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"The Commission for Relief in Belgium and the Political Diplomatic History of the First World War," Diplomacy and Statecraft (2010) 21#4 pp 593–613. Fox, Sir Frank. The Agony of Belgium The Invasion of Belgium in WWI August–December 1914 (2nd Edition Beaumont Fox, 2015), Summary of book Archived 2018-08-04 at the Wayback Machine ; Review of ...
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]
The German occupation authorities ruled Belgium under the pre-war Belgian administrative system, overseen by a small group of German officers and officials. [ 59 ] The Germans had used Belgium to invade northern France, which had led to the Franco-British defeats of Charleroi and Mons, followed by a rapid retreat to the Marne, where the German ...
The city of Antwerp (military governor general, Victor Deguise) was defended by numerous forts and other defensive positions and was considered to be impregnable.Since the 1880s, Belgian defence planning had been based on holding barrier forts on the Meuse (Maas) at Liège and at the confluence of the Meuse and the Sambre rivers at Namur, to prevent French or German armies from crossing the ...
The Sack of Louvain was the German assault on the Belgian town of Leuven (French: Louvain), part of the events collectively known as the Rape of Belgium, taking place during the First World War. Over the course of several days of pillaging and brutality, 248 people were killed and 1,500 were deported to Germany where they were held at the ...
The Battle of the Yser (French: Bataille de l'Yser, Dutch: Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a 35 km (22 mi) stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee Canal, in Belgium. [4]
At the outbreak of World War I, the Belgian Army was in the middle of a reorganisation. From Belgium's independence in 1830 until 1909 it had comprised a mixed force of volunteers and conscripts recruited by lot. [1] Historically Belgium had a reputation for neglecting its military, due in large part, to its enforced political neutrality. [2]
The Battle of Liège (5–16 August 1914) was the opening engagement of the German invasion of Belgium and the first battle of the First World War.The city of Liège was protected by a ring of modern fortresses, one of several fortified cities to delay an invasion to allow troops from the powers which had guaranteed Belgian neutrality to assist the Belgian Army in the expulsion of the invaders.