@@hammer3721 Well considering Belgium still exists than it did work having had not worked which would later not work again which still resulted in it eventually working despite having not worked twice which technically means that it worked twice. 👌
Actually it is usually the enemy which is the number one enemy to military plans. It's that bit about your plans never surviving contact with the enemy. Though being optimistic about your plans almost certainly dooms them to failure.
There's an line from Classic Top Gear quote "Belgium: A country invented so that Britain and Germany would have a place to sort out their differences."
That statement is not untrue (if you replace Britain by France). Even if it comes from some old farts that have no clue... After Waterloo the United Netherlands were created for the specific reason of being a buffer in between the bigger European countries. Later this country was split into Belgium and The Netherlands. Mostly because they "didn't get along". In 1914 Belgium remembered that purpose and lived up to it.
@@HyperVegitoDBZ That's false of course. Going via Belgium from Britain to France is just a detour. Again, a statement from an old fart with no clue...
On the topic of Belgium during the First World War: King Albert I of Belgium stayed within the tiny sliver of Belgium that was unoccupied for the entire duration of the war and even commonly joined his men on the front lines.
He was a man to be proud of. Sadly we lost him way to soon. Also, we should probably shut up about what his successor did in the Second World War... 😁 And let's not even mention his predecessor...
@@Wolfeson28 You shall not pass! a line from British soldier during battle of the Somme shouting to a counter-attacking German with a toothbrush mustache looking man.
@@anantachonnambat6701It actually comes from the phrase “They shall not pass!” Said by a French officer during the Battle of Verdun. And they were right. The battle was the biggest meat grinder of the war but the Germans didn’t pass.
@@emberfist8347 I know that it was the French motto during battle of Verdun but I just wanted to make a joke about JRR being in the same battle as Hitler.
@@oliversherman2414 That's always the thing with communism. It's great in theory, but in practice it lacks the one thing that vastly trumps _everything_ else in importance when it comes to creating a government: providing a method where power-hungry people can be removed from their position. If you don't provide that, power _will_ centralize around those individuals, and they won't care about the country they're supposed to lead.
Belgium doesn't get enough credit for standing its ground in both world wars, despite the massive power disparity. They took a beating two times by slowing down and not cooperating with the Germans and set up the right conditions for victory.
I like the idea that J.R.R. Tolkien read King Albert’s letter and thought ‘hmm that’s a good line, I should write a book about that’ and came up with Lord of the Rings
Kaiser Wilhelm ii, the Emperor of Germany, actually wanted to abandon this idea a couple days before they invaded Belgium Wilhelm had recently received a telegram from Britain claiming that they would remain neutral under the condition that Germany not violate Belgium neutrality. Wilhelm was actually VERY relieved to hear this because he actually never wanted to fight Britain. This led to him ordering his Generals to re-route all German troops from the Belgium border, set up a defensive line along the French Boarder, and focus on the Russian Front. Despite this, the head of the Army, General Helmuth Von Moltke refused, claiming that this would cause too much chaos and confusion. He and the Kaiser got into a shouting match with Wilhelm even being quoted to have said "your uncle would've given me a different answer!". Unfortunately the Kaiser would be pressured by the rest of the German Military to abandon this idea and continue the invasion of Belgium. Which as we all know was a fatal decision for Germany.
@@robitusscyth9486 While I don’t doubt that could’ve happened, it’s still not confirmed. Though I don’t doubt it because French troops were also seen rushing to the Belgian boarder
@@beneckendorff9256 Hence why i said it as i did. War is murky business hence that whole fog of war. Honestly from all I have read and heard it seems like the powers that be forced that war into being generals and political big wigs refusing or delaying to send Monarchs orders in a timely manner causing things to quickly spin out of control. Like what you pointed out Russia had a similar issue when Nicholas tried to pause the deployment his commanders refused siting similar issues.
The rare case in which the supreme leader was actually smarter than his military subordinates (the absolute opposite of ww2). I do believe britain would've entered the war, sooner or later, as they saw Germany as a gigantic threat to their hegemony. Still, it is curious that the beef was always with russia and western europe was always in the way.
Fun fact: The Germans didn't fully occupy Belgium in WWI, a small part survived, garrisoned by Belgian and British troops, around Ypres(where 3 major battles were fought during the war).
@michaelhoffmann2891 did you also change 3 months of the year and every day of the week to avoid the religious origins of all calendar time, or just years?
Wasn't exactly a blessing, though. In retrospect, the Belgians would have much preferred WW1 to unfold outside of their country rather than having the token victory of having a small portion of land occupied by baguettes.
Belgium actually did toy with coordinating with France pre-emptively in the 1930s as Mister Moustache Man came to power, but after France let the German reoccupation of the Rhineland go unanswered, Belgium lost faith France would actually defend them and retreated back into strict neutrality.
Funny enough in 1939 Belgium had more troops on the border with Germany and France than France and Germany had on eachother's border and Belgian borders COMBINED
@@rotmistrzjanm8776Yes, because neither the German nor the Allies' strategy at the time called for a direct push through the German-French border. The French had the Maginot Line defending their border and the Germans had... well they had the French as an enemy. 😅 Okay, jokes aside, France at the time was a war-weary and politically unstable country. There was no chance that their citizens would ever support an extended offensive into Germany.
@@firefox3249 I don't mean ofencive it's just that Germans were occupied in Poland while French were simpli mobilising their country and economy. French estimated that they wil achive full defencive capabilities in 1940 and will mass enough force for an offencive in 1941. Meanwhile Belgians made insta mobilisation
@@ahmedOsama81931 (1) A country is not "diverse", it has diversity. (2) diversity can mean a lot of different things (3) diversity has nothing to do with invading or not a neighbouring country.
Thing is: there are Belgians who would disagree. Though it is noteworthy how much the whole Flamish vs Walloon thing has become quite silent in recent years. Wonder why...
As I recall, when Belgium was established in 1830, the terms of the treaty which established it,as you said in the video, stated that Belgium would be perpetually neutral in all conflicts. A big part of why Belgium said no was because Germany aka Prussia was one of the signatories of said treaty. It was the violation of Belgian neutrality that made England declare war on the Central Powers.
