LAND AND WATER 
Anmist 29, 1914 
Scheldt. It is one of the chief European ports, over sixty 
fhippiug lines having their headquarters here, and the quay 
jiocominodation extends nearly three miles along the bank of the 
river. Tho total population is about 400,000. Antwerp is 
KurrounJed by a ring of forls of modem design, the strongest 
line being that toward the east and soutli, where eight forts, 
placed at regiilar inter^-als, less than a mile distant from each 
ether, defend the citv. In addition to the regular ring of defences, 
the forts de ^Vavrc "and de Waelhem, in the south-east, and Fort 
de Schooten, in the north-cast, fonn outpost defences. On tlic 
west forts St. Marie, St. Philippe, de Zwyndrecht, and do 
Cruybekc, defend the approaches to the Scheldt, which has to 
be crossed before the city can be reached from this direction. 
CharUroi.— A town of nearly 28,000 inhabitants, and 
the centre of the iron industry of southern Belgium. It was 
fortified up to 18G8, when its fortifications were converted into 
])romenades. It is situated on the main line from Mons to 
Xamur, about half-way between the two towns, and is about 
lifty miles directly south of Brussels, and roughly twenty-five 
iiiilcs from the French frontier. 
Elbe. — One of the most important rivers of central 
Europe which, after leaving the Bohemian-Saxon frontier, turns 
north-west, passing through Dresden to the North German plain, 
flowing by way of Torgau, Magdeburg, and Hamburg, beyond 
which it divides into the north or Hamburg Elbe, and the south 
or Ilarburg Elbe, surrounding the island of Wilhelmsburg and 
several smaller islets. Beyond the islands the two rivers join 
again at Blankenese, forming a stream of four to nine miles in 
width to Cuxhaven, where the river empties into the North Sea. 
From Hamburg to the sea the bed of the river has been dredged 
to a depth which will admit vessels of 26 feet draught, and the 
totul navigable length from the mouth is 525 miles. Between 
Cuxl-.avcn and Freiburg the Kiel Canal has its western outlet 
to the Elbe at Brunsbiittel. From Freiburg outward to tlie sea 
the banks of the river arc strongly fortified, and the defences, 
together with the fortifications on the island of Heligoland, off 
the mouth of the river, render the river and canal practically 
impregnable to attack from the sea. 
Galicia. — An Austrian territory with a population of 
about 7. J millions, of whom the great majority are Poles and 
Rutheniaus. It is virtually a self-governing province of the 
Austrian Empire, and, occupying the northern part of Austrian 
territory, borders on Russian Poland and Russia itself, tho 
frontier being defined for a great distance in the west of the 
province by the river Vistula and tlie Sanna or San. The chief 
towns of Galicia are Lemberg, Tarnow, .Jaroslaw, Tarnopol, 
Brody, and Sanok, while the cliief town of Western Galicia is 
Cracow, an important railway centre near the Russian and 
German frontiei-s. Railways cross the Russian frontier from 
Brody to Dubno in the east, and from Cracow to Czenstochowa 
and Kielce in the west of the province. 
Heligoland. — Belonging to the Frisian group of islands, 
and situated 28 miles north-west from the mouth of the 
Elbe, Heligoland was ceded to Germany by Great Britain in 
18D0, and has since been made one of the principal defences 
of the Elbe mouth and the western exit from the Kiel Canal. 
It forms one of the strategic bases of the German fleet, and 
possesses a harbour, the Duneninsel, in which the largest vessels 
can coal in safety. The population of the island is, in normal 
times about 2,500, and it ranks as a fashionable North German 
watermg place. The island is little over a mile in length, but 
in its area are to be found some of the strongest and best equipped 
forts m existence. It is reckoned as part of the province of 
Schleswig-IIolstein — at present. 
Insterburg.— An important town about fifty-five miles 
cast of Koenigsburg, in East Prussia. From Insterburg five 
radways branch to Koenigsburg, Memel, Thorn, and Ljck in 
Germany, and Kovno in 'Western Russia. It is the chief town of 
a circle in the government district of Gumbinnen, and is situated 
at the point where the Inster and Angerap rivers join to foim the 
Pregcl. It 13 an active agricultural and manufacturing town, 
with a population of about 20,fX)0, including a garrison, in normal 
times, of about 3,000. 
Lille.— A town and important railway centre of northern 
1- ranee, about 155 miles north of Paris by rail, and about ten 
miles from the Belgian frontier. It is the capital of the depart- 
ment of ^ord, and is situated on the low plain of the River 
Doule, a tributary of the Scheldt. Canals afford communica- 
tion both with Pans and Belgium, and railways extend from 
J.iUe to Calais, Ghent, Brussels, and Paris, while tlie town is 
also an important point on the railway which follows the 
northern frontier from Dunkirk to Longuyon. It is one of the 
most important manufacturing towns on the northern frontier; 
Its population IS upwards of 200,000, mainly devoted to flax- 
Fpiimmg and kinured industries, while it is also the site of a 
blale tobacco factory. 
