The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread to discuss what was considered to be the Rape of Belgium

. Larry Zuckerman

This is part of the discussion of the Keegan book.

John Keegan

The Rape of Belgium (4 August through September 1914) is a term describing a series of German war crimes in the opening months of World War I. The neutrality of Belgium had been guaranteed by Prussia in 1839. Germany accepted Prussia's diplomatic obligations and offered additional guarantees in 1871 and at the Hague Conference in 1907. However the German war plan, known as the Schlieffen Plan, called for Germany to violate this neutrality in order to outflank the French Army, concentrated in eastern France. The German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg dismissed the Treaty of London, 1839 as a mere "scrap of paper".

German troops, fearful of Belgian guerrilla fighters, or francs-tireurs, burned homes and executed civilians throughout eastern and central Belgium, including Aarschot (156 dead), Andenne (211 dead), Tamines (383 dead) and Dinant (665 dead). The victims included women and children. On August 25, 1914 the Germans ravaged the city of Leuven, burning the University's library of 230,000 books, killing 248 residents, and forcing the entire population, 42,000, to evacuate. Large amounts of strategic materials, food stuffs and modern industrial equipment was looted and removed to Germany. These actions brought worldwide condemnation.

Horne and Kramer give an explanation of these crimes:

The source of the collective fantasy of the People’s War and of the harsh reprisals with which the German army (up to its highest level) responded are to be found in the memory of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1, when the German armies indeed faced irregular Republican soldiers (or francs-tireurs), and in the way in which the spectre of civilian involvement in warfare conjured up the worst fears of democratic and revolutionary disorder for a conservative officer corps.
—John Horne, German war crimes

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_...

The Etiology of War Crimes and the Complexities of Remembrance

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev....

Plucky Little Belgium Revisited:

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev....

Review of a book dealing with this event:

http://www.historyofwar.org/bookpage/...

Jeff Lipkes

Home Before the Leaves Fall: A New History of the German Invasion of 1914

by Ian Senior (no photo)

Synopsis:

The German invasion of France and Belgium in August 1914 came within an ace of defeating the French armies, capturing Paris, and ending the First World War before the autumn leaves had fallen. But the German armies failed to score the knock-out blow they had planned. The war would drag on for four years of unprecedented slaughter.

There are many accounts of 1914 from the British point of view. The achievements of the British Expeditionary Force were the stuff of legend, but in reality there were only four divisions in the field; the French and Germans had more than 60 each. The real story of the battle can only be told by an author with the skill to mine the extensive German and French archives. Ian Senior does this with consummate skill, weaving together strategic analysis with diary entries and interview transcripts from the soldiers on the ground to create a remarkable new history. In addition, all previous classic histories on the subject either focus virtually exclusively on the British experiences or are now very out-of-date such as Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August (1962) or Sewell Tyng's Campaign of the Marne (1935).

Supported by up numerous sketch maps, extensive archival research and poignant first-hand accounts, Home Before the Leaves Fall is an accessible, narrative account of the German invasion that came within an ace of victory, that long hot summer.

An upcoming book:
Release date: August 19, 2014

Invasion 1914: The Schelieffen Plan to the Battle of the Marne: Before the trenches - the first battles of World War I

by Ian Senior (no photo)

Synopsis:

The German invasion of France and Belgium in August 1914 came agonizingly close to defeating the French armies, capturing Paris and ending the First World War before the autumn leaves had fallen. The initial German strategy revolved around, and in part depended on, rapid victory over the French, but they were unable to deliver the knock-out blow they had planned - and the surprisingly fluid battles of the early days of the war deteriorated into the defensive, trench-based warfare which was to see the war drag on for another four years of unprecedented slaughter.

Ian Senior has woven together strategic analysis, diary entries, dramatic eyewitness accounts and interview transcripts from soldiers on the ground with consummate skill. He has produced a remarkable new narrative history that for the first time focuses on the experiences of French and German troops in the long hot summer of 1914 as the outcome of the war hung in the balance, revealing how the defiant French opposition and failings in the German invasion plans ultimately foiled the German war machine and changed the course of the war.

Another:
Release date: November 1, 2014

Ten Days in August: The Siege of Liège 1914

by Terence Zuber (no photo)

Synopsis:

In August 1914 the German main attack was conducted by the 2nd Army. It had the missions of taking the vital fortresses of Liège and Namur, and then defeating the Anglo-French-Belgian forces in the open plains of northern Belgium. The German attack on the Belgian fortress at Liège had tremendous political and military importance. Nevertheless, there has never been a complete account of the siege. The German and Belgian sources are fragmentary and biased. The short descriptions in English are general, use a few Belgian sources, and are filled with inaccuracies. Making use of both German and Belgian sources, this book for the first time describes and evaluates the construction of the fortress, its military purpose, the German plan, and the conduct of the German attack. Previous accounts emphasize the importance of the huge German "Big Bertha" cannon, to the virtual exclusion of everything else: the Siege of Liège shows that the effect of this gun was a myth, and shows how the Germans really took the fortress.