Technically true, but Germany wasn’t like England and France. While Prussia still existed, Bavaria, Hanover, Wüttemburg, Baden and the other Princedoms and Duchies didn’t and by all rights the German Empire didn’t sign it either only Prussia.
Prussia signed it, the German Empire did not. The Empire was a loose confederation of kingdoms that was dominated BY Prussia but wasn't by definition Prussia. You can say its similar to the USSR, A loose confederation of nations that was dominated by Russia but wasn't by definition Russia. It would be unfair to say that as it would diminish the other members of the Empire, such as Bavaria, to be guilty of signing it when they did not.
It was the violation of Belgian neutrality that gave Britain the EXCUSE to declare war on the Central Powers. The British government wanted a war as much as any other power in Europe. They wanted to fully re-assert themselves as the dominant naval power in the world, restore France as the dominant land power in Europe and they wanted a cause to unite the population; so they would stop demanding things like an end to sixteen hour working days and the right to vote even if you didn't have a pen!s.
@@USSFFRU hell when you asked someone at the time where they were from. They wouldn’t say “I’m from Germany” they would say I’m from Prussia, or Bavaria, or one of the main German states within the German Empire.
AND NOW EVERYBODY: See a king and a soldier, fighting shoulder to shoulder See a king and a soldier, fighting shoulder to shoulder He overruled his commanders, he made a last stand in Flanders We see our king and a soldier, they're fighting shoulder to shoulder To keep the last piece of Belgium free
One correction, Belgium had joined in an alliance with France before WW2 but Belgium saw both of those do nothing when Germany rearmed so they left fearing their ally would sacrifice them to appease Germany, like what happened to most of Eastern/ central Europe later down the line.
Yes, it is only in this decade that this point has become a point of interest, likely and willingly overlooked by historians in the past. Germany's re-arment started early in the '30's, even having training grounds in Russia for their tanks!, and none of those 'Treaty of Verdun' members reacted properly.
In the 1930s, ironically, the Maginot Line was a major contributor to Belgian neutrality, because the Maginot Line made it clear that any major battles between France and Germany would take place outside the Franco-German border, that is, the Low Countries, and the Belgians, were very reluctant to offer their own country as a battlefield, the clear French plan to use Belgium as a battlefield was largely responsible for the lack of consensus in Belgian defense policy, but this does not mean that the Belgians did not have Its own fortifications, Belgium had some strong ones, but it meant that there was poor communication and strategy between the armies of France and Belgium that left some gaps for contingency planning, which contributed decisively to the success of the German campaign of 1940.
The French could only build defenses within their borders. It was "easy" to do that where France bordered Germany directly, but what were they supposed to do along their Belgian border? One option would be to continue their fortifications within France to the coastline and basically concede Belgium to Germany. Another option would be for Belgum to allow France to build fortifications along the Belgian-German border, but that would also break neutrality and risk "occupation" by French troops instead of German ones. The option that was chosen was to have a mobile defense waiting in France to step in and assist Belgium if they were invaded.
The battle on belgium was gonna happen one way or another. It was the easiest path to get into France. on the contrary of this interpretation, the Maginov Line made the situation much safer for Belgium, as France could focus it's army on protecting belgium since their border would be safe, at least for the first month of war which was more or less what French high command estimated the Maginov line would hold on it's own. It was Belgium's breaking the military alliance at the last possible second which doomed belgium to be occupied, while otherwise it could have hold off the germans with french support.
Leopold III's reneging on the defensive alliance with France has to be standing among the top most stupid decisions of WW II and the years leading up to it
@@icecold1805 The French plan was to fight in the cities, not on the border. In the end, forgetting history, they completely messed up their own plan in Sedan
So I guess in Advance Wars 1 when Orange Star is trying to go through Yellow Comet uninvited with armed forces, Kanbei had a right to complain even if they weren't staying.
@@allensturdivant3044 Yeah seriously... So the monarch that was on a publicity tour to support freedom and independence got lost and was taken out by radicals that wanted freedom and independence? That very small and insignificant thing spiraled into a massive conflict because monarchs tried to increase their power and influence? Oh but the end result was less power influence of monarchies? Who's writing this script and why do I hear Benny Hill music in the background?
For king and for country we are flooding the river, Our stand at Yser will be the end of the race to the sea, The last piece of Belgium's free, we're keeping a sliver, A cog in the war machine, October of 1914 ~ Race to the Sea, Sabaton
Some video ideas: 1)Why is San Marino an independent country? 2)Why did the State of the Teutonic Order collapse? 3)Why did Vietnam invade Cambodia in 1978?
Also: 4) Why did Israel give back Sinai peninsula after it decisively won the war on nearby arabs 5) Why did Turks invade half of the Cyprus and still hold it to this day, despite both Turkey and Greece being NATO countries 6) Why is Vatican a independent country?
@@ehta2413I can reply to 5: because the cypriot government was practically carrying out ethnic cleansing against the turks in Cyprus, so Turkey intervened to stop that. Europe wasn't really a fan of the turks so it can be very easily understood why noone else intervened. As for 6: Italy still has a very big catholic population, and in the 2nd half of the 1800s the Pope was extremely influential. As such, the Italian government allowed the vatican to keep its independence and sovereignty, as well as (though later on) get recompensation.
I don’t know where you got that number for the Belgian armed forces but it exceeded 100.000 before the war. Belgium was busy reforming its army with the goal of having a standing army of 360.000 by 1926.
1/ 0:43 painful spelling mistake that nobody picked up on apparently. 2/ Belgium never got fully occupied and kept fighting. I believe that is worthy of mentioning. 3/ As we say in Belgium: Every German is welcome, but they shouldn't come all at once anymore.
Fun fact: the Von Schlieffen Plan originally had the Germans marching through the southern part of the Netherlands as well, but in 1914 the Germans decided against it and that was why the Netherlands were kept out of the war.
