Belgian Army History, Part 2. WW II

[@viandengalacticspaceyards5135]

In terms of local stories... The future Grand Duke of Luxembourg was serving with the Belgians under the Brits, when Luxembourg was liberated by US troops. He was granted leave and given a jeep to visit his country, but was stopped at an American checkpoint, and asked who he was. When he answered "Jean, Prince of Luxembourg", the American answered "And I am the Emperor of China, you come with me." So he was held for quite some time until things got cleared.

[@douglasstrother6584]

"Sure, Mac! You're commin' with us."

[@robertneven7563]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA thE best EVER imagine you are a re a U S garde anD some one told you that he Is the Duke of Luxelbourg,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,????????????????,, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@douglasstrother6584]

Drachinifel has an episode titled "'Free' Navies of World War 2 - Small but Deadly (and a little crazy)" which covers the exploits of Naval units from occupied countries.

[@yarnickgoovaerts]

As a Belgian I feel honored that our country finally gets some coverage

[@andrewlm5677]

Curious if there is some feeling of being ill treated by the English and French on the part of the Belgians regarding the WW2 invasion - I understand the Belgian army was largely abandoned to their fate without being notified which is pretty sleazy. The whole French Theory of victory where it would be Belgium that would be the war zone seems repulsive. It seems Belgium, France, and Germany are all enthusiastic EU supporters which should make them see each other positively but wonder if there are still some bad feelings there (the historian in this piece sounded to me a bit bitter regarding the circumstances of their WW2 surrender)

[@yarnickgoovaerts]

@@andrewlm5677 as far as I know the Belgian king actually refused French and British soldiers crossing the Belgian border cause no one wanted a repeat of ww1. If they would’ve listened France might not have fallen

[@erikverstrepen3373]

I visit that museum every year. You can have a guided tour there, arranged by the excellent staff on site. Afterwards you can chip in a tip because they don’t charge anything. You get to hold some (chained) guns and will visit the basement office where the “Nuts” letter was written. Also, the armoured collection is fantastic. Well worth a visit 👍

[@bryangrote8781]

Good to see coverage of forces from a country that is rarely mentioned in WW2 history and if it is, it's treated as a mere speed bump for the Germans. Glad you gave Belgium some recognition in this video and hope you can follow up with more videos like this.

[@jonprince3237]

The 5th Squadron of the S.A.S. was also Belgian, formed in the U.K. from the Belgian independent parachute company. It undertook operations during the n.w. European campaign, including the battle of the bulge, where it operated in support of British 6th Airborne Division.

[@patrickHayes-bq1ry]

modern SAS regimental march is the Marche de les parachutistes belge , totally different from other Brit regimental marches and great tribute to the belgiums

[@MicMc539]

I'm old enough to remember if an S.A.S. Patrol went ''noisy' they had fucked it up. Now they are just paid assassins. Peace.

[@misterthegeoff9767]

I was lucky enough to know a man named Jacques Hambursin who served in the Belgian SAS. He joined after escaping Belgium down the underground railroad to Gibraltar along with his brother after their mother was arrested by the Gestapo for hiding downed British Airmen. Then he was parachuted back into Belgium in 1944. After he died we helped his widow move to a smaller house and discovered his service rifle, sidearm and ammunition. He kept them hidden in his attic all those years in case the Germans came back.

[@fojaak]

Belgian SAS founder in the UK, was major Edouard Blondeel, DSO.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

I can't imagine how difficult it must be for a small army to defend a mostly flat country against a powerful armoured force.

[@TheArklyte]

Is that wording just a coincidence or...

[@thombrick]

And with a heavily underfunded and tiny army. We still depended largely on British and french support.

[@johanverhoeven3661]

Only half is kinda flat. The south is somewhat articulated.

[@peterkirk6518]

Simple, back then, the men had ball's, intestinal fortitude and tenacity unlike today's generations. ):

[@PSYCOMMUnist]

@@peterkirk6518ok boomer

[@pczTV]

I lived in Belgium for three years and spent my weekends touring all the battlefields I could. What a lovely country. Like Poland, they were outclassed by the Germans but always put up a good fight. Oh, they also have the best bloody beer in the world. Out near Bastogne is the Orval monastery which makes THE BEST BEER on the planet. A great side trip when you’re out there .

[@fojaak]

Quite a number of Belgians escaped to the UK, joining the army, navy and Air Force, later taking part in famous battles as Dieppe, D-Day, Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge,… and even 26/27 pilots during the Battle of Britain.

[@noscopesallowed8128]

I got to visit this museum for quite a few years in a row with my boy scout troop. Have to say Bastogne was a very nice place to be, and he's definitely not kidding when he says the locals are very appreciative of us Americans. The museum is world class, and the annual Battle of the Bulge commemorative hike they do is a fantastic experience. Can't exactly say I've visited any of their bars yet haha I have to say thanks to all the locals for being so hospitable to us. Definitely has a special place in my childhood memories.

[@nicholasshaler7442]

For any of my fellow Americans who cannot parse French, the Brigade mentioned at 2:15 or so is the Piron Brigade.