One of the worst atrocities by the Germans upon neutral Belgium was the destruction of the University city of Louvain. The article below offers the history of this catastrophe.


Over the course of five days, beginning August 25, 1914, German troops stationed in the Belgian village of Louvain during the opening month of World War I burn and loot much of the town, executing hundreds of civilians.

Located between Liege, the fortress town that saw heavy fighting during the first weeks of the German invasion, and the Belgian capital of Brussels, Louvain became the symbol, in the eyes of international public opinion, of the shockingly brutal nature of the German war machine. From the first days they crossed into Belgium, violating that small country’s neutrality on the way to invade France, German forces looted and destroyed much of the countryside and villages in their path, killing significant numbers of civilians, including women and children. These brutal actions, the Germans claimed, were in response to what they saw as an illegal civilian resistance to the German occupation, organized and promoted by the Belgian government and other community leaders—especially the Catholic Church—and carried out by irregular combatants or franc-tireurs (snipers, or free shooters) of the type that had participated in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71.

In reality this type of civilian resistance—despite being sanctioned by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which the Germans objected to—did not exist to any significant degree in Belgium during the German invasion, but was used as an excuse to justify the German pursuit of a theory of terror previously articulated by the enormously influential 19th-century Prussian military philosopher Karl von Clausewitz. According to Clausewitz, the civilian population of an enemy country should not be exempted from war, but in fact should be made to feel its effects, and be forced to put pressure on their government to surrender.

The burning of Louvain came on the heels of a massacre in the village of Dinant, near Liege, on August 23, in which the German soldiers had killed some 674 civilians on the orders of their corps commander. Two days later, the small but hardy Belgian army made a sudden sharp attack on the rear lines of the German 1st Army, commanded by General Alexander von Kluck, forcing the Germans to retreat in disorder to Louvain. In the confusion that followed, they would later claim, civilians had fired on the German soldiers or had fired from the village’s rooftops to send a signal to the Belgian army, or even to approaching French or British troops. The Belgians, by contrast, would claim the Germans had mistakenly fired on each other in the dark. Whatever happened did not matter: the Germans burned Louvain not to punish specific Belgian acts but to provide an example, before the world, of what happened to those who resisted mighty Germany.

Over the next five days, as Louvain and its buildings—including its renowned university and library, founded in 1426—burned, a great outcry grew in the international community, with refugees pouring out of the village and eyewitness accounts filling the foreign press. Richard Harding Davis, an American correspondent in Belgium, arrived at Louvain by troop train on August 27; his report later appeared in the New York Tribune under the headline GERMANS SACK LOUVAIN; WOMEN AND CLERGY SHOT. A wireless statement from Berlin issued by the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed the incidents, stating that "Louvain was punished by the destruction of the city." The Allied press went crazy, with British editorials proclaiming "Treason to Civilization" and insisting the Germans had proved themselves descendants not of the great author Goethe but of the bloodthirsty Attila the Hun.

By war’s end, the Germans would kill some 5,521 civilians in Belgium (and 896 in France). Above all, German actions in Belgium were intended to demonstrate to the Allies that the German empire was a formidable power that should be submitted to, and that those resisting that power—whether soldier or civilian, belligerent or neutral—would be met with a force of total destruction. Ironically, for many in the Allied countries, and in the rest of the world as well, a different conclusion emerged from the flames of Louvain: Germany must be defeated at all costs, without compromise or settlement, because a German victory would mean the defeat of civilization. (Source: History Channel)

This book is one in the excellent WWI Centenary Series.

Through the Iron Bars: Two Years of German Occupation in Belgium

by Emile Cammaerts (no photo)

Synopsis:

""It is the plain matter-of-fact story of Belgian life under German rule. Many more people will be tempted to praise the glory of our soldiers. But, if the incidents of conquered Belgium's life are not recorded in good time, they might escape notice. People might forget that, besides the 150,000 to 200,000 heroes who are now waging war for Belgium on the Western front, there are 7,500,000 heroes who are suffering for Belgium behind the German lines, in the close prison of guarded frontiers, cut off from the whole world, separated alike from those who are fighting for their deliverance and from those who have sought refuge abroad."" This book is part of the World War One Centenary series; creating, collating and reprinting new and old works of poetry, fiction, autobiography and analysis. The series forms a commemorative tribute to mark the passing of one of the world's bloodiest wars, offering new perspectives on this tragic yet fascinating period of human history. Each publication also includes brand new introductory essays and a timeline to help the reader place the work in its historical context.

Thank you Jill for all of the updates on the threads thus far.

You are quite welcome.

The world was aghast as Germany ran over little neutral Belgium in the first months of WWI. This book describes some of the horrors committed during that occupation.