Luncvillc.— Chief town of an arrondisscment in 
the department of Mcuithe ct Moselle, seventeen miles south- 
east of Nancy, and 240 miles cast of Paris on the Paris-Strasbourg 
line of railway, and also on the Epinal-Nancy line. In times of 
peace it is one of the most important French cavalry stations, 
and is fortified, being an outpost point of the Nancy-Belfort 
line of frontier defences, and about ten nules distant from tho 
Gorman frontier. The district round about is mainly agri- 
cultural, but the town itself is a centre for several manufacturing 
industries. Its population is about 25,000. 
Mechlin. — Also " Malincp," of which the more popular 
name is a corruption. A Belgian city on the River Dylc, and 
an important railway junction about midway between Antwerp 
and Brussels, with lines extending in practically every direction, 
as well as a number of main roads connecting with ail the important 
points of north-western Belgium. It contains extensive raihvay 
workshops connected with the Belgian State railways, and has a 
population of about G0,000. 
Mons.— Situated about forty miles west of Namur, and 
about 140 miles from Paris. It is the centre of the chief coal- 
mining district of Belgium, and is an important railway junction, 
being the point at which two lines branch to Paris from the north. 
The eastern, or more direct line, is via Maubeuge, and is 155 miles 
to Paris, while the western route, tia Douai and Arras, is 17G 
miles. Mons is situated on a hill and has been fort ified for the 
past six centuries ; it is connected by rail with Charloroi, thirty- 
five miles distant, and with Brussels, about forty-five miles away. 
Nancy. — Chief town of the French department of 
Meurthe et Moselle, and up to 1871 the capital of the French 
province of Lorraine. The population, which Ls upwards of 
1 10,000, has doubled in the last thirty years owing to the number 
of people who have crossed over from German Lorraine in order 
to be under French rule. Nancy is the headquarters of the 
20th Army Corps, and is situated about fifteen miles from the 
German frontier, on the Paris-Strasbourg railway and also on 
the Mezieres-Nancy-Epinal strategic line of frontier railway. 
It is strongly fortified, and is of considerable importance among 
the frontier defences of France in the south-east. The Maine- 
Rhine Canal flows by the town, and adds to its facilities for 
transport. 
Ocrtclburg.— An important railway junction in East 
Prussia, being the point where the railway running west from 
Lyck divides for AUenstein and Neideuburg. It is about twenty 
miles north of the Polish frontier. 
Sambre. — A river of Northern France and Southern 
Belgium, rising in the valley which lies between the towns of 
Maubeuge and Guise in the north of France (department Nord). 
It flows north-east by the town of Maubeuge, after which it turns 
more directly east, crosses the Belgian frontier, and continues a 
fairly straight course to Charleroi, whence it flows by many 
curves and convolutions to Namur, where it joins the River Mouse, 
which, later on, becomes the Maas in Dutch territor}\ 
Strasbourg. — German capital of the tcnitoiy of 
Alsace-Lorraine, and a first-class fortress, standing two miles 
from the left bank of the Rhine, and about ninety niiles north of 
Bale. Its normal garrison amounts to 15,000 men, and it is the 
headquarters of the 15th German Army Corps, while the fortifi- 
cations have been enormously strengthened since the war of 
1870-71, and brought up to date and fitted with guns of the 
most modern and powerful type. Its population is over 150,000. 
Railwaj-s connect it with Mctz, Nancy, Bale, and all the principal 
German garrison stations, the lines towards Geniiany being 
constructed with a view to reinforcing the Strasbourg garrison 
to any extent that may be required. 
Thorembais. — The name of two Belgian villages, situated 
about tv."o miles apart in the province of Brabant, on the road 
from Tirlemont to Gerabloux. The more eastern of the two, 
about nine miles from Gembloux, is the larger and more important. 
Valenciennes. — Situated on the right bank of the 
River Scheldt, about 157 miles north of Paris on the Paris- 
Brussels railway, at the point where the Schojicile and Scheldt 
join. It is the centre of an extensive and rich coalfield, and is 
largely engaged in iron and steel industries. Its population is 
upwards of 25,000. It is connected by rail with Lille and 
Maubeuge, as well as with various other centres, and is one of the 
most important towns of the department of Nord. The Belgian 
frontier is about eight miles distant from the town. The lace for 
which Valenciennes used to be famed is but little made here now. 
Willenburg. — A German village, about fourteen miles 
north of the Polish frontier, and an impoi-tant point on the 
strategic railway of East Prussia. 
" The V/ar by Land," by Hil.^irc EcIIoc, " The War by Water," 
by F. T. Jane, the Diary oi the War, and the scries forn^in^ a 
Topographical Guide, conimenced in tiie issue ol Land aad Water 
dated Au£. 22nd, which CAn be obtained through atiy newsagent. 
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