LAND AND AVATER 
August 29, 1014 
Scheldt. It is one of the chief European port, oyer sixty 
Sippi lines having their headquarters here and the quay 
^'Snodation extends nearly tl^ree mdes alon|the Ja^k .f the 
river The total population is about 400,000. Ant\eip is 
Surrounded by a ring of forts of modern design, the strongest 
reTing that toward the cast and south, where eight forts 
laeed at regular intervals, le-.s than a mile distant from each 
!, her, defend the eity. In addition to the regular ring of defences 
the forts dc AVavrc and de Waelhem. in the south-east, and Fort 
de Schooten, in the north-east, form outpost defences On the 
«e.ct forts St. Marie, St. PhiUppe, ,^6 Zwj-"drecht, and do 
Cruybeke, defend the approaches to the Scheldt, which has to 
be crossed before the city can be reached from this direction. 
Charleroi -A town of nearly 25,000 inhabitants, and 
the centre of the iron industry of southern Belgium. It was 
fortified up to 18f)8, when its fortifications were converted into 
promenades. It is situated on the main hne from Mons to 
Vamur about half-way between the two towns, and is about 
fifty ni'ilcs directly south of Brussels, and roughly twenty-hve 
miles from the French frontier. 
Elbe— One of the most important rivers of central 
F.uropc which, after leaving the Bohemian-Saxon frontier, turns 
north-west, passing through Dresden to the North German plain, 
(lowing by way of Torgau, JIagdeburg, and Hamburg, beyond 
whichit divides into the north or Hamburg Elbe, and the south 
or Harburg Elbe, surrounding the island of Wilhclmsburg 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 Nortli Sea. 
From Hamburg to the sea the bed of the river has been dredged 
to a depth wliich will admit vessels of 26 feet draught, and the 
total navigable length from the mouth is 52.5 miles. Between 
Cuxhaven and Freiburg the Kiel Canal has its western outlet 
to the Elbe at Brunsbiittel. From Freiburg outward to the sea 
the banks of the river are 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 tenitory with a population of 
about 7 J millions, of whom the great majority are Poles and 
Ruthenians. 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, the 
frontier being defined for a great distance in the west of the 
province by the river Vistula and the Sanna or San. The chief 
towns of Galicia are Lemberg, Tarnow, Jaroslaw, Tarnopol, 
Brody, and Sanok, while the chief town of Western Galicia is 
Cracow, an important railway centre near the Russian and 
German frontiers. Railways cross the Russian frontier from 
Brody to Dubno in the east, and from Cracow to Czcnstochowa 
and Kielce in the west of the province. 
Heligoland. — Belonging to the Frisian group of islands, 
and situated 23 miles north-west from the mouth of the 
Elbe, Heligoland was ceded to Germany by Great Britain in 
1890, 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 
watering 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 in existence. It is reckoned as part of the province of 
Schleswig-Holstein — at present. 
Insterburg.— An important town about fifty-five miles 
cast of Koenigsburg, in East Prussia. From Insterburg five 
railways branch to Koenigsburg, Memel, Thorn, and Lyck 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 form the 
Pregel. It is an active agricultural and manufacturing town, 
with a population of about 20,000, including a garrison, in normal 
times, of about 3,000. 
Lille.— A town and important raOway centre of northern 
t ranee, about 155 miles north of Paris by rail, and about ten 
rules from the Belgian frontier. It is the capital of the d^part- 
iiient of Nord, and is situated 'on the low plain of the River 
Deule. a tributary of the Scheldt. Canals afioid communica- 
tion both with Pans and Belgium, and railwavs extend from 
Lille to Calais, Ghent, Brussels, and Paris, while the town is 
also an important point on the railway which follows the 
northern frontier from Dunkirk to Longuvon. It is one of the 
most important manufacturing towns on the northern frontier • 
Ks population IS upwards of 200,000, mainly devoted to flax- 
ppmning and kindred industries, while it is also the site of a 
otate tobacco factory. 
Luncvillc.— Chief town of an arrondissement in 
the department of Meurthe et Moselle, seventeen miles south- 
cast of Nanc)-, and 240 miles cast of Paris on the Paris-Strasbourg 
hne of railway, and also on the Epinal-Naucy 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-Belfoit 
line of frontier defences, and about ten miles distant from the 
German 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 " Malines," of which the more popular 
name is a corruption. A Belgian city on the River Dyle, and 
an important railway junction about midway between Antv,-ei"p 
and Brussels, with lines extending in practically every direction, 
as well as a number of main roads connecting with all the important 
points of north-western Belgium. It contaiiLS extensive railway 
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 nortii. 
The eastern, or more direct hue, is via Maubcuge, and is 155 miles 
to Paris, while the western route, via Douai and Arras, is 176 
miles. Mons is situated on a liill and has been fortified for the 
past six centuries ; it is connected by rail with Charleroi, 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 is upwards of 
1 10,000, has doubled in the last thirty years owing to the number 
of people who have cros.'sed over from German Lorraine in order 
to be under French rule. Nancy is the headquarters of the 
20th Army Coi-ps, and is situated about fifteen miles from the 
German frontier, on the Paris-Strasbourg railway and also on 
the Mezicres-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. 
Oertelburg. — An important railway junction in East 
PrUiSsia, being the point where the railway running west fiom 
Lyck divides for Allcnstein and Neidenburg. It is about twenty 
miles north of the Pohsh 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-cast 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 Meuse, 
which, later on, becomes the Maas in Dutch teiritoiy. 
Strasbourg. — Gennan capital of the territory of 
Alsace-Lorraine, and a first-class fortress, standing t>\:o miles 
from the left bank of the Rhine, and about ninetj^ miles north of 
Bale. Its normal garrison amounts to 15,000 men, and it is the 
headquarters of the 15th German Anny 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 powerfid type. Its population is over 150,000. 
Railways connect it with Metz, Nancy, Bale, and all the principal 
German garrison stations, the lines towards German}' 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 two miles apart in the province of Brabant, on the road 
from Tirlemont to Gembloux. 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 oa the Pari.s- 
Brussels railway, at the point where the Schonclle 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 depai-tment 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 uo\\". 
Willcnburg. — A German village, about fourteen miles 
north of the Polish frontier, and an important point on the 
strategic railway of East Prussia. 
"The War by Land." by Hilaire Belloc, "The War by Water," 
by F. T. Jane, the Diary o{ the War, and the series lorminfi a 
Topographical Guide, commenced in the issue of Land and Water 
dated Au^ 22nd, which can be obtained through any newsa^ient. 
IC* 
