THREE:For the rest the transports were not much troubled now, for obviously the bridge was no longer the objective of the Belgian guns. At Vis I was even told that Fort Pontisse had just been57 taken and only Lierce could harass the troops, who, after crossing the bridge, advanced towards Tongeren.Great crowds walked the long way to Tirlemont. They were constantly threatened by German soldiers, who aimed their rifles at them; passing officers commanded from time to time that some should stay behind, and others were shot. Especially did the clerics amongst the refugees suffer a great deal;145 many were not only scandalously scoffed at, but also maliciously injured. The greater part of the Germans showed a strong anti-Catholic bias, in particular against the clergy, whom they accused of having incited the people against them.