The Invasion of Belgium

 August 3, 1914

Germany's plan at the outbreak of war was to defeat France first, then, expecting the Russians to mobilize their troops much slower, send their troops from the western front by train to the east to fight the Czar's army (this was known as the Schlieffen Plan). Thus, the war on the western front began when German troops, hungry for war, entered Belgium, their gateway to France. However, Germany's plan had a major flaw that became apparent that very day. Britain, intent on maintaining Belgian neutrality, demanded Germany to leave Belgium, but the Kaiser's army would not deviate from their course. On August 4th, Britain declared war on Germany, sealing the fate of war upon Europe's great nations.

Germany's plan to get to France was going through Belgium, bypassing the French fortresses along the Franco-German border. Germany expected little resistance going through Belgium, however, the soldiers of the Belgian army weren't about to let the Germans take their country without a fight.

The first city in the German army's path was Liège. It was an industrial city surrounded by Belgian fortresses. The Germans were unable to crack the defenses until the heavy siege guns arrived to support them. They then pounded the city with heavy shells for days until it finally gave in on August 15th. Once Liège was taken, they could now spread all across Belgium. Despite the German army's numbers, the brave soldiers of the Belgian army fought fiercely. Their army was inevitably overpowered and was forced to fall back, managing to hold a strip of the Flanders coast after prevailing in the Battle of the Yser in October 1914. It took months for the country to fall under German control, compared to the expected time of only a few days.

How could a seemingly insignificant country like Belgium slow the German advance to that degree? Rumors spread all along the German ranks that Belgian civilians were resisting the German advance. This was far from the truth. In most cases in which they thought civilians were firing upon them, it would really be Belgian troops firing from buildings. In fact, the Belgian civilians didn't put up any resistance at all, but the Germans didn't see it that way. During the battle for Dinant, German firing squads executed 674 civilians, including women and children. During the first month of the war in Europe, over 5,500 Belgian civilians were massacred in cold blood. Despite the horror and brutality of the opening months of the First World War, the sacrifices of Belgian soldiers and civilians alike bought time for Britain and France to rally their forces, putting an end to Germany's plan of a swift victory in Europe.

This MOC depicts a German firing squad doing their terrible work in the town of Dinant (August 23, 1914).

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