[@andershansson2245]

You get to see a LOT of Belgium and Northern France watching the cycling classics every year, one-day races like Liège-Bastogne-Liége, Flèche Vallone, Paris-Roubaix, to name but a few...

[@CthulhuInc]

i watch those events every year 😊

[@StewartHall-jj7wt]

Thank you for your interview with William Testaert. I appreciate very much this opportunity to hear from both of you about the Belgian military's involvement in ww2, albeit short as it was. I look forward to part 3.

[@mikkoveijalainen7430]

I really like these international tours of yours. Really interesting.

[@neilwilson5785]

Great stuff guys, I love these deep dives into the less well-known parts of the war.

[@TheArklyte]

Belgians however were able to make the impossible - make french tank factory management shut up about "mah single men turrets are cheaper" and make normal 2 men turret in rather short order for an export tank. Meaning that the problem was never with the designers and engineers😅

[@elanvital9720]

If you are referring to the APX-2 turret on the ACG-1 export tank, the turret and tank had already been asked for by the French Cavalry before the Belgians got involved, it was a response to problems seen with the 1-man turrets they tested before. The Cavalry was more willing to accept 2-man turrets at least for the lightly armored tanks (APX-3 for the AMD 178 armored car was also 2-man) because they were using voice radio rather than the radio-telegraphy preferred by the Infantry which demanded a separate guy in the hull, and with the low weight limits of the time a 2-man turret on a tank with a 2nd man in the hull would start bloating weight. Outside of that, the Infantry pursued 2, 2.5 (loader below the turret handing over ammo) and 3-man turrets for all tank projects at 30 tonnes and beyond (Char G1, 45t breakthrough tank, fortification assault tanks) because they all mounted bigger 47 and 75mm guns which required at least a seperate loader. It was felt loading the 37 and short 47mm guns with their tiny ammo would be easy enough that a loader would not be needed, but not all crews thought about keeping ready ammo on hand to minimize the time off the optics in 1940 so that caused problems. TL:DR: As you said the designers and engineers were perfectly able to make 2+ man turrets and most of the blame goes to the procurement officers who failed to identify the extent of the practical problems of 1-man turrets and to adapt design requirements to have 2+ man turrets under reasonable conditions.

[@chrisd8866]

@@elanvital9720 Exactly, another example are the two and three-man turrets for the Somua S.40 designed under Vichy in the hopes that the Germans would allow for a restart of the production for their own needs and to equip the armistice army. Obviously the Germans said no, but at the same time other engineers were working secretly (that is away from German but also Vichy-regime eyes) on the SARL 42, it would've been essentially an improved S.40 with a three-man turret equipped with a 75mm gun and even a telemeter. It's really unlikely it could've been produced as the project had to be shut down discreetly when the so-called Free zone was occupied as well in August of 42, and by the time France was liberated the design was outdated anyway, and we were being equipped with loads of Sherman tanks and needed to get busy rebuilding the factories to make tanks and put the engineers to work to catch-up on more modern designs, hence the ARL 44 (whose prototype was at first equipped with the 75mm meant for the SARL 42) as well as the flurry of new tank designs and prototypes in the immediate post-war period. You can look up the tank encyclopedia for more on the SARL 42.

[@elanvital9720]

@@chrisd8866 I literally found the turrets in question at the French archives in Vincennes so I get what you mean. No SARL 42 docs cropped up here yet sadly.

[@auzor5900]

My grandfather got himself smuggled to UK, joined the RAF, flew with both RAF & USAF as bomber gunner. But, they also ended up doing infantry things (guarding airport, & sometimes infantry machine gunner). As a Flemish, they were somewhat extra welcome among British troops as extra manpower and also: he & others could speak & read Dutch/Flemish, French, English & German. French & German infantry wasn't always flexible in their language usage. Resistance, prior to smuggling: he once had resistance flyers in his socks. His tram was stopped, all men & boys had to get off and strip to underwear, but: he was allowed to keep his socks on. And him & a friend once cut a communication cable. With the liberation of Belgium half-way (Brussels was liberated), he did get 1-day leave to go see his family (Flanders part; liberated). He showed up completely unanounced, which must have been an emotional event. However, on returning he did get in trouble: he hadn't locked away his machine gun, and it had gone missing. With some spots of German resistance still existing and Belgium not yet fully liberated, that did get him into hot water. Towards the end of the war, they went to the 'richer' German sections, gathering mantles and the likes for concentration camp survivors. For reference, my great-grandfather was a 'farmhand' for a local baron; and the contrast in riches and amount of clothes and blankets vs the POW's and camps was seen as disgusting, especially with objections to this 'theft' by the German citizens. After the war, occupation, they had to secure the airports, and this sadly gave him nightmares in his final years (Alzheimers): there was a German resistance wanting to devastate Germany per Hitler's order, even seeking to attack airports used to bring in food for the German population. Those were very tense night patrols: large open surface, patrol, and suddenly get shot at, fight among hangars and having to check for any explosives among fuel, plane or ammunition. Much of the German population was underfed. His group once shot a deer around Christmas (they were not supposed to but...) and had an army cook keep silent for a portion & prepare it. The American 'carbine' was very popular, and prone to go missing if left anywhere: light (far lighter than the Garand), 15? rounds, and semi-auto, unlike the still standard during WW2 British bolt-action. Also, for entertainment they once went to a film showing, which still used war-era films, presenting a 'Nazi' introduction. All the Germans stood up & gave the nazi salute. They went out in group, one alway armed, this person drew his sidearm, and left the viewing room as last of the group, stepping backwards. They would have been lynched for not giving the Hitler salute. By this time, the concentration camp horrors were well known. So much for 'we didn't know'.

