This is the order of battle for the Belgian Army at the start of the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914.
This is the order of battle for the Belgian Army at the start of the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914.
At the outbreak of World War I, the Belgian Army was in the middle of a reorganisation. From Belgium's independence in 1830 until 1909 it had comprised a mixed force of volunteers and conscripts recruited by lot. [1] Historically Belgium had a reputation for neglecting its military, due in large part, to its enforced political neutrality. [2] During the 19th century, military reform had been a major political issue as successive governments remained unsure of whether the signatory nations of the 1839 Treaty of London would intervene to guarantee Belgian neutrality if the country were invaded. [3] Belgian politicians were also aware of the rapid expansion of French and German armies during the period. [4] From the 1880s onwards, the Belgian government embarked on an ambitious series of fortress construction but failed to expand or reform the military itself. In 1902, the regular army stood at just 42,800 men with a potential post-mobilisation strength of 180,000. [5]
Aware of the country's precarious geopolitical situation, a new military bill was signed by King Leopold II in 1909, initiating major military reforms. These put an end to the system of remplacement , in which wealthy conscripts could pay a replacement to take their place in the army, and introduced a more egalitarian form of military conscription based on age group. [6] Beyond the acquisition of a few new Krupp artillery pieces, there was little attempt to modernise the army's equipment. Further reforms were launched after the Agadir Crisis in 1911 under the leadership of the Charles de Broqueville government. [7] After several years of discussion, a major military reform bill was ratified by the parliament in 1913 by which the total possible strength of the army would be gradually increased from 180,000 to 350,000 men. Military spending also rose. This reform had only been partially implemented by the outbreak of war and the Belgium Army was still considered to be weak by the German military leadership. [6] [8]
The Belgian government ordered a general mobilisation on 31 July 1914. [9] During the early stages of the 1914 campaign, the military had a strength of nearly 220,000 men:
All of the units suffered from lack of equipment, including ammunition. There was a shortage of capable officers, and only 120 machine guns in the whole army. [10] [11] The army possessed no field howitzers or heavy artillery. [12] In terms of appearance, the "royal" dark-blue, dark-green and crimson uniforms [13] and personal equipment issued to soldiers in 1914 had not changed visibly since 1853. [10] Standards of discipline were frequently lax and Belgian soldiers were often seen as "indisciplined and careless". [10] The army had no coherent doctrine and it had as many as five strategic plans, none of which commanded total support from the High Command. [12]
The Belgian Army was divided into two, with the majority assigned to the Field Army and lower-quality troops to guard the country's three fortified zones.
Besides the regular army, the Belgian government in 1914 could call on a large militia known as the Garde Civique (Burgerwacht in Dutch). Formed soon after the Belgian Revolution in 1830, the Garde was a paramilitary organisation, which was intended to supplement the small professional army as a reserve and also serve as a police force in periods of civil disorder. Because of the requirements for membership, the organisation was dominated by middle-class volunteers. [14]
The Garde was divided into "active" and "non-active" sections. In towns and cities, the local Garde was considered "active" and would incorporate infantry, cavalry, and artillery formations with a wide variety of equipment and different uniforms. [15] By 1913, the "active" Garde numbered some 46,000 members. [15] The "non-active" Garde (described by historians as a "paper formation") was located in smaller settlements and in the countryside where its membership was technically much wider but, like the "active" formations, also dominated by the middle-classes. In 1914, 100,000 men of the "non-active" Garde were mobilised although they frequently lacked regulation uniforms and were poorly equipped. [16]
Local Garde Civique units fought at the Battle of Liège and many other engagements during the initial German invasion in 1914. [17] During the early stages of the war, as many as 1,000 civilians were volunteering for the force every day. [18] Although numerous, modern historians have argued that "the significance of the Garde Civique should not be exaggerated", highlighting its "marginal" role in the actual fighting. [19] The members of the Garde were often seen by the Germans as francs-tireurs, encouraging them to engage in atrocities against Belgian civilians. The Garde played only a small role in the campaign after 18 August 1914. On 13 October 1914, Albert I ordered the remaining formations to disband and their members incorporated into the regular Belgian army.
