"Gerard Joseph Mathieu Georges LEMAN (1851-1920), Belgian general, was born at Liege Jan. 8 1851, the son of an artillery captain who was a professor at the Ecole Militaire. He entered the Ecole Militaire at Brussels, and when he left it in 1869 had acquired a reputation for brilliance. During the FrancoGerman War he served in a Belgian observation corps. In 1882 he became a member of the teaching staff of the Ecole Militaire, and both then and later, as head of the school, he exerted considerable influence on military matters. In Jan. 1914 he was appointed commander of the fortress of Liege and also of the 3rd Div., and concentrated all his efforts upon strengthening the defences of the town against a possible German attack. This came in Aug. 1914, when Gen. von Emmich's army appeared before Liege and summoned it to surrender. On Gen. Leman's refusal the fortress was attacked and ultimately destroyed, while its heroic defender was captured and imprisoned in Germany. As a token of respect, however, he was allowed to retain his sword. He returned to Belgium after the Armistice, and died at Brussels Oct. 17 1920.

Categories: LEG-LEP