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you Mr Moran and Mr Testaert. Another great episode. Most illuminating.

[@MM22966]

I guess one way to summarize it is: "The Belgians fought no worse than the French & British in 1940, but they had no space or way to retreat." I like the Belgians. Like the Danes, they always punch above their weight.

[@cgross82]

I had the distinct honor of sounding echo Taps from the top of the U.S. Monument (the one shaped like a star) in 1977 when I was a member of the Third Armored Division Band. We had a chance to tour the Bastogne military museum, which was excellent even back then. I shall never forget the experience, including looking at a Sherman tank in one of the city squares with several 88mm holes in its armor!

[@Cohen.the.Worrier]

Nice explanation by mr. Testaert.

[@russwoodward8251]

Thanks!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I appreciate it. Thank you.

[@ronbednarczyk2497]

It's good to hear Lady Chiwy getting the credit she was due unlike in the series BoB.

[@davydatwood3158]

If memory serves, the Belgian Navy served alongside the RCN during the worst years of the Battle of the Atlantic, and I'm sure my ancestors were very glad to see those two corvettes!

[@douglasstrother6584]

Drachinifel has an episode titled "'Free' Navies of World War 2 - Small but Deadly (and a little crazy)" which covers the exploits of Naval units from occupied countries.

[@davydatwood3158]

@@douglasstrother6584 Cool, I'll look for that one.

[@jeansterken5144]

the first Belgian troops that entered Belgium in 1944, belonged to the SAS Regiment! they jumped to execute several (small) missions. In Holland, Belgian Comandos landed in Walcheren (operation INFATUATE) in order to liberate the acces to the port of Antwerpen.

[@robertneven7563]

Dont forget the Belguim brigade Piron, how liberat e the dutch city s W essem Ophoven Ittervoort Thorn in september 1944

[@larryjohnson7591]

I guess things have changed since I was there in 2011. I remember we stopped at the center of the town of Bastogne, and we could walk to where the Tank was. Did not see a museum around there at all. I do not remember any special beers either. Thanks, Chief, for taking me back there.

[@doolittlegeorge]

I've read General soon to be Field Marshal Fedor Von Bock "War Diary" and it is actually a funny read in that he complains that he has conquered the Netherlands, Belgium and taken Paris in all of 4 weeks and doesn't really get an attaboy insoding but yes, Belgium was considered a serious military going into 1940 anyways. How that all so suddenly changed is quite the story absolutely.

[@tomhenry897]

Didn’t reservists chop up German paratroopers trying to take an airfield

[@barthoving2053]

@@tomhenry897 That was in the Netherlands. The other part of the region referred to as the low countries. The main body dropped at the airfields around the Haque to capture the dutch Queen and government. That force got pushed out of the airfields and then was chased around unable to get supplied. The Junkers flying in the supplies got slaughtered and failed and many failed to find the main body. By day four they were on the verge of surrender. But smaller airborne groups secured vital bridges in and south of Rotterdam and the Dutch failed to dislodge those. This allowed a Panzer Division to move up quickly to Rotterdam and give enough reason for an aerial bombardment of the city which would lead to the surrender of the Dutch Army in most parts of the Netherlands. So not the government and not troops in the Netherlands that were in firm Allied control. If that had not happen the whole paratroopers project might have collapsed as the main body with it's commander Kurt Student would probably had surrendered. In stead to Dutch troops surrendered to Krut Student. Who interestedly was shot in the head during the surrender ceremony. Probably by a SS trooper. But a Dutch surgeon saved his life

[@yannichudziak9942]

@@barthoving2053 there is also some line infantry collumns who kept and blocked progress for several hours and then saw the Germans obliterate a nearby village, with most of the inhabitants (claiming the troops were dug in in the village when they were not but were on high ground overlooking the village and bridge over one of the local rivers. More than one place the Germans destroyed civilians in front of troops who were from there and then advised troops this would be continued unless they retreated or surrendered. Any forts were also special cases, people forget several forts fought on cut off from anyone for in some cases up to several days after the Belgian army officially surrendered (because the Germans had isolated the forts and prevented any communication with them…). They did not great but the units and especially fortress troops in general fought hard. Everyone remembers Eben Emael but what about the dozens of other forts…very few of them were taken rapidly and most of them caused severe casualties on the invaders.