In 1913, the Belgian government created the Company of Aviators (Compagnie des Aviateurs), the antecedent of the Belgian Air Force, just two years after the inauguration of the country's first airfield at Brasschaat in 1911. [20] Attached to the fortresses, the company was equipped with a total of 16 Maurice Farman biplanes. [21] The Belgian army also had had four observation balloons which, like the aircraft, were also attached to the fortresses, and two small airships. [22]
The Field Army (Armée de Campagne) was the largest component of the Belgian Army, which numbered some 117,000 men. [12] King Albert I was in direct command with Lieutenant-General Antonin de Selliers de Moranville as Chief of the General Staff. It was divided into seven army divisions (divisions d'armée): [23]
Each division contained three or four mixed brigades (each with two infantry regiments and one artillery contingent group), one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment, as well as various support units. [25] Each infantry regiment contained three battalions, with one regiment in each brigade having a machine-gun company of six guns. An artillery group had three batteries of four guns. [23]
The nominal strength of a division varied from 25,500 to 32,000 all ranks, with a total strength of 18 infantry battalions, a cavalry regiment, 18 machine-guns, and 48 guns. [23] Two divisions (the 2nd and 6th) each had an additional artillery regiment, for a total of sixty guns. [23] The Cavalry Division had two brigades of two regiments each, three horse artillery batteries, and a cyclist battalion, along with support units; it had a total strength of 4,500 all ranks with 12 guns, and was therefore little more than a reinforced brigade. [23]
On 13 October 1914, the Garde Civique was formally disbanded by Albert I and its members officially incorporated into the regular army. [26]
The second component of the army were the garrisons deployed to Belgium's three fortified cities. These fortress garrisons numbered approximately 80,000 men. [12] The fortress troops were under local command and the soldiers themselves were generally older and less well-trained than soldiers in the Field Army.
Before the war, the Belgian government invested resources in constructing and reinforcing fortifications around the country. These included the National Redoubt at Antwerp, with further fortified chains around the cities of Namur and Liège. The forts, many designed by Henri-Alexis Brialmont, a noted military architect of the nineteenth century, formed an integral part of the Belgian strategy. Between 1859 and 1870, 13 forts had been built around Antwerp and a further 17 were still unfinished by 1914. [27] 12 were built at Liège and eight at Namur. [4]
The Imperial Guard was originally a group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. The Guard was divided into the staff, infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, as well as battalions of sappers and marines. The guard itself as a whole distinguished between the experienced veterans and less experienced members by being separated into three sections: the Old Guard, Middle Guard and Young Guard. The Young Guard was virtually annihilated in the Battle of Krasnoi during the French invasion of Russia.
Chasseur, a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry or light cavalry to denote troops trained for rapid action.
The Land Component, historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army, is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Jean-Pol Baugnée.
The II Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars.
The 2/4th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment was a cavalry regiment in the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. The regiment was the armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Motorized Brigade.
The Éclaireurs of the Guard was a Corps of cavalry scouts of the French Imperial Guard, which included three cavalry regiments created by Napoleon when he reorganised the Imperial Guard following the disaster of the French invasion of Russia. The Corps was created in Article I of the decree of 4 December 1813.
The Army of the Moselle was a French Revolutionary Army from 1791 through 1795. It was first known as the Army of the Centre and it fought at Valmy. In October 1792 it was renamed and subsequently fought at Trier, First Arlon, Biesingen, Kaiserslautern, Froeschwiller and Second Wissembourg. In the spring of 1794 the left wing was detached and fought at Second Arlon, Lambusart and Fleurus before being absorbed by the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. In late 1794, the army captured Trier and initiated the Siege of Luxembourg. During the siege, the army was discontinued and its divisions were assigned to other armies.
In the Battle of Fleurus Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's French army repulsed an attack by the combined Austro-Dutch army led by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Tactically the battle was a draw but strategically it was a decisive French victory. The battle led to the collapse of the Coalition position in the Austrian Netherlands.
In the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792, a French army led by Charles François Dumouriez attacked and defeated an Austrian army commanded by Albert of Saxe-Teschen. Though the Austrians were outnumbered three-to-one, the victory greatly encouraged the population of the young First French Republic and lead to the evacuation of Austrian forces from the Austrian Netherlands. Note: all units have their names as they are translated in English.
On 25 March 1799, French and Habsburg armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau in present-day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen. In the broader military context, this battle comprises a keystone in the first campaign in southwestern Germany during the Wars of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. For an explanation of the types of forces, please see Types of military forces in the Napoleonic Wars.
