Theophile Demuyser : Soldier of the Great War 1914-1918

Theophile Demuyser : Soldier 10th line 1911 - 1918 (Klik hier voor Nederlands)

With this page, I try to describe my great-grandfather's time as a soldier during the great war.

The information gathered comes from his file kept by the military archive of the Belgian army and research on the internet. More accurate information is on it's way, after a visit to the army museum in Brussels.

Born May the 15th in 1891 at Opvelp

At the age of 20, on April the 27th 1911, called for military duty and enlisted in the 4th army division, 10th line. Until August the 4th he was stationed in Leuven.

Timeline

4th of August 1914

Enlisted in the 4th army division, 10th line, 1st batalion, 2nd company (I/2) and send to Namur to defend the forts of Namur.

Rue de Bruxelles: Waiting to go out to the defense post
Thanks to Christian Philippart (http://ceuxde14-18.skynetblogs.be)

20 August 1014
After Liege was fallen on Agust the 16th, the German 2nd and 3th army, led by von

Bülow, put their aim at Namur. In theory the conquer of Namur should be easier than Liege. Ammunition was low and occupation at a minimum. At it's best, Namur was defended by 37.000 soldiers, against an upcoming 107.000 Germans.
Even so, the Namur garrison, that was part of the 4th Admy Division of the Belgian Army, led by Michel, was determinant to hold stand until support arrived from the French 5th army, stationed at the south-west of the river Sambre.

Following after a day of feint attacks on fort de Marchovelette at august the 20, v. Bülows and his 2nd army started to bomb the fort on august the 21nd. To keep the French from the forts, the headforce of the 2nd army attacked the French near Charleroi. This strategy was successful as only one regiment of the 5th army, the 45th brigade, was send to support Namur.

The Germans decided to repeat their success at Liege and bombed the fortresses with the 42cm houwitser "Dikke Berta". 2 Days later, Namur was about to fall.

Aug 24 - Sept 03 1914

During the night of 23 to 24 August, the 10th line gets the order to retreat the Namur sectors. The first rendez-vous point for the regiment is the little village Malonne.

Next it's direction Bioul where they arrive around 7 in the morning (aug 24) and halt for a short rest.
Mariembourg is reached the next night, to continue to Couvin, Baileux and Eteignières in the French Ardennes, where they setup camp.

At Cul-des-Sart, between Baileux and Eteignières the soldiers will receive for the first time since the departure of Namur, a reserve reation. 1 package for 2. At this point the regiment covered about 114km on foot.

From Liart on August the 26th 1914, the regiment goes by train to Rouen, where it arrives 2 days later. The 10th and 30th line are united again to one regiment: the 10 line.
From Rouen they move to Le Haver to ship aboard on September the 1st, to arrive the 3th in Ostend or Zeebrugge. The same night, 3 to 4 September, the unit is transported by train to Hamme (East-Flanders).

The Journey:

Namur - Rouen - Le Havre - Oostende - Hamme
Namur - Rouen - Le Havre - Oostende - Hamme

Picture taken after the recapture of Dendermonde

At the front near Keyem where he lost his arm due to a shrapnel

More soon...