The Belgian Army

[zijde26]

Very, very roughly the front in Belgium could be divided in three parts, i.e.

- Coast - Diksmuide (Dixmude) : BE-army

- Diksmuide (Dixmude) - North Ypres : FR-army

- North Ypres - fr/be boarder : UK-army

Of course, there are exceptions

Gilbert Deraedt

[tammilnad]

Did you know Belgium demanded large parts of Holland after the war?

The Belgian government in the war aleady made plans for the anexation of zeeuws vlaanderen mainly on economic grounds due to the safe guarding of the shipping channel of the schelde. Limburg on mainly military grounds. The dutch unwillingness to fortify the maes river, which was of no importance to the dutch

but was of great strategic importance to the Belgians. At the conference neither proposals were seriously considered.

[De Petrowski Alexander]

From "The occupation of the Rhineland", the volume of the British Official History covering this period...

"On 27 August [1921], the Germans made fresh protests aginst the simultaneous quartering of French and Belgian troops in the towns bordering on the Ruhr, including Opladen in the British area... ...it transpired that...the French would shortly withdraw one Division from the Belgian zone".

Looks very much like there was a Belgian presence in Germany.

Opladen is today a suburb of Leverkusen, just outside Koln.

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I found a German language site about the German town of Kevelaer, it mentions its Belgian occupation after WW I

http://www.kevelaerer-blatt.de/kb1/wetten37.htm

[Robert Dunlop]

I thought one of the British Armies (2nd Army???) was under Belgian command during the final allied offensive of 1918. 

Geoff, this is correct. It corresponded with the massive withdrawal by the Germans and the subsequent pursuit.

Robert

[Robert Dunlop]

Also did they launch their own battles or were they co-ordinated with other nations and subordinate to them. Also did they have any marked Generals of ability?

Arm, as you pointed out, the Belgian Army fought the Germans to a standstill in Belgium during 1914. Throughout the early weeks of the war, it operated independently. Thus, the Belgian Army was responsible to the defence of Liége and Namur, the delaying action on the Gette and the withdrawal to Antwerpen. The generals were able enough to realise that serious resistance on the open field of battle would be fuitile. Enough of the Army was saved through these actions to ensure that the Germans were stopped in the Battle of the Yser, in co-operation with the British and French.

The French made an early but short-lived contribution around Charleroi, followed by the assistance to the Belgian Army in the Battle of the Yser. The British contribution is more well known, starting with the Battle of Mons, the reinforcement of the Antwerpen garrison, the landing of the 7th Division and supporting cavalry, naval gunfire support for the defensed of the Yser, and the defence of Ypres, alongside the French.

Robert