The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War

The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War PDF Author: Mario Draper
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319703862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
This book explores Belgian state-building through the prism of its army from independence to the First World War. It argues that party-politics, which often ran along geographical, linguistic, and religious lines, prevented both Flemings and Walloons from reconciling their regional identities into a unified concept of Belgian nationalism. Equally, it obstructed the army from satisfactorily preparing to uphold Belgium’s imposed neutrality before 1914. Situated uneasily between the two powerhouses of nineteenth-century Europe, Belgium offers a unique insight into the concepts of citizenship and militarisation in a divided society in the era of fervent nationalism. By examining the composition, experience, and image of the army’s officer corps and rank and file, as well as those of the auxiliary forces, this book shows that although military and civilian society often stood aloof from one another, the army, as a national institution, offered a fleeting glimpse into the dichotomy that was pre-war Belgium.

The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War

The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War PDF Author: Mario Draper
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319703862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book explores Belgian state-building through the prism of its army from independence to the First World War. It argues that party-politics, which often ran along geographical, linguistic, and religious lines, prevented both Flemings and Walloons from reconciling their regional identities into a unified concept of Belgian nationalism. Equally, it obstructed the army from satisfactorily preparing to uphold Belgium’s imposed neutrality before 1914. Situated uneasily between the two powerhouses of nineteenth-century Europe, Belgium offers a unique insight into the concepts of citizenship and militarisation in a divided society in the era of fervent nationalism. By examining the composition, experience, and image of the army’s officer corps and rank and file, as well as those of the auxiliary forces, this book shows that although military and civilian society often stood aloof from one another, the army, as a national institution, offered a fleeting glimpse into the dichotomy that was pre-war Belgium.

Belgium in the Great War

Belgium in the Great War PDF Author: Jean-Michel Veranneman
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526716623
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
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 executions and severe destruction. It was widely stripped of its highly developed industrial infrastructure. It was saved from starvation by food shipments from the United States which came in via neutral Holland. Four and a half years later, Belgium emerged a different country with experiences that would leave a lasting on its spirit as well as wide-ranging political implications.

The Great War in Belgium and the Netherlands

The Great War in Belgium and the Netherlands PDF Author: Felicity Rash
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319731084
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
This book addresses the many avenues that are still left unexplored when it comes to our understanding of the First World War in the Low Countries. With the ongoing the centenary of the Great War, many events have been organized in the United Kingdom to commemorate its military events, its socio-political consequences, and its cultural legacy. Of these events, very few have paid attention to the fates of Belgium or the Netherlands, even though it was the invasion of Belgium in August 1914 that was the catalyst for Great Britain declaring war. The occupation of Belgium had long-term consequences for its people, but much of the military and social history of the Western Front concentrates on northern France, and the Netherlands is largely forgotten as a nation affected by the First World War. By opening the field beyond the military and beyond the front, this collection explores the interdisciplinary and international nature of the Great War.

Experience and Memory of the First World War in Belgium

Experience and Memory of the First World War in Belgium PDF Author: Geneviève Warland
Publisher: Waxmann Verlag
ISBN: 3830988559
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Due to its unprecedented violence and unexpected duration, the First World War generated many complex and tragic experiences, which over time have been reinterpreted. Connecting past experiences with current memories of the war - in order to revisit in an interdisciplinary way Belgium's archival and literary, as well as material and monumental war heritage - is the goal of this book which presents the outcomes of the research project Experiences and Memories of the Great War in Belgium (MEMEX WW1). The following topics as part of the historical, psychological and memory studies are addressed: emotions and writing strategies in a war context and attitudes towards the Germans based on the diaries of Belgian soldiers and scholars; the memory of the war in the two fort cities of Antwerp and Liege during the Interbellum; the literary reception of Tom Lanoye's No Man's Land and the impact of the reading of some poems to current Flemish students. Another issue concerning the social representations of the war investigates the representations of soldiers as heroes or as victims among young Europeans. As for the impact of war centenary commemoration events, they are analyzed firstly through the iconology of the First World War illustrated on stamps and secondly through the effects of exhibitions and documentaries on young Belgians.

The Belgian Army in the Great War

The Belgian Army in the Great War PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783902526755
Category : Military supplies
Languages : en
Pages : 599

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Book Description


The Belgian Army in World War I

The Belgian Army in World War I PDF Author: Ronald Pawly
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1846038936
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
While small in numbers, the Belgian Army played a vital role in World War 1 that is often overlooked. Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium, which led Britain to declare war in August 1914, should have been swift and fierce yet the unexpected heroic defence, against great odds, of Belgian fortresses, frustrated the German Schlieffen Plan for a thrust to Paris and a lightning victory. The plucky Belgian resistance proved successful in buying time for French and British troops to mobilize and report to the front, where the Belgians would then go on to fight, stubbornly defending the northern end of the Allied trench line for the rest of the war. Discover the story of this determined Army, from their organization and commanders, to their uniforms and equipment. The only main combatant army of World War I not previously covered by Osprey, this volume will be an important addition to any enthusiast's collection, accompanied by detailed artwork and archive photographs.

The Agony of Belgium

The Agony of Belgium PDF Author: Frank Fox
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Belgium
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description


Albert King of the Belgians in the Great War

Albert King of the Belgians in the Great War PDF Author: Emile J Galet
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781436686815
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Belgium Neutral and Loyal

Belgium Neutral and Loyal PDF Author: Émile Waxweiler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Neutrality
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description


Reintegrating Bodies and Minds

Reintegrating Bodies and Minds PDF Author: Pieter Verstraete
Publisher: ASP Editions
ISBN: 9789057187445
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
In Reintegrating Bodies and Minds, Pieter Verstraete and Christine Van Everbroeck examine the impact of World War I on Belgian soldiers' bodies and minds. Based on unexplored archives, personal documents, and existing historical overviews of initiatives taken during and immediately after World War I to reintegrate Belgian military invalids into the army and society, are reconstructed. The result is a poignant and disconcerting story in which a rather unknown fragment of Belgian history is revealed. Reintegrating Bodies and Minds: Disabled Belgian Soldiers of the Great War has been described as a pioneering publication in the field of war history, the history of psychology and education, and the history of psychiatry.