If History Matters is correct,the original idea for the Schlieffen Plan was to go after Russia 1st and then focus on France. Then when Russia got epically curbstomped by Japan, Germany no longer saw them as an immediate threat and decided to focus on France 1st. This would turn out to be a fatal error
@@colindaniels945 No, it was the other way around. The idea was to focus on France first, because Russia took longer to mobilize its army due to the great size of the country and then after beating the French, the Germans could take Russia. There was a lot of wishful thinking in that plan. This is how I remember it from the history lessons at school.
You forget to say that it is thanks to the Belgians fighting and holding up the German Troops that France and Britain managed to bring troop to the North of France . Once the Belgians were pushed back to Diksmuyde and the Yser they were backed by French and Britisch . That is why the German advance was stopped . TXS
Correction about small nations not including colonies: At the time those were not considered separate nations. Most were integral parts of the parent nations at least on paper.
Your final comment on Belgium refusing to form an alliance with Britain or France in "the years before the second world war" is misleading. They did have a mutual defensive alliance with France from 1920 until 1936. So I assume you must mean 36-39 as the mentioned "years" but it seems rather importantly incomplete to me to have the only mention of interwar Belgium as some commited nutral when it spent the majority of the time not being so. Otherwise good video as always.
another country whose neutrality was violated in the first world war for getting a military advantage was Greece. The British landed in Greece against the will of the government and violated Greece's neutrality this way and dragged it into the first world war. A video on this topic would be also pretty nice.
Well that's obviously perfectly in line with the position and very principles on which Belgium was founded, like they're mentionned in the video, it's all very coherent, so there's really nothing to be surprised of, and no blame to be cast on that Prime Minister or government for that decision.
@@347Jimmy No, because nobody speak the complete thing. Belgium refused after plan from France high command leaked, and the plan was to make an obviously weaker maginot on the belgian side to force the german to attack belgium, and fight in belgium major city. Also, a proposition of the partition and join invasion of belgium from france to germany (they really wanted the colonies) had been envisaged and heard of too. So Belgium instead build her own defenses, gradually losing any hope in france as Reinland and the Tcheckoslovac partition occur, defense complosed of three separate lines, to force the german to a halt. All three lines where abbanonned by French high command, not trusting the plan the belgian gave them, leading to the massive piercing of the line.
Pretty sure it was actually the other way around. Tolkien fought in WW1, and LOTR was partially based on his experiences. That's why it has the 'war bad peace good' theme.
It's a quote from Verdun, "Ils ne passeront pas' (They shall not pass). Used by the French propaganda to tell the Germans they would never take the fortress of Verdun. Tolkien fought in the Great War and translated lots of his experiences in to the LotR trilogy
Noble Belgique, ô mère chérie, À toi nos cœurs, à toi nos bras, À toi notre sang, ô Patrie ! Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras ! Tu vivras toujours grande et belle Et ton invincible unité Aura pour devise immortelle : Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! Aura pour devise immortelle : Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté ! O liebes Land, o Belgiens Erde, Dir unser Herz, Dir unsere Hand, Dir unser Blut, o Heimaterde, wir schwören's Dir, o Vaterland! So blühe froh in voller Schöne, zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog, und fortan singen Deine Söhne: Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! und fortan singen Deine Söhne: Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch! O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren, Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd. Aanvaard ons kracht en het bloed van onze ad'ren, Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd. Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken; Wees immer uzelf en ongeknecht, Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken, Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken, Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht! 🇧🇪
Hi! Thank you for your awesome content. I love and look forward to your videos. Can you do a video in the future, anytime about Ceuta, Spain 🇪🇸 please? I just want to know the history and understand it better. Thanks. Best.
Belgium thinking they could hold the Germans actually wasn’t unthinkable because the line they planned to hold was along a river and importantly the fort of Liége, which was actually a very well-built fort. Unfortunately for them general Ludendorff (yes that Ludendorff) had taken a vacation to Liége in case of the exact scenario that Germany would invade Belgium and so knew all the fort’s weaknesses.
@@silenthunteruk can't blame them for that. Belgium had just gone trough 2 world wars, being occupied and reduced to rubble in both cases. and now once again a country (Russia via puppet states) started taking over European nations, threatening Belgium once again. so when several other nations came knocking at Belgium's door with the idea of an alliance of several nations who would defend each other if anyone tried to complete the trilogy, of course Belgium decided to become part of that defensive organisation.
@@silenthunterukI mean the Soviet Union annexed or 'liberated' lands all the way to the middle of Germany, l'd want to join the defensive alliance as well
I heard the word optimism here. Optimism at the start of a bloody conflict from all sides seems such a key factor in warfare. Pessimism by the end more often than not.
During the 1830 revolution the french intervened and protected Belgium from the Netherlands. It's one of those forgotten moves that paid off many decades later. The French kings of the restauration are highly underrated.
Likely true. The thing with Britain is they often have the option to sit out the conflict, but commit regardless. Whether that's honour or self interest, or something else. In 1918 Britain could have been sitting pretty after the French, Germans, Austro-Hungarians, & Russians tore each other to pieces. Instead they buried hundreds of thousands & they owed hundreds of millions.
We atleast did put up a fight... We had a bigger industry than Italy... We held the Westhoek... We defeated the Wehrmacht advance with astronomy though
You know fck all, ofc the exploitation and collonisation is a stain in the history of our country (still laughable compared to what france, spainn, the uk the dutch, the portuguese did but w/e...) but we did not commit genocide and ethnic cleansing, the locals did not need our help for that, they were doing it to themselves long before Leopold 1st got his hands on the Congo and was his exclusive private property, and they are still at it long AFTER we have gone.
“Why didn’t Belgium let the German through”
Just one German.
Germans: we demand access!
Belgium: Sure... But fak that guy! Not him!
Germans: but we love that guy 🥺
Belgium: NO!
(proceeds to war)
@@spiffygonzales5160😂😂😂
it's always 'just one German'...
He brought a beach towel with him
How many Germans does it actually take for the French to just surrender anyway?
Optimism: The number one enemy to military plans.
It worked well.
@@Samuil-iq6ebExcept for that part that didn't, which was all of it.