[@jeremywilliams5107]

William Testaert is a v. knowledgeable person. Many thanks to him for the series.

[@chriscookesuffolk]

Thanks I am enjoying this other video in the series. Its great to hear about new things! A couple of novice questions please for consideration for the Q and A. 1. In a typical turretless tank destroyer or assault gun, if the gunner had traversed the barrel as far right as possible and the target is still a little to the right, would they then have asked the driver to rotate the vehicle slightly right? Or would they typically ask the commander? What was the protocol? And would a gunner ever have the ability to tweak the vehicles rotation himself/herself? 2. If military doctrines are key in determining both the constitution of an armed force and it's and methods of prosecution, then what are the consequences when it is discovered that the doctrine is a cat malojan in the field? Do you know of any notable examples in armoured warfare?

[@caniconcananas7687]

I'm also curious about the 1st question. For the 2nd question, there is a word for the consequences: Defeat. But Col. Moran might name some examples. But I have a question myself: Are you being ironic when referring to History as "new things"?

[@chriscookesuffolk]

@@caniconcananas7687 Hi, I'm referring to new things to learn about :)

[@wadejustanamerican1201]

Very interesting and informative! Thanks

[@stephanl1983]

I visited Bastogne two times, and also Houfalize, were the Tiger II is displayed, great Museums! Greetings from Germany and a Happy New Year to everyone

[@fonspaulussen7353]

There is a panther in houfalize, not a tiger II

[@stephanl1983]

@@fonspaulussen7353 sorry, we went to Houfalize, but the Panther was AT Bastogne Barracks for restauration, I meant La Gleize, thank you 👍🏼!

[@ericcorse]

Very interesting thank you to both of you.

Thank you for this Series.

[@bruceabbott3941]

Great questions from the Chieftain to elicit information!

[@Morkhard]

Thank you to highlight this part of history

[@russwoodward8251]

This is really great. Thanks Chieftain.

[@xxxlonewolf49]

Very cool & great info.

[@warci]

fantastic series!!

[@lewiswestfall2687]

Thanks Nick

[@jeffreybraunjr3962]

Really good mini series!

[@robertbrodie5183]

interesting fact the bastone garrison continue its surrounded history as 3 battalions of berlin bde carried the 502nds colors in berlin 110 miles hehind warsaw pack lines "swift strike" 86-92

[@Mountain-Man-3000]

Always interesting and informative!

[@markaxworthy2508]

The Belgian fishing fleet also fled to Brixham and Newlyn in the south-west of England. This gave a manpower pool to build up the Belgian Navy in exile.

[@odra_na7625]

Important part of Belgian military history during WW2, was missed here. What about Belgians fighting on the 'Dark' side ? Especially Legion Wallonien and its commader Leon Degrelle ?

[@MicMc539]

Comments about the Belgian (28th VOLUNTEER) S.S. Division WILL BE DELETED.

[@thhseeking]

My maternal grandmother apparently just missed an opportunity to kill that bastard. She was in the Resistance and had the honour of having her house used as a billet for returning German troops. Luckily for me, they never found the guns she was stashing. My maternal grandfather was also in the Resistance. He was arrested, and when my grandmother went to find out about him the Army commander said that as he had no evidence against him he'd release him, but the Gestapo'd taken an interest in the case. He was last seen in Buchenwald.

[@dfostman6014]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@aapje]

You really should do a piece on the Dutch defens as well, if possible. There is a great book, unfortunately in Dutch, but documents a truly mighty defense effort, with almost everything stacked againsts the defenders. The SS troops were enormously impressed with the defense, often being unwilling to believe how few defenders they were up against. It is a nearly unknown piece of military history, but the germans lost a huge number of planes and most of their airborne troops during the battle (which were sent to Britain as POWs before the surrender), which greatly impacted the plans for the invasion of the UK.

[@booksrule0240]

The 60 men of the Ardennes hunters! Good mention

[@ThePepsicola1995]

Which book are you talking about?

[@aapje]

​@@ThePepsicola1995 'Grebbelinie 1940' by E.H. Brongers.

[@georgecristiancripcia4819]

Resist and bite,the Boar against the Eagle.

[@justicebdone]

Mr Testaert's knowledge is awesome!! "Keeping up with the Germans who were fleeing" .... loved that line :)

[@fonspaulussen7353]

😂

[@sigspearthumb9574]

Been to nuts bar ! Plus that museum 😂. Was good craic

[@eric-wb7gj]

ty 🙏🙏

[@robertneven7563]

the brave Belgain brigade Piron liberadt the dutch city s Wessem Ophoven Ittervoort, Thorn in september 1944 , also the Belgain and Norwegain commando sliberadt the Dutch Island off Walchen in the second W War

[@MichaelCorryFilms]

I wish they had covered 1940 in detail.

[@Ghostmaxi1337]

Will you do a tour around those tanks, or does such allready exist?