In the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December 1800, a French army commanded by Jean Victor Marie Moreau decisively defeated the army of Habsburg monarchy led by Archduke John. The first action of the campaign was the Battle of Ampfing, two days earlier. After Hohenlinden there was a series of rearguard clashes beginning on 9 December at Rosenheim and continuing from the 14th through the 20th at Salzburg, Neumarkt am Wallersee, Frankenmarkt, Schwanenstadt, Vöcklabruck, Lambach, and Kremsmünster. During the retreat, the Habsburg army began a process of disintegration and an armistice was concluded a few days later.
The armies of the First French Empire and the Austrian Empire fought the Battle of Caldiero from 29 to 31 October 1805 just east of Verona in Italy. Marshal André Masséna led the French Army of Italy while Archduke Charles commanded the Austrian Armee von Italien. Historians variously call the battle a French victory, an Austrian victory, or indecisive. Austrian losses were over 5,500, while the French suffered at least 5,000 casualties. Archduke Charles began a withdrawal from Italy on 1 November. The retreat ended in early December with Archduke Charles's army intact at Kormend in western Hungary. Unfortunately for Austria, by this time, Emperor Napoleon had decisively defeated the Austro-Russian army at the Battle of Austerlitz.
The Hanau order of battle shows the forces engaged at the 1813 battle of Hanau, during the War of the Sixth Coalition, when a French force under Emperor of the French Napoleon I defeated a vastly superior Austro-Bavarian force commanded by General Karl Philipp von Wrede.
The Jena-Auerstedt campaign order of battle is listed below. The order of battle includes units from the First French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia that fought each other in the campaign that included the decisive Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October 1806. The order of battle may be useful to trace the battles of Schleiz and Saalfeld, which occurred before Jena-Auerstedt, as well as battles and capitulations that happened after 14 October, such as Erfurt, Halle, Prenzlau, Pasewalk, Stettin, Waren-Nossentin, and Lübeck.
The Army of Châlons was a French military formation that fought during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Formed in the camp of Châlons on August 17, 1870, from elements of the Army of the Rhine which the formation was issued from, the Army of Châlons was engaged in combats of Beaumont and Sedan while disappearing during the capitulation of September 2, 1870.
The II Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was first formed in December 1806, but only enjoyed a brief existence under Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières. The II Cavalry Corps was reconstituted for the invasion of Russia in 1812 and commanded by General Louis-Pierre Montbrun who was killed in battle, as was his successor a few hours later. During the War of the Sixth Coalition, General Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta led the II Cavalry Corps in 1813, while General Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain led the corps in 1814. During the Hundred Days, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte raised the corps again and entrusted it to General Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans.
The Garde Civique or Burgerwacht was a Belgian paramilitary militia which existed between 1830 and 1920. Created in October 1830 shortly after the Belgian Revolution, the Guard amalgamated the various militia groups which had been created by the middle classes to protect property during the political uncertainty. Its role was as a quasi-military "gendarmerie", with the primary role of maintaining social order within Belgium. Increasingly anachronistic, it was demobilised in 1914 and officially disbanded in 1920, following a disappointing performance during the German invasion of Belgium in World War I.
The Army of the Rhine was a French military unit that fought in the Franco-Prussian War. It was created after the declaration of war on July 18 1870.
Charles Claude Jacquinot commanded a French cavalry division at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He joined a volunteer battalion in 1791 and transferred to a light cavalry regiment as a junior officer in 1793. He earned promotion to squadron commander and was acting commander of his regiment at Hohenlinden in 1800. After serving in a staff position at Austerlitz in 1805, he led a light cavalry regiment at Jena in 1806. Promoted to general of brigade he led his horsemen at Abensberg, Raab and Wagram in 1809. During the French invasion of Russia he fought at Ostrovno, Smolensk and Borodino in 1812. During the 1813 German Campaign he led a cavalry brigade at Dennewitz and Leipzig. After being appointed general of division he fought at Second Bar-sur-Aube and Saint-Dizier in 1814. During the Hundred Days he rallied to Napoleon and led a light cavalry division in the Waterloo campaign. After 15 years of inactivity, he was restored to favor in the 1830s. Thereafter he held a number of commands and was appointed to the Chamber of Peers. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 20.
The 2nd Cavalry Division was a division-sized support detachment of the Belgian Army that fought at the Battle of Belgium during the Second World War.
Media related to World War I forces of Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
