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The history of Belgium in World War I traces Belgium's role between the German invasion in 1914, through the continued military resistance and occupation of the territory by German forces to the armistice in 1918, as well as the role it played in the international war effort through its African colony and small force on the Eastern Front.
Before the war, Belgium was a constitutional monarchy and was noted for being one of the most industrialised countries in the world. [1] On 4 August 1914, the German army invaded Belgium just days after presenting an ultimatum to the Belgian government to allow free passage of German troops across its borders. [ 2 ]
Areas announced for annexation to Germany Date of announcement of annexation Area planned to be annexed Planned succession Never. The areas were to be established from the Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France (established 12 July 1944), but this never happened. Kingdom of Belgium (occupied by the
The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign which began on 4 August 1914. On 24 July, the Belgian government had announced that if war came it would uphold its neutrality. The Belgian government mobilised its armed forces on 31 July and a state of heightened alert (Kriegsgefahr) was proclaimed in Germany.
For most of its history, what is now Belgium was either a part of a larger territory, such as the Carolingian Empire, or divided into a number of smaller states, prominent among them being the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the County of Namur, the County of Hainaut and the County of Luxembourg.
Belgium maintained an army of occupation (Armée d'occupation, AO) in the Rhineland from 1918 to 1929. It consisted of 20,000 soldiers in five divisions [33] with its headquarters at Aachen [34] and its troops stationed in Krefeld. [35] They were commanded by Armand Huyghé. Belgium also participated in the Occupation of the Ruhr in 1923.
The country remains under partial joint Italian-German occupation. Yugoslavia is partitioned. 1941 April 14 — The German-occupied parts of Slovenia are put under civil administration and attached to adjacent Reichsgaue. Similarly to Luxembourg and Alsace-Lorraine, these areas were never fully annexed, instead being set up in preparatation for ...
A dominant principle that guided combatants through much of history was to the victor belong the spoils. [8] Emer de Vattel, in The Law of Nations (1758), presented an early codification of the distinction between annexation of territory and military occupation, the latter being regarded as temporary, due to the natural right of states to their continued existence. [8]