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Yes. The Belgians did about as well as they could in 1940 in regards to the size of their army but there were other things they didn't so so well at. One thing about the 1940 campaign was that a decisive event was a German Transport Aircraft in use by Army Staffers got lost and came down in Belgium - with - the plans to invade Belgium. The Belgians captured the plans and gave them to the British and the French. The Allied Response was something like: _"So - you want us to come in and set up?"_ to which the Belgian Response was something like: _"What? And Violate our Neutrality????"_ The Dutch had sat out WWI - so they had some reason to believe that they could sit out WWII as well - but the Belgians had been the path the Germans took to invade France through Belgium and here they had the German Plans stating that they were going to do it again. Thinking that they should be preserving their Neutrality as that stage was the height of stupidity. For those that don't now - the North German Plain is a large band of clear terrain across Northern Europe - that is much easier to traverse than all the rough terrain to the south of it. Thus - the von Schlieffen Plan of WWI and the initial plan of the Germans in WWII. Also - this is the reason Monty wanted the British on the left - so they could benefit from all that clear terrain while the Americans slogged their way through the Hedge Rows and all that came after them. So with this in mind - what Britain and France - which had planed all this out in the Interwar Years with the Belgians - were going to do - was drive like hell from the Border with France to the Dyle River line - where the Belgians were supposed to have constructed defenses for them - which the Belgians didn't do. Because the Germans knew that their plans had be captured - they chose to do something different. Manstein came up with a plan where the German Armored Thrust would go through the Ardennes. This would normally be a stupid thing to do - as it was in '44 - but even more stupid - was the Allies not having anybody there to speak of. Most of the Belgian Army was on up the clear terrain - since they thought that's where the Germans were coming. They had two Cavalry Divisions in the Ardennes - which for the most part - the Germans didn't even notice. The Germans cut across the Ardennes and out into Northern France at Sedan - then drove to the sea from there and cut off the British and French Armies in Belgium - which then had to retreat to Dunkirk - especially after the Belgians Surrendered. Now - IF the Belgians had allowed the British and French to come into Belgium during the Phony War phase - they would have had a line of Entrenched French Infantry Corps going through the Ardennes - and things would had been very different. IF the RAF had fully committed to the war in Europe instead of holding it's Strength back to defend Britain - then that line of French Infantry Corps dug in across the Ardennes - the Allies stood a real chance of stopping the Germans. So - the Allied Defeat in 1940 was - mostly - the Belgians Fault. Here - the Belgians - when it became clear that WWII was coming to them - went into Denial. During the Interwar years they had recognized the threat and worked with the British and the French on how they would meet it - but when they saw it was really going to happen - they just went into Denial and refused to believe it or act on it. .

[@thhseeking]

Politicians. They didn't want to antagonise the Germans! They hamstrung the military, much as the Dutch politicians did to theirs.

[@yannichudziak9942]

Not entirely accurate, it was a huge argument inside the government and from what some people told me literally people got into fist fights over it but they always showed a unified front to anyone outside the government. What settled the issue was the fact that fake plans had been leaked before and caused issues so some influential politicians went and pushed it had to be a ruse with all the results following on from there because some parts of the plan required moving troops to positions without clarifying it was by air some 30 kilometres behind the Belgian defensive lines. It gave those people and excuse to push their interpretation through and there is some, not substantiated however, rumours they were German fifth columnists so… they may have done so on purpose.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

@@thhseeking A lot of them liked the Germans, thinking they would make Flanders independent

[@thhseeking]

@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan Divide and Conquer. The Austrian Corporal did that to his own cronies :P

[@commando2113]

Lol treaty of londen no one can put it's army on the soil of belgium or cross it and the belgian's gave up because the bef retreat belgium gave up 28may and they gave the bef 2day's to retreat there army's belgium saved the bef

[@joebudde3302]

I think Mr. Testament would make a great BDX driver. My maternal great grandparents were Belgian while my paternal Great grandparents were German.

[@dennisvandermarkt8263]

Very nice. Would like to try the beers lol

[@cody481]

Wheres part 1 ?

[@ciprianflorin2615]

Interesting and normal in a way is that gentelman form the museum never speaks about Léon Degrelle and the belgians Waffen SS or the peoples that colaborate with the germans.

[@rudyvinck1447]

Like in every Country fight during the WW2 there was some NAZI supporters even in USA and in England.... how it's relate with the battle story ?

[@jmiller475]

The Belgese are still appreciative!

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

What would you say is the number one iconic Belgian food or dish?

[@installwebercarburetorsona6159]

Mussels cooked in beer

[@CGM_68]

They do great sugar coated waffles. Flemish beef stew is good too. Fries to go with the afore-mentioned mussels.

[@frosty3693]

Admirable that the British decided not to use foreign troops for the D-Day assault. The British have gotten a reputation of using other nation's troops as cannon fodder before the British Army. (Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in WW1 in particular) As mentioned in other videos many of the French troops that escaped at Dunkirk went back to France as the nation had not surrendered at that time, and surrendered when the nation did.

[@archer159]

Although Britain is certainly guilty of lots of things, I think that point you make is unfair; the UK has grave-yeads full of British people who died in battle. It is a common thing for empires and invaders of other countries to make-up armies from the lands they run and administer - the Romans did it and so did many others. Nothing unusual there.

