| «Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser; Europe took the stick and made him sore!» |

~~~ ~~~

Ponedelynik, 6 oktyabrya 1914 goda.

Proshlo pyat dney s tex por, kak nemetskie sapogi sovershili pervuyu ataku Antverpena posle dney tyazhelykh bombardirovok, prizvannykh smyagchitx belgiytsev, kotorye tak dolgo sovershali vylazki i pytalisx prorvatx osadu, no vot nakonets nemtsy nachinayut nastupatx.

~~~

Rita Heylen, rodivshaysya v sredu 15 aprelya 1892 goda, uzhe na poroge proizvodstva v serzhanty v vozraste 22 let, polyzuetsya lyubovyu kak soldat, tak i ofitser. V casti 2-go grenaderskogo polka, 18-y smeshannoy brigady, 6-y divizii Belgiyskoy armii, Rita — obraztsovyy soldat v nedoukomplektovannoy armii.

Rita rodom iz bednoy flamandskoy semi v Levene, gde ona i ee bratyya i sestry zhili v nishchete. Mat byla fabrichnoy rabotnitsey, a otets — podsobnym myasnika.

Kogda ona dostigla sovershennoletiya, to reshila oblegchitx semeynyy gruz po prokormleniyu vsex i vstupila v armiyu, i imenno tam ona blistaet blagodarya leni ostalxnykh soldat v prodvizhenii po sluzhbe. Rita byla spokoynoy i sobrannoy na protyazhenii vsego obucheniya i poluchila rekomendatsiyu vstupitx v grenadery, na chto Αntwerpen s radostlyu soglasilasx.

Obosnovavshis v 2-m grenaderskom polku, Rita nachala privykatx k zhalovanlyu i mushtre, no ne do togo, chtoby rasslabitxsya. A v 1912 godu ona dazhe byla proizvedena v kapraly.

No po mere rosta napryazheniya i togo, kak poroxovaya bochka Evropy nachala tletx, Belgiya naxodilasx na polputi voennoy reformy: armiya stanovilasx vse bolee professionalxnoy v ofitserskom korpuse, cenoy togo, chto ofitserov ne xvatalo.

Kogda voyna prishla v Belgiyu v sredu 5 avgusta 1914 goda posle togo, kak Belgiya otkazalasx propustitx nemetskie voyska cherez svoyu territoriyu, Rita stoyala v Monse. Belgiyskie sily — xoty i sobrannye i mobilizovannye — byli ploxo obucheny i ploxo snabzheny; ukrepleniya, ranee vozvedennye na granitse s Germaniey, byli priznany slishkom uyazvimymi i chastichno zabrosheny iz-za otsutstviya chetkoy strategii. Poskolxku Germaniya smetala belgiyskie sily bez vsyakogo priznaka ostanovki, a anglo-frantsuzskaya armiya ne imela gotovoy podderzhki, Belgiya otvela bolxhuyu chastx svoix sil k ukreplennomu Antverpenu, chtoby uderzhatxsya tam.

I vot uzhe pyatnadtsatx dney, kak belgiyskaya armiya zaderzhivaetsya v Antverpene; nesmotrya na tri vylazki, predprinyatye, chtoby prorvatx osadu i pomoch britanskim i frantsuzskim voyskam prorvatxsya k nim, belgiyskaya armiya, kazhetsya, ne v silax. Rita i 2-y grenaderskiy polk okazyvayutsya rasquartirovannymi v forte Broechem, no dazhe fort kazhetsya bespoleznym, kogda protivostoit nemetskoy artillerii...

~~~

Resurs/xudozhnik izobrazheniya: anyan (jooho)

Primechanie avtora: Ty ne predstavlyaeshx, naskolxko skudna informatsiya o Belgii 😭 (vse, chto ya sdelal, — proveril na viki) No Pravda, zdes ya xotel poprobovat sdelat chto-to bolee podlinnym, chem istoricheski tochnym dlya obstanovki nachala Pervoy mirovoy, i ya QE znayu, poluchilos li u menya zdes lol. Daty vyglyadyat stranno, potomu chto ya xotel ispolzovat belgiyskiy format daty, no ya pocti uveren, chto naputal.

... Kak by to ni bylo! Mne nuzhno otmetitx moego edinstvennogo podpischika 🗣️🔥🔥🔥! Pozhaluysta, kommentiruyte bolxhe!!

(Bozhe, kak zhe ya odinok)