@@hammer3721
Well considering Belgium still exists than it did work having had not worked which would later not work again which still resulted in it eventually working despite having not worked twice which technically means that it worked twice. 👌
@@hammer3721 still made the germans pay a lot more than they should have given the difference in military size.
Actually it is usually the enemy which is the number one enemy to military plans. It's that bit about your plans never surviving contact with the enemy. Though being optimistic about your plans almost certainly dooms them to failure.
A German tourist went to the Belgian border crossing.
The guard: Name? Occupation?
Tourist: Hans, but just visiting.
That's a joke about Israelis.
@@gertstraatenvander4684what
@@gertstraatenvander4684no. It is not.
@@gertstraatenvander4684it’s not
"Occupation" : Not yet, just scouting 💀
There's an line from Classic Top Gear quote "Belgium: A country invented so that Britain and Germany would have a place to sort out their differences."
"Oh come on, everybody knows that Belgium is just there on the way to get to France" ~James May
"Belgium was invented by the British in order to annoy the french" - Charles de Gaulle
Well it's true...sorry to any Belgians here.
That statement is not untrue (if you replace Britain by France). Even if it comes from some old farts that have no clue... After Waterloo the United Netherlands were created for the specific reason of being a buffer in between the bigger European countries. Later this country was split into Belgium and The Netherlands. Mostly because they "didn't get along". In 1914 Belgium remembered that purpose and lived up to it.
@@HyperVegitoDBZ That's false of course. Going via Belgium from Britain to France is just a detour. Again, a statement from an old fart with no clue...
On the topic of Belgium during the First World War: King Albert I of Belgium stayed within the tiny sliver of Belgium that was unoccupied for the entire duration of the war and even commonly joined his men on the front lines.
now thats what you call a people's king!
He was a man to be proud of. Sadly we lost him way to soon. Also, we should probably shut up about what his successor did in the Second World War... 😁 And let's not even mention his predecessor...
*Based,* _avant la lettre._
Who would win ?
The Wehrmacht
Or
Some Belgian port officer, a few behind enemy line commandos and the moon
And that is how we kept out tiny sliver
@@thatrandomguyontheinternet2477 nope,you kept it by flooding your country.
"To quote a a great wizard from a book which hasn't been written yet: 'You cannot pass' ." is such a cold line from King Albert
Though if you *do* pass, you'll eventually meet the guy who will write that wizard.
@@Wolfeson28 You shall not pass! a line from British soldier during battle of the Somme shouting to a counter-attacking German with a toothbrush mustache looking man.
The author of that book fought in WW1
@@anantachonnambat6701It actually comes from the phrase “They shall not pass!” Said by a French officer during the Battle of Verdun. And they were right. The battle was the biggest meat grinder of the war but the Germans didn’t pass.
@@emberfist8347 I know that it was the French motto during battle of Verdun but I just wanted to make a joke about JRR being in the same battle as Hitler.
The Germans in World War Two: WE’LL DO IT AGAIN!
Not funny didnt laugh
@@barsukascool Funny, laughed
@@stormstriker2000how is it funny
@@barsukascoolBecause they did it again lol. How is it not funny?
@@barsukascool i laughed at ur argument
0:23 i just wanna say i really love this map coloring of making it darker than usual but not too dark
Rac ist
didnt even notice that man
@@ahmedOsama81931 Are you throwing the race card for no reason? 😐
@@ahmedOsama81931
Rac ist wass?
@@ahmedOsama81931das ist what??
Netherlands in WW1: Thank god we're not being invaded
Netherlands in WW2: Well sh*t
Sadly, they still suffered from the war. Only economically, but to the point where Troelstra thought about the communist revolution
@@BartlomiejDmowski tbf communism wasn't so bad in theory. It's just how it was done in practice that wasn't so good
@@oliversherman2414 That's always the thing with communism. It's great in theory, but in practice it lacks the one thing that vastly trumps _everything_ else in importance when it comes to creating a government: providing a method where power-hungry people can be removed from their position. If you don't provide that, power _will_ centralize around those individuals, and they won't care about the country they're supposed to lead.
@@Leyrann true
Ironically because Dutch neutrality was respected in WW1 many who wanted to escape Germany before WW2 went to the Netherlands
Belgium doesn't get enough credit for standing its ground in both world wars, despite the massive power disparity. They took a beating two times by slowing down and not cooperating with the Germans and set up the right conditions for victory.
And their king fighting alongside the troops in the trenches while the queen volunteered as a nurse.
@@alemmerenjamir7337Yes, though in the second world war the king did capitulate with the germans.
@@frederik_9748 no he didn't
And all it took was *A CERTAIN TOOTHBRUSH MUSTACHE HAVING AUSTRIAN MAN* to reboot the madness.
A failed art student then came back for round 2.
Ok you watched the same video we did good job kid
THE FEZ-WEARING ITALIAN MAAAN
if this is your understanding of history i pray for you. but i get it all you want i thumbs up
This will forever be funny to me.
I like the idea that J.R.R. Tolkien read King Albert’s letter and thought ‘hmm that’s a good line, I should write a book about that’ and came up with Lord of the Rings
I was thinking about the Spanish Civil War: No pasaran!
Albert was an idiot
My guess is he took inspiration from the French war cry at Verdun.
@@fransbuijs808Spanish republicans adopted that from the french at verdun
Also props to HM for getting the line right from the book. Ian McKellan ad-libbed the change to "shall" for the movie.
Old german joke:
How big is belgium?
Two hours by tank
@@kategogy you know that joke only works for ww1 😅
I literally laughed out loud at this lol
Funny..
What’s Luxembourg, 15 minutes by tank?
I prefer the old chestnut:
If France and Germany go to war who loses? Belgium.
Kaiser Wilhelm ii, the Emperor of Germany, actually wanted to abandon this idea a couple days before they invaded Belgium
Wilhelm had recently received a telegram from Britain claiming that they would remain neutral under the condition that Germany not violate Belgium neutrality. Wilhelm was actually VERY relieved to hear this because he actually never wanted to fight Britain. This led to him ordering his Generals to re-route all German troops from the Belgium border, set up a defensive line along the French Boarder, and focus on the Russian Front. Despite this, the head of the Army, General Helmuth Von Moltke refused, claiming that this would cause too much chaos and confusion. He and the Kaiser got into a shouting match with Wilhelm even being quoted to have said "your uncle would've given me a different answer!".