[@caniconcananas7687]

I would say that British used their own British soldiers and junior officers as cannon fodder during WW1. But, you know, what could a non British civilian like me know about the influence of bad tactics on the British demography and the influence of classism in the wrong decisions taken by generals living at chateaus in the French rearguard, far from the muddy trenches where their soldiers lived, died and rotted during months without a leave or prime ministers building a big luxury mansion at Barbados while their nation struggled against a hard crisis? Always distrust spoiled children like Bush Jr and Trump and the sons and daughters of current US senators, democrats and republicans alike, avoiding serving in the army while others died. You may like or not the policies of Kennedy and Bush Sr, but they fought during WW2, sharing the death risk of their countrymen.

[@frosty3693]

@@caniconcananas7687 After WW1 Australia and New Zealand passed laws that none of their troops could be used by Britain without permission from those governments.

[@harryb8945]

​@@caniconcananas7687the whole lions led by donkeys myth is proven political tripe. The British Staff officers of ww1 are considered to be the best of the entire war and where not only the closes to the front but also suffered the most losses. Also the position with the highest loss of life was that of junior officers. The children of the countries nobility and Upper class. If you go into the houses of Parliament the big stain glass windows are adorned with the cap badges of all the politicians sons who died in WW1.

[@Mitril47]

I suspect it wasn't so much about them not wanting to use foreigners as cannon fodder for D-Day but more about not trusting foreigners to hold operational security.

[@66kbm]

Nice.

[@philippecasteleyn9327]

That man is clearly pro Belgium.

[@robertneven7563]

en gij zijt tegen Uw eigen land????????????????,, maar ge blijft er wonen

[@philippecasteleyn9327]

In the army we all were.@@robertneven7563

[@patttrick]

I understood the Belgian king F uped so after the war he was forced to abdicate. Instead of forming a line he attacked the Germans and was wiped out ? Also the Belgians had food the Dutch did not?

[@yannichudziak9942]

That is a gross oversimplification, the Belgian army fell back in good order and held ground where it could, several of the forts fought on until all ammo was expended for example. Anti-royalists saw a good reason to push back against the royals, there were some very dodger stories about his house arrest in the palace, people had falsified images to make it look like he was behind barbed wire when he was not ( the king never claimed as far as I recall that he had been treated like a common prisoner of war for example) which resulted in people mistrusting the king so he felt obliged to abdicate for his son. As for food, the Germans confiscated more food in the Netherlands than in Belgium causing the famine. Also… by this point the allies were liberating Belgium, the Netherlands was still fully occupied. Total control in the Netherlands versus partial control in Belgium and the parts that had been robbed of all food received some support from the rest of Belgium so it never got really critical in large area’s unlike in the Netherlands.

[@patttrick]

Did the Belgian army follow the dyle line river defence or do something else?

[@yannichudziak9942]

This was one of the defensive lines, most of the planning for the Belgian army was based on rivers and canals, hold the bridges and key points and delay German troops advancing, I don’t have my books at hand but there was six or seven sections of defensive lines the Belgian army fell back to, in most places in an orderly and planned fashion but in at least two places troops fell back against orders because nearby civilians were getting attacked and murdered under the pre-text that the Belgian army was in the village/town and /or there were armed franc-tireurs present who despite being civilians attacked the German army… according to the Germans. My history teacher got us to read local dispatches and orders from the dozens of small WW2 musea that existed still in early 1980’s but a lot of those were slowly disappearing because the families who created them had nobody to take over the pocket museum. Around several of the bridges on the Albert canal which was very new at the time more than a few times local civilian housing was attacked instead of the clearly visible bunkers. Forts were use as speed bumps and to provide fire support to each other and to deny easy passage on certain roads and railroad lines or bridges. Most of the forts were very comprehensively linked together for mutual support. We are talking multiple defensive planned lines, fall back positions, forts for area denial and control and quite a few places where bridges had been mined to destroy them to prevent the enemy from capturing them. If full mobilisation was done this would then make them very hard nuts to crack…except that a substantial amount of troops were called up but had not arrived at their posts and in some cases had not even received their equipment. There is depending on research mention of between 50000 and 150000 troops that were not in position or not equipped out of the expected 600000 to 650000 troops ‘mobilised’ so the effective and actually available manpower was not as high as the theoretical totals claimed. Many locations were expected to hold for much longer than actually happened (Eben Emael as a key component for the defences in that region for example, para drops taking bridges in some places etc … If there was one thing that the Belgian army almost critically underestimated it was the power of air borne troops and tactical air support while expecting to have longer to get a warning to au=itfields to get the Belgian air force in action which resulted in a massive amount of planes being destroyed on the ground. I got the pleasure of having some teachers who specialised in this time period so we had a lot of small field trips to small musea to see the artifacts from the war in person, some of the smaller museum had amazing models with led lights build in so you could follow the events that happened locally and see it unfold across the model as an example and contemporary witness statements from civilians and troops on both sides (incidentally showing a lot of indoctrination from some of the German troops with hand written journals showing they literally thought Belgium had invaded Germany first! Or journal excerpts that mentioned they had been told by their officers to watch out for ‘large amounts of armed civilians’ and to shoot first to safeguard themselves if they saw civilians because supposedly the only delays they had was because of this.)

