23 August 1914, ostensibly a day like any other in the war, but that is not the case. Nearly 500 Belgian soldiers die on this fateful day. In Namur, the Germans attack the fortress after heavy shelling. The Belgians defend themselves to the hilt, but it is a hopeless cause. The forts are reduced to rubble and the positions become untenable.
Many perish in this forgotten battle.
After the war, the Belgians build a cemetery for them in Champion. On the top of the hill 518 Belgian 518 fallen soldiers lie forever in the ground they oncedefended.
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Attention: the War Dead Register only lists Belgian fallen soldiers.
The War Dead Register provides basic personal information (name, first name, date and place of birth, etc.) and does not contain military files (giving a complete overview of the military career). According to date of birth the files are kept either by the Royal Military Museum or by the Defence archives service. The files safeguarded at the Military Museum can be consulted on site (Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels). The files kept up till now by Defence are currently transferred to the General State Archives.
The date on which they will be once again available has not yet been determined.
Archives of the Royal Military Museum
Documentation Centre
Parc du Cinquantenaire 3
1000 Brussels
E-mail : cdoc.klm-mra@warheritage.be
Website: www.warheritage.be