Unfortunately the Kaiser would be pressured by the rest of the German Military to abandon this idea and continue the invasion of Belgium.
Which as we all know was a fatal decision for Germany.
There were also alegiations that the Belgians allowed French planes (going thru belgian airspace) to attack Germany while they were still neutral.
@@robitusscyth9486 While I don’t doubt that could’ve happened, it’s still not confirmed.
Though I don’t doubt it because French troops were also seen rushing to the Belgian boarder
@@beneckendorff9256 Hence why i said it as i did. War is murky business hence that whole fog of war.
Honestly from all I have read and heard it seems like the powers that be forced that war into being generals and political big wigs refusing or delaying to send Monarchs orders in a timely manner causing things to quickly spin out of control. Like what you pointed out Russia had a similar issue when Nicholas tried to pause the deployment his commanders refused siting similar issues.
The rare case in which the supreme leader was actually smarter than his military subordinates (the absolute opposite of ww2).
I do believe britain would've entered the war, sooner or later, as they saw Germany as a gigantic threat to their hegemony. Still, it is curious that the beef was always with russia and western europe was always in the way.
"Your uncle would have given me a different answer!"
"Bismarck would have known better than to ask."
Fun fact: The Germans didn't fully occupy Belgium in WWI, a small part survived, garrisoned by Belgian and British troops, around Ypres(where 3 major battles were fought during the war).
It was the holiday resort of the Little Gaulish Village. Known for its excellent magic potion since 50BCE!
@michaelhoffmann2891 did you also change 3 months of the year and every day of the week to avoid the religious origins of all calendar time, or just years?
Wasn't exactly a blessing, though. In retrospect, the Belgians would have much preferred WW1 to unfold outside of their country rather than having the token victory of having a small portion of land occupied by baguettes.
@@jordanhudiburgh
Or 5 days of the week?
@@Michiganman800 I said 5 days a week because of Sunday and Monday
Belguim being known as a highway for German armies in both World Wars is intersting!
ur dp looks like flag of india
@@stormstriker2000i think it is
It is, next to Poland, Europe's favourite battlefield.
"highway" we defended it furiously for every cm and flooded our lands to stop them, thanks to us the frontline froze in WW1
@@AnaIvanovic4ever Maybe the Balkans takes that title.
If James bizenet stopped being mentioned at the end I think I would singly go bonkers
Don’t forget spinning three plates 😢
The first video without JB will be "How the world's economy completely crashed"
Belgium actually did toy with coordinating with France pre-emptively in the 1930s as Mister Moustache Man came to power, but after France let the German reoccupation of the Rhineland go unanswered, Belgium lost faith France would actually defend them and retreated back into strict neutrality.
The French plan was to only defend half of Belgium, putting the front over all the major cities
Funny enough in 1939 Belgium had more troops on the border with Germany and France than France and Germany had on eachother's border and Belgian borders COMBINED
@@rotmistrzjanm8776Yes, because neither the German nor the Allies' strategy at the time called for a direct push through the German-French border. The French had the Maginot Line defending their border and the Germans had... well they had the French as an enemy. 😅
Okay, jokes aside, France at the time was a war-weary and politically unstable country. There was no chance that their citizens would ever support an extended offensive into Germany.
@@firefox3249 I don't mean ofencive it's just that Germans were occupied in Poland while French were simpli mobilising their country and economy. French estimated that they wil achive full defencive capabilities in 1940 and will mass enough force for an offencive in 1941. Meanwhile Belgians made insta mobilisation
Very smart because after the rhineland clearly germany wasn’t going to violate it
Germany in 1914 : Those roads are [error] !
Germany in 1940 : Those roads are [error] !
Germany in 2024 : Those roads are...wait a minute
"Those roads have really low speed limits, let's take the TGV instead."
This will not happen a third time. Germany is now more diverse and peaceful
@@ahmedOsama81931 *Germany is no longer german and controlled by non germans FTFY
@@ahmedOsama81931 (1) A country is not "diverse", it has diversity. (2) diversity can mean a lot of different things (3) diversity has nothing to do with invading or not a neighbouring country.
@@ahmedOsama81931 The joke is (probably) that there's a ton of Germans going on holiday in Belgium these days.
King Albert I: Belgium is a country, not a road 🇧🇪
Coolest king ever!
Thing is: there are Belgians who would disagree. Though it is noteworthy how much the whole Flamish vs Walloon thing has become quite silent in recent years. Wonder why...
@@pboucaLook up what he did in the Congo, you might not think he's that cool afterwards....
Germany: Well we see thing “differently”
King Albert? Aren't you mistaking him for his uncle?
As I recall, when Belgium was established in 1830, the terms of the treaty which established it,as you said in the video, stated that Belgium would be perpetually neutral in all conflicts.
A big part of why Belgium said no was because Germany aka Prussia was one of the signatories of said treaty.
It was the violation of Belgian neutrality that made England declare war on the Central Powers.
However it was the very same England which later in the war would violate Greek neutrality and make the whole thing a bit of a farce.
Technically true, but Germany wasn’t like England and France. While Prussia still existed, Bavaria, Hanover, Wüttemburg, Baden and the other Princedoms and Duchies didn’t and by all rights the German Empire didn’t sign it either only Prussia.
Prussia signed it, the German Empire did not. The Empire was a loose confederation of kingdoms that was dominated BY Prussia but wasn't by definition Prussia.
You can say its similar to the USSR, A loose confederation of nations that was dominated by Russia but wasn't by definition Russia.
It would be unfair to say that as it would diminish the other members of the Empire, such as Bavaria, to be guilty of signing it when they did not.
