Belgium in the Great War

A historian and former Belgian diplomat sheds light on the country’s tumultuous experience during WWI. In August of 1914, the German Empire invaded neutral Belgium in order to outflank the defenses of the French army. Yet the Belgian army resisted, managing to hold a small part of unoccupied Belgian territory north of Ypres until the Armistice of 1918. Because of their heroic defense, Belgium and its King enjoyed enormous international prestige after the war. Occupied Belgium suffered civilian e