon the bombardment reached its height between 7 and 8 friday morning at 9 the white hag flag ot of capitulation was raised where the war flag had been flaunted from the tower of the cathedral and the big siege guns ceased their destructive fire almost immediately burgomaster de vos accompanied by alderman louis loui a franck met general yon von s Ve seler commanding the besiegers at the berschek Ber schem gate and the city was surrendered unconditionally at the germans marched in through the a suburb of berschek Ber schem the bombardment of antwerp opened with dramatic suddenness midnight had bad just struck when th tho first shell boomed into the town tho dark empty streets suddenly became alive with people the ories cries of children mingling with the shrill and terrible screams of women there was waa a lull after the explosion of the first shell but a quarter of an hour later the ho booming ot at the big guns guna begal on a tremendous aca each shot was followed by a weird long drawn out din d in of 0 the flying projectiles jec tiles then came the final explosion which was the most fearsome of all numerous alres broke out and the space around them was vividly illuminated intensifying the inky darkness in other spots buildings were crushed to pieces on every liand hand cripples and invalids were carried or hobbled as best they might to places of comparative safety amid a procession of thousands of weeping women and children some pushed barrows laden with whatever they had fiad been ablo able to get together most however were fleeing merely with tile the clothes they wore arid and many were only half dressed all day long the people tramped out and the sun poured down but so great was the dust that the army of fugitives were hardly visible when night foll fell they had not reached the dutch frontier and behind them through the darkness their burning homes cast a glare like some great iron works while overhead the bursting shells continued continue to spread thousands of shooting stars |