It was the violation of Belgian neutrality that gave Britain the EXCUSE to declare war on the Central Powers. The British government wanted a war as much as any other power in Europe. They wanted to fully re-assert themselves as the dominant naval power in the world, restore France as the dominant land power in Europe and they wanted a cause to unite the population; so they would stop demanding things like an end to sixteen hour working days and the right to vote even if you didn't have a pen!s.
@@USSFFRU hell when you asked someone at the time where they were from. They wouldn’t say “I’m from Germany” they would say I’m from Prussia, or Bavaria, or one of the main German states within the German Empire.
AND NOW EVERYBODY:
See a king and a soldier, fighting shoulder to shoulder
See a king and a soldier, fighting shoulder to shoulder
He overruled his commanders, he made a last stand in Flanders
We see our king and a soldier, they're fighting shoulder to shoulder
To keep the last piece of Belgium free
Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well.
always have the scroll down to see the Sabaton references
All the way, on to triumph or to judgement day
We will follow and we will not be led astray!
@@jamesmacdonald1116What was the name of the Sabaton song, so we (at least *I*) can look it up?
@@davidweihe6052 Race to the sea
Can’t wait for more historical content!!!!
2:11 "under new management" lmao!
Cuz James Bissonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chapel, etc.
& Kelly Moneymaker
@@simondesmond3574and Sky Chapel
Calling Dr. Howard Dr. Fine Dr. Howard
Nah
@@jamesbissonette8002 👽
Thanks for another great video James!
One correction, Belgium had joined in an alliance with France before WW2 but Belgium saw both of those do nothing when Germany rearmed so they left fearing their ally would sacrifice them to appease Germany, like what happened to most of Eastern/ central Europe later down the line.
Yes, it is only in this decade that this point has become a point of interest, likely and willingly overlooked by historians in the past. Germany's re-arment started early in the '30's, even having training grounds in Russia for their tanks!, and none of those 'Treaty of Verdun' members reacted properly.
King Albert really pissed off the (grammar) Nazis with that letter
It's not a mistake he'd have made in French, Flemish or even German!
Wrong war bro
@@JohaLego twas a joke
thanks for clarifying the joke. literally flew over my head. i thought HM was just being an ass at grammar 😂
@@BobbyBrotworstOverrated as All Hell.
Germany- We'd like to pass through in order to protect you from France.
Belgium- No tanks
Funny because the germans only had 20 tanks 🤣 😂
Silly! 🤣
Another amazing video
Love the little detail in the map where Luxemburg still had its territory which is now Belgian Luxemburg.
If you make map-focused videos about historical territory changes, then getting all the borders period correct is a standard people will hold you to.
One time a Belgian guy walked up to me, said "guten tag" and "I'm from Belgium" and then ran away.
That's the only impression I have of the country
In the 1930s, ironically, the Maginot Line was a major contributor to Belgian neutrality, because the Maginot Line made it clear that any major battles between France and Germany would take place outside the Franco-German border, that is, the Low Countries, and the Belgians, were very reluctant to offer their own country as a battlefield, the clear French plan to use Belgium as a battlefield was largely responsible for the lack of consensus in Belgian defense policy, but this does not mean that the Belgians did not have Its own fortifications, Belgium had some strong ones, but it meant that there was poor communication and strategy between the armies of France and Belgium that left some gaps for contingency planning, which contributed decisively to the success of the German campaign of 1940.
Belgium was supposed to build their part of the line, but they didn't.
The French could only build defenses within their borders. It was "easy" to do that where France bordered Germany directly, but what were they supposed to do along their Belgian border?
One option would be to continue their fortifications within France to the coastline and basically concede Belgium to Germany.
Another option would be for Belgum to allow France to build fortifications along the Belgian-German border, but that would also break neutrality and risk "occupation" by French troops instead of German ones.
The option that was chosen was to have a mobile defense waiting in France to step in and assist Belgium if they were invaded.
The battle on belgium was gonna happen one way or another. It was the easiest path to get into France. on the contrary of this interpretation, the Maginov Line made the situation much safer for Belgium, as France could focus it's army on protecting belgium since their border would be safe, at least for the first month of war which was more or less what French high command estimated the Maginov line would hold on it's own.
It was Belgium's breaking the military alliance at the last possible second which doomed belgium to be occupied, while otherwise it could have hold off the germans with french support.
Leopold III's reneging on the defensive alliance with France has to be standing among the top most stupid decisions of WW II and the years leading up to it
@@icecold1805 The French plan was to fight in the cities, not on the border. In the end, forgetting history, they completely messed up their own plan in Sedan
it's always a good day when history matters uploads
(please release your maps)
King Albert having a picture of himself on his wall is everything❤
Belgium might be small, but we do have balls. We don’t much appreciate getting bullied around.
Aren’t we getting bullied around by our own government 24/7 ?
@@tercalimureisCome and live in Italy. You will adore your government 😂
@@GianniDN I would love the weather instead of this rainy summer over here
1:32 I laugh way too much at that "Sometimes you"
So I guess in Advance Wars 1 when Orange Star is trying to go through Yellow Comet uninvited with armed forces, Kanbei had a right to complain even if they weren't staying.
So many of the plans of WW1 hinged on it just working. It's quite funny in hindsight
WWI is the epitome of "It would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic."
Something something tragedy + time
@@allensturdivant3044 Yeah seriously...
So the monarch that was on a publicity tour to support freedom and independence got lost and was taken out by radicals that wanted freedom and independence?
That very small and insignificant thing spiraled into a massive conflict because monarchs tried to increase their power and influence? Oh but the end result was less power influence of monarchies?
Who's writing this script and why do I hear Benny Hill music in the background?
@@john2g1 And of course the old "Imagine being an Indian fighting Germans in Belgium because a Serb shot an Austrian in Bosnia"
Todd Howard was clearly the architect of the Edwardian era.
See a king and a solider standin shoulder to shoulder
Amazing video as always!
Poor Luxembourg, always exempted from discussions like these
Yo that's our favorite province!
As a Belgian I can say I'm glad we didn't lose our country
I don't know why, but I really love the way Belgian eastern border looked prior to the annexation of Eupen-Malmedy
The re-annexation* eupen-malmedy was already Belgian up until the 19th century.