[@CthulhuInc]

whaaaaaaaat? the battle of the bulge was a GREAT movie! 😉

[@MrJansenenjansen]

In early time the museum was nice. Today it is small and "trendy".

[@verysilentmouse]

I want a nuts beer

[@WhatIfBrigade]

NUTS!

[@TheStugbit]

Belgium had a significant role back in ww1. They held the bigger German army for weeks, delaying their invasion of France. If we consider ww2 to be part of ww1, a continuation, we can say that Belgium stuck the German victory. By the way, Merry Christmas for you, Master Chieftain! And a great 2024 as well! Kind regards from Brazil!

[@Idahoguy10157]

The purpose of the Maginot Line was France wanted the war to be fought in Belgium. Not in France. To the surprise of both one pre war Belgium hated the French strategy. So pre war cooperation between France and Belgium was minimal

[@merlinwizard1000]

28th, 30 December 2023

[@christineshotton824]

It's funny how "the algorithm" always takes 4days+ to notify me of a new video on a channel i signed up for notifications; but it can remove a politically incorrect post in 30 seconds. 🤔

[@potator9327]

Every country has its own narrative. So the Belgians had to retreat because the French and English retreated. Not because they were inferior or because their defence could not hold out, but because of the others ... It's ok.

[@yannichudziak9942]

So… as per tactical and strategic genius here, a third of the Belgian army should have stayed put when the French and British pulled back on both their flanks by about 40 miles… Check the dates and the orders, people who claimed the BEF had to fall back because the Belgian army surrendered seem to forget the orders send to the BEF were passed on to the Belgian army command, and the dates these were issued. The king was not keen on falling back to what was French territory with the non-surrounded part of the Belgian army, effectively abandoning the country, he may have been wrong about it being the best choice but he was the king of the Belgians by decree, not of Belgium, and he refused to abandon the people when the first information of civilian atrocities started to come out at the time. When he informed the British you have to keep in mind that an evacuation to the UK was already planned and passed on… The evacuation started being planned in seriousness on the 20th of May and he made the decision and informed the Brits on the 25th when ships were already being selected to go and recover the BEF in Dunkirk, by which point he had known there would be an evacuation leaving some French and British units stuck with the major part of the Belgian army pinned in a surrounded pocket near the sea. Dunkirk evacuations started on the 26th and on the 28th the Belgian army surrendered in good order which still pinned down and tied up the German units for about a week. Keep in mind that some parts of the French politicians by the 15th started to show signs of wanting to give up, by the 20th they pretty much showed a defaitism that was extremely unusual for French military and the Brits pretty much had decided to jump ship. It was all linked together but the king felt he could not justify sacrificing troops and civilians when he was pretty much gettting told he would need to stand alone while the rest surrendered or retreated to the UK. I can understand why he did it but he never really made why he did things clear to the people so after the war … it just did not look good, especially not when people falsified images to make it seem he was worse off then he was.

[@potator9327]

@@yannichudziak9942 Thank you for this essay. Interesting but you missed my point.

[@JesterEric]

No mention of the Waffen SS who recruited Walloon and Flemish legions. About 15k served with these formations. More than the number who fought alongside the British. The Belgian King completely betrayed the British by surrenderingnl en masse opening the flank of retreating allied armies

[@rudyvinck1447]

"During the war, it is estimated that approximately five percent of the national population were involved in some form of resistance activity, while some estimates put the number of resistance members killed at over 19,000; roughly 25 percent of its "active" members." How many allied pilots be saved ?, how many sabotage operation....

[@robertneven7563]

bla bla bla bla de Nederlanders hebben percentueel de meesten S S geleverd aan de moffen de hollanders hebben percentueel de meesten joden naar de dodenkampen gestuurd

[@lostinspace013]

Sooo... nothing about Belgian Waffen SS ? ...... :D Oh well....

[@ErwinPommel]

_"after the battle, the American soldiers accepted to be treated by [a black nurse]"_ How very fucking gracious of them.

[@petesheppard1709]

A different world back then. One hopes that those soldiers started doing a deep rethink of their old attitudes and prejudices. This was, after all, the generation that actually faced and started dealing with racial prejudice.

[@patrickHayes-bq1ry]

Americans than as now very racist compared to Europeans . My dad did his flying training in US during war and was reprimanded for talking to a black person at a station when in transit . In WW1 black american troops were loaned to french whose officers were given a terrible hand book on how black soldiers to be treated , which they ignored as awful even by colonial standards

[@petesheppard1709]

@@patrickHayes-bq1ry Truth is harsh, and perceptions are hard to change. Tragically, it lingers everywhere. We have to keep our own eyes open and choose to treat people with respect, no matter what their background or where they're from.

