In flight before the German host, refugees of all classes were streaming into Brussels—­young and old, rich and poor, priest and layman.  Nearly all bore some burden of household treasure, many some pathetically absurd family heirloom.  Every kind of vehicle appeared to have been called into use, from smart carriages drawn by heavy Flemish horses to little carts harnessed to dogs.  Over all reigned a stupefied silence, broken only by shuffling footfalls.  Among them the absence of automobiles and light horses would indicate all such had been commandeered by the Belgian military authorities.  Their cavalry was badly in need of good light-weight mounts.  At crossroads passage to imagined safety was blocked by farm live stock driven by bewildered peasants.

On Thursday morning, August 20, 1914, the burgomaster motored forth to meet the Germans.  His reception and the terms dictated by General von Arnim were almost identically the same as at Louvain.  The burgomaster was perforce compelled to accept.  The scene of the entry of the German troops into Louvain was repeated at Brussels.  There was the same stolidly silent-packed gathering of onlookers on the sidewalks, the same thundering triumphant march of the German host.  Corps after corps, probably of those who had fought at Liege, and subsequently passed around the city on the grand sweep toward the French frontier.  Moreover, huge bodies of German troops were advancing up the valley of the Meuse and through the woods of the Ardennes.  As in Louvain, that night the hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops of Brussels were patronized by a rush of trade which never before totaled such extent in a single day.  Bills of purchase were settled by the Germans in cash.  The city was promptly assessed a war indemnity of $40,000,000.

With the fall of Brussels, the first objective of the Germans may be said to have been gained.  But the right wing of Von Kluck’s army was still operating northward upon Antwerp.  The Belgian army had escaped him within the circle of Antwerp’s forts, so that he detailed a force deemed to be sufficient to hold the enemy secure.  Then he struck eastward between Antwerp and Brussels at Alost, Ghent, and Bruges.  In his advance he swept several divisions of cavalry, also motor cars bearing machine guns.  Beyond Bruges his patrol caught their first glimpse of the North Sea, drawing in toward another much-hoped-for goal on the English Channel.

But the Belgian army within security of Antwerp had not been routed.  It had retreated in good order, thanks to the resistance of its right-wing rear guard.  General de Moranville promptly reenforced it with new volunteers to the extent of some 125,000 men.  In addition, he drew upon a fresh supply of ammunition, and new artillery well horsed.  His cavalry, however, were certainly no better and probably worse than that with which his army had been complemented originally.