@@imwinningthisone7613 pretty interesting actually. Although it is German speaking and I don’t think its inhabitants wanted to join
For king and for country we are flooding the river,
Our stand at Yser will be the end of the race to the sea,
The last piece of Belgium's free, we're keeping a sliver,
A cog in the war machine, October of 1914 ~ Race to the Sea, Sabaton
Fun fact: the actual title is King of the Belgians, not King of Belgium.
Some video ideas:
1)Why is San Marino an independent country?
2)Why did the State of the Teutonic Order collapse?
3)Why did Vietnam invade Cambodia in 1978?
Also: 4) Why did Israel give back Sinai peninsula after it decisively won the war on nearby arabs
5) Why did Turks invade half of the Cyprus and still hold it to this day, despite both Turkey and Greece being NATO countries
6) Why is Vatican a independent country?
@@ehta2413 he already did a video about the Vatican
@@ehta2413I can reply to 5: because the cypriot government was practically carrying out ethnic cleansing against the turks in Cyprus, so Turkey intervened to stop that.
Europe wasn't really a fan of the turks so it can be very easily understood why noone else intervened.
As for 6: Italy still has a very big catholic population, and in the 2nd half of the 1800s the Pope was extremely influential.
As such, the Italian government allowed the vatican to keep its independence and sovereignty, as well as (though later on) get recompensation.
Here are the answers:
1) Pope
2) Poland
3) Pol Pot
@@bruhbruh-us6gl Nice one. Try saying that fast 10 times in a row.
A Great Wizard in a Book that hasn't been written yet.
top video ! short and full of interesting facts !
Guest appearance by man with the moustache is always nice.😀
See a king and a soldier…
…fighting shoulder to shoulder.
I don’t know where you got that number for the Belgian armed forces but it exceeded 100.000 before the war. Belgium was busy reforming its army with the goal of having a standing army of 360.000 by 1926.
The 'You're' in that note made my eye twitch.
Becase Sabaton couldn't write "Race to the Sea" if they did.
We’re keeping the kingdom free
@@atellismarin4607 James Bisonete would internationally humiliate Belgium
Honestly I used to dislike Sabaton...
*THEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED!!!!*
1/ 0:43 painful spelling mistake that nobody picked up on apparently.
2/ Belgium never got fully occupied and kept fighting. I believe that is worthy of mentioning.
3/ As we say in Belgium: Every German is welcome, but they shouldn't come all at once anymore.
Fun fact: the Von Schlieffen Plan originally had the Germans marching through the southern part of the Netherlands as well, but in 1914 the Germans decided against it and that was why the Netherlands were kept out of the war.
If History Matters is correct,the original idea for the Schlieffen Plan was to go after Russia 1st and then focus on France.
Then when Russia got epically curbstomped by Japan, Germany no longer saw them as an immediate threat and decided to focus on France 1st.
This would turn out to be a fatal error
@@colindaniels945
No, it was the other way around. The idea was to focus on France first, because Russia took longer to mobilize its army due to the great size of the country and then after beating the French, the Germans could take Russia. There was a lot of wishful thinking in that plan. This is how I remember it from the history lessons at school.
You forget to say that it is thanks to the Belgians fighting and holding up the German Troops that France and Britain managed to bring troop to the North of France . Once the Belgians were pushed back to Diksmuyde and the Yser they were backed by French and Britisch . That is why the German advance was stopped . TXS
Because James Bisonette warned them against it
Great video thank you
I am proud to be a belgian guy
YOU SHALL NOT PASS! Brave little Belgium doesn't F around.
Another great video! Good Job!
Correction about small nations not including colonies: At the time those were not considered separate nations. Most were integral parts of the parent nations at least on paper.
I love the news paper and treaty clips, 0:44 and 1:30 are simple but hilarious
Good video.
Legend has it that James Bisonette was allowed through Belgium
He can come and sponsor anything he likes any day of the year ;-)
“Optimism was a big part of the decision making”. Isn’t that the truth.
Your final comment on Belgium refusing to form an alliance with Britain or France in "the years before the second world war" is misleading. They did have a mutual defensive alliance with France from 1920 until 1936. So I assume you must mean 36-39 as the mentioned "years" but it seems rather importantly incomplete to me to have the only mention of interwar Belgium as some commited nutral when it spent the majority of the time not being so.
Otherwise good video as always.
another country whose neutrality was violated in the first world war for getting a military advantage was Greece. The British landed in Greece against the will of the government and violated Greece's neutrality this way and dragged it into the first world war. A video on this topic would be also pretty nice.
Don't forget that the Maginot Line from WW2 was also suppose to go over Beliguim as well, but the Belgium Prime Minister refused.
Oh wow that's a detail that should get mentioned more
Well that's obviously perfectly in line with the position and very principles on which Belgium was founded, like they're mentionned in the video, it's all very coherent, so there's really nothing to be surprised of, and no blame to be cast on that Prime Minister or government for that decision.
@@347Jimmy No, because nobody speak the complete thing. Belgium refused after plan from France high command leaked, and the plan was to make an obviously weaker maginot on the belgian side to force the german to attack belgium, and fight in belgium major city.
Also, a proposition of the partition and join invasion of belgium from france to germany (they really wanted the colonies) had been envisaged and heard of too.
So Belgium instead build her own defenses, gradually losing any hope in france as Reinland and the Tcheckoslovac partition occur, defense complosed of three separate lines, to force the german to a halt.
All three lines where abbanonned by French high command, not trusting the plan the belgian gave them, leading to the massive piercing of the line.
Great content 👌
*VIDEO SUGGESTION:*
Why does San Marino exist?
I have a video suggestion; What happened to the Moors of Iberia after the reconquista?
Love the Belgian king quoting Gandalf lol
Pretty sure it was actually the other way around. Tolkien fought in WW1, and LOTR was partially based on his experiences. That's why it has the 'war bad peace good' theme.
It's a quote from Verdun, "Ils ne passeront pas' (They shall not pass). Used by the French propaganda to tell the Germans they would never take the fortress of Verdun. Tolkien fought in the Great War and translated lots of his experiences in to the LotR trilogy
Fascinating!