[@Shebvanbio]

As a Belgian I do find the interviewees a bit annoying. Leopold III surrendered leaving the other allies in the lurch, and there were few attempts at keeping the fight going. Trying to present it as anything else is misleading, WWII simply wasn't a glorious period for Belgium at all.

[@Shebvanbio]

The Brigade Piron were heroes, but they were only 2200 of them. To compare, the French Liberation Army had maybe 500.000 men, despite France having only 6 times the population of Belgium or so.

[@yungcaco1443]

You should do one on the current invasion of Belgium, Europe and UK

[@DonValley-s4g]

WRONG FLAG

[@captderichelieu2280]

Over the years, the tragedy of the Allied defeat in 1940 has been embellished and polished. The sharp edges were dulled and how in this film it is shown that everything is fine, we all capitulated - is it really so bad ? Not a word about the brainless Belgian king who did not allow the French to continue their Maginot Line on the Belgian-German border, which was the reason for the lightning-fast German strike on Belgium. Neither words that the Belgian army capitulated without even warning its allies the French and British, putting their defense on the brink of disaster. This is the truth that is needed only by those who are looking for it.

[@peterbrazier7107]

So the Belgians lead the Guards Armoured Division into Brussels.

[@fonspaulussen7353]

No they did not, they followed in the wake of the Welsh guards.

[@fonspaulussen7353]

The Guards actualy had to wait for the Belgians to catch up.

[@bennewnham4497]

What an apologist. Belgium behavior in WW2 was an embarrassment if not treasonous doing their best to stab the BEF in the back. In 1940 the army numbered 600,000 - nearly 4 times the size of the BEF. Belgium denied the BEF and French army transit rights before the German offensive but bleated immediately afterwards the imminent attack started. Resistance and fighting German attack was pathetic by any standard. The air force lost almost every plane on the ground because of unwillingness to move to war footing. No notice was given to the British of the Belgium surrender leaving a huge hole in the lines. The BEF only avoided disaster because precisely this kind of stab in the back was anticipated. Even as Tastaert says the Belgium army "surrendered in good order", I'll bet - the reason it was in good order was because virtually none of it was actually fighting. King Leopold personally surrendered to the Germans in an act of collaboration that ultimately ended with his abdication after the war.

[@robertcolbourne386]

Bitter are we ?

[@AeroEngine1963]

Cope and seethe

[@bigbar4be]

"No resistance or fighting the german attack" is an insult to the memory of the Chasseurs Ardennais who keep fighting until the capitulation despite heavy losses. And for politic, as a remainder Belgium was a neutral country before the german invasion. And that is the reason of the refusal of border crossing for the BEF or the French army before the German attack. As for national defense strategy, the defense of the Meuse with fortress has forced the germans to be inovative with the airborne assault. If the Maginot Line was build all the way to Dunkerke, the Benelux won't be as a priority target for the Third Reich. And I will not speak about the belgium's territory being a battleground for europe's big power for centuries (remind me were is Waterloo...?).

[@patrickHayes-bq1ry]

BEF didn't cover themselves in glory , only fully mechanised army in world , entirely comprised of professional soldiers routed by largely horse drwan conscript german army . Started retreating from Belgium before germans made contact so exposing the french flank . then withdraw completely from Dunkirk and then Cherbourg while french held germans off for them . Important we Brits stop promulgating myths that had a purpose in 1940 but now get in the way of historical understanding

[@bv2623]

1) Belgian army did not number 600000 man. In full mobilization it should have had arround that number, yes. 2) Belgium was a neutral country (as stipulated by the Brits when the country was recognized as a sovereign state) and therefore could not or would not choose sides openly. However, Belgian army cooperated closely with the French and British army in anticipation of a German invasion. Actually, everything went according to plan when the Germans invaded and British and Belgian troops met at the Dyle line. The Germans penetrating the French lines through the Ardennes made the Belgian and British positions unsustainable. Knowing the geography of Belgium and how this geography dictated war for centuries, there were not that much of 'natural" obstacles left that could withold a German incursion, so a massive route was a logical outcome. 3) They were fighting. One of the reasons why the "big escape" of the Brits could succeed was because of the continious fighting of the French and Belgians covering the British flanks (note evacuation in Dunkirk started at 26th of may, while the Belgian king surrendered on the 28th, so question is who stabbed who..) The decision of the Brits to start evacuating sure played a roll in the kings decision to surrender. 4) King Leopold surrendered on his own behalf, against the will of the government and most of the army. This and his dubious attitude (and frankly his admiration for) towards Hitler and fascism was cause for his abdication post WW2. His surrender as commander in chief was not only a stab in the back for the allies, but also for the Belgians. 5) Fear of a treacherous 5th colonne. Belgian army was infilitrated by Flemish nationalists/fascist sympathizers and some units could not be trusted to be used in the frontlines (conscription made it even worse).

[@Pugiron]

Translation "Yes, that's accurate, we did worse than the French"

[@at1970]

Oh… I thought he was talking about the Muslims today.