German General Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) took the initiative on August 6 and opened the way to the city of Liège. We’ll be seeing a lot of Ludendorff over the next four years.
August 6 1914, Liège–Finding that the commanding general of the 14th Brigade had been killed by Belgian fire, Major General Erich Ludendorff (chief of staff of the Second Army) assumed command in the wee hours of the morning. He ordered the shelling of the nearby village of Queue-de-Bois, which his troops took after some intense house-to-house fighting. He was aided in this by the fact that the nearby Belgian Fort Fleron did not fire on his advancing troops.
With the capture of Queue-de-Bois, Ludendorff found himself well in advance of the rest of the German forces (with whom he would be out of contact for a short while) and with an almost unhindered route to the city of Liège and its intact bridges across the Meuse. Ludendorff sent an emissary to ask for the surrender of Liège from Belgian General Leman, which was refused. He then sent a small detachment of troops in automobiles, disguised to look like British soldiers, to capture General Leman. While this effort failed, it spooked Leman enough to leave the city itself for the forts in its western suburbs, and to withdraw some troops from the defense of Liège.
Also during the day, the Zeppelin LZ-21 was sent to bomb Liège into submission. Dropping thirteen artillery shells on the city, it accomplished no military objectives but killed nine civilians. She was badly damaged during the attack and was scrapped upon her return to Germany.
Sources: John Keegan, The First World War; Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August
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