Noble Belgique, ô mère chérie,
À toi nos cœurs, à toi nos bras,
À toi notre sang, ô Patrie !
Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras !
Tu vivras toujours grande et belle
Et ton invincible unité
Aura pour devise immortelle :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Aura pour devise immortelle :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
O liebes Land, o Belgiens Erde,
Dir unser Herz, Dir unsere Hand,
Dir unser Blut, o Heimaterde,
wir schwören's Dir, o Vaterland!
So blühe froh in voller Schöne,
zu der die Freiheit Dich erzog,
und fortan singen Deine Söhne:
Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch!
und fortan singen Deine Söhne:
Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch!
Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch!
Gesetz und König und die Freiheit hoch!
O dierbaar België, O heilig land der Vaad'ren,
Onze ziel en ons hart zijn u gewijd.
Aanvaard ons kracht en het bloed van onze ad'ren,
Wees ons doel in arbeid en in strijd.
Bloei, o land, in eendracht niet te breken;
Wees immer uzelf en ongeknecht,
Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken,
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht!
Het woord getrouw, dat g' onbevreesd moogt spreken,
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht!
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht!
Voor Vorst, voor Vrijheid en voor Recht!
🇧🇪
Smaller nations are not shortcuts for their larger neighbors
0:43 *your
Hi! Thank you for your awesome content. I love and look forward to your videos. Can you do a video in the future, anytime about Ceuta, Spain 🇪🇸 please? I just want to know the history and understand it better. Thanks. Best.
And now Brussels airlines is part of the Lufthansa group.
Ah yes, the German.
Minor typo in the title but good video!
Here in Belgium a name for the German occupier was 'Den Duits' which literally means 'the German'. So to me makes sense 😁
Belgium thinking they could hold the Germans actually wasn’t unthinkable because the line they planned to hold was along a river and importantly the fort of Liége, which was actually a very well-built fort. Unfortunately for them general Ludendorff (yes that Ludendorff) had taken a vacation to Liége in case of the exact scenario that Germany would invade Belgium and so knew all the fort’s weaknesses.
In 1860 the last line of forts were there to hold the French six months. In 1914 the last line held four years.
James Bisonette funded Belgian resistance. And the German they did not let through was Kelley Moneymaker, Bisonette's arch-nemesis.
The wizard said "You shall not pass" and the use of You're instead of your there hurts me :/
Otherwise great as usual
0:35 these borders are just so 😭😭
Next video recommendation. Why Hideki Tojo was removed from Power?.
Fun Fact: Prussia guaranteed Belgium’s independence
I love the thought of Belgium quoting Gandalf.
Belgium can only do this once a century, then the skill goes into cooldown.
No, they did it twice. In May 1940, Belgium was much harder nut to crack than the Germans expected. Look up 'the Battle of the Lys'.
Was the “you’re” in Belgium’s response deliberate?
They're neutral and they will never waffle on that point
Until they joined NATO.
@@silenthunteruk can't blame them for that.
Belgium had just gone trough 2 world wars, being occupied and reduced to rubble in both cases.
and now once again a country (Russia via puppet states) started taking over European nations, threatening Belgium once again.
so when several other nations came knocking at Belgium's door with the idea of an alliance of several nations who would defend each other if anyone tried to complete the trilogy, of course Belgium decided to become part of that defensive organisation.
@@silenthunterukI mean the Soviet Union annexed or 'liberated' lands all the way to the middle of Germany, l'd want to join the defensive alliance as well
Germany needed some luft waffles which were insured in Belgium due to the Belgian waffle industry.
I heard the word optimism here. Optimism at the start of a bloody conflict from all sides seems such a key factor in warfare.
Pessimism by the end more often than not.
Also Belgians refused the extension of the French Maginot line along their border.
Which is absolutely coherent with their founding principles so it could never have been otherwise.
maginot line wasn't build until ww2
During the 1830 revolution the french intervened and protected Belgium from the Netherlands. It's one of those forgotten moves that paid off many decades later. The French kings of the restauration are highly underrated.
That was not the Bourbon restoration but the July monarchy of Louis-Philippe.
@@edmerc92 Obviously, I meant it more broadly as the return of the monarchy till 1848. But yes, should have used a broader term.
Belgium: We will not let the Germans pass
Germany: Fine (pass anyway)
And that's why friends you never trust France or the United Kingdom
Poland:
Likely true. The thing with Britain is they often have the option to sit out the conflict, but commit regardless. Whether that's honour or self interest, or something else. In 1918 Britain could have been sitting pretty after the French, Germans, Austro-Hungarians, & Russians tore each other to pieces.
Instead they buried hundreds of thousands & they owed hundreds of millions.
We atleast did put up a fight...
We had a bigger industry than Italy...
We held the Westhoek...
We defeated the Wehrmacht advance with astronomy though
@@kerriwilson7732 The First World War was an utter catastrophe. The UK should never have got involved.
0:33 mainland Germany was divided also by Lithuania, Belgium, France and new states of Saarland and Free City of Danzig...
Belgians in WWI: Belgium will not stand for occupation and ethnic cleansing!
Belgian Congo: 🤨
You might want to brush up on some history before saying shit you vaguely know about.
Not the belgian-congo but in the private-state of the congo not own'd or ruled by belgium .
And that’s why you stay out of other people’s tribal messes
You know fck all, ofc the exploitation and collonisation is a stain in the history of our country (still laughable compared to what france, spainn, the uk the dutch, the portuguese did but w/e...) but we did not commit genocide and ethnic cleansing, the locals did not need our help for that, they were doing it to themselves long before Leopold 1st got his hands on the Congo and was his exclusive private property, and they are still at it long AFTER we have gone.
ethnic cleansing was present long before the belgians got there and is still going strong long after they have gone, thank you.
Dont forget the king being a big influence in rallying the country against the germans
These new soldier ww1 models and political figures look really good
I see you displayed Belgium with its pre 1918 borders and I applaud you for the the attention to detail.
Hi, from Belgium...🤗🇧🇪🍫