The Rape of Belgium: The Untold Story of World War I

by Larry Zuckerman (no photo)

Synopsis:

In August 1914, the German Army invaded the neutral nation of Belgium, violating a treaty that the German chancellor dismissed as a "scrap of paper." The invaders terrorized the Belgians, shooting thousands of civilians and looting and burning scores of towns, including Louvain, which housed the country's preeminent university.

The Rape of Belgium recalls the bloodshed and destruction of the 1914 invasion, and the outrage it inspired abroad. Yet Larry Zuckerman does not stop there, and takes us on a harrowing journey over the next fifty months, vividly documenting Germany's occupation of Belgium. The occupiers plundered the country, looting its rich supply of natural resources; deporting Belgians en masse to Germany and northern France as forced laborers; and jailing thousands on contrived charges, including the failure to inform on family or neighbors. Despite the duration of the siege and the destruction left in its wake, in considering Belgium, neither the Allies nor the history books focused on the occupation, and instead cast their attention almost wholly on the invasion.

Now, The Rape of Belgium draws on a little-known story to remind us of the horrors of war. Further, Zuckerman shows why the Allies refrained from punishing the Germans for the occupation and controversially suggests that had the victors followed through, Europe's reaction to the rise of Nazi Germany might have taken a very different course.

Good thanks

The Swedish author was given carte blanche by the Germans to observe the occupation of neutral little Belgium.

With the Kaiser's Army in 1914: A Neutral Observer in Belgium and France

by Sven Hardin(no photo)

Synopsis:

In 1914 Swedish professor, writer, illustrator and adventurer Sven Hedin was granted a car and escort and given a comprehensive tour of the German Armies fighting in Belgium and France during September and October 1914. Hedin was given unfettered access to German armies and leadership. The resulting book, With the German Armies in the West, was quickly finished and published, originally in Swedish, in 1914 then swiftly translated and printed in early 1915 by John Lane of The Bodley Head Press, London, at a time when the events described in the book were still fresh.

There is not much of a description of this book on GR but King Albert of the Belgians was admired by the world as he attempted to keep the Germans out of neutral little Belgium during the Great War. He fought alongside his troops and was loved by his people.

Albert the Brave, King of the Belgians

by Netley Lucas(no photo)

Synopsis

A well-researched and documented biography of the life of King Albert, revolving largely around his exploits during World War I.

One of the largest humanitarian efforts of WWI for those civilians in Belgium trapped behind German lines.

Behind the Lines

by Jeffrey B. Miller

Synopsis:

During World War I, the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) initiated, organized, and supervised the largest food and relief drive the world had ever seen. Working in concert with its counterpart in Belgium, the Comité National, the CRB fed and clothed for four years more than 9 million Belgians and northern French trapped behind German lines.

The interlacing stories of German brutality, Belgian resistance, and the Americans of the CRB all began back in those chaotic days of August 1914, when the Germans attacked Belgium on their way to France. Few could have guessed it then, but the invasion was a toppling domino that caused a tumbling together of extraordinary people into a chain reaction of life-and-death situations far from the trenches and killing fields of World War I. And hanging in the balance were millions of civilian lives. It is a story that few have heard.

This might be heavy reading but it was the 1907 Hague Peace Conference that established the neutrality of Belgium. It was later referred to by the Germans as "a mere scrap of paper".

Text of the Peace Conferences at the Hague 1899 and 1907

(no image)Texts of the Peace Conferences at the Hague 1899 and 1907 by James Brown Scott(no photo)

Synopsis:

Texts of the peace conferences at the Hague, 1899 and 1907 with English translation and appendix of related documents This book, "Texts of the peace conferences at the Hague 1899 and 1907," by James Brown Scott, is a replication of a book originally published before 1908.

The brave little Belgian army fought like tigers when overrun by the Germans in WWI

The Belgian Army in World War I

by Ronald Pawly(no photo)

Synopsis:

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

Ten Days in August: The Siege of Liege 1914

by Terence Zuber (no photo)

Synopsis:

In August 1914 the German main attack was conducted by the 2nd Army. It had the missions of taking the vital fortresses of Liège and Namur, and then defeating the Anglo-French-Belgian forces in the open plains of northern Belgium. The German attack on the Belgian fortress at Liège had tremendous political and military importance. Nevertheless, there has never been a complete account of the siege. The German and Belgian sources are fragmentary and biased. The short descriptions in English are general, use a few Belgian sources, and are filled with inaccuracies. Making use of both German and Belgian sources, this book for the first time describes and evaluates the construction of the fortress, its military purpose, the German plan, and the conduct of the German attack. Previous accounts emphasize the importance of the huge German "Big Bertha" cannon, to the virtual exclusion of everything else: the Siege of Liège shows that the effect of this gun was a myth, and shows how the Germans really took the fortress.

Not much information regarding this book; however, it might be quite interesting as Albert defied the Germans in an attempt to save his little country and led his soldiers in battle.

The War Diaries of Albert I, King of the Belgians

by Albert I (no photo)

Synopsis:

The private War Diaries of Albert I, King of the Belgians. Edited by General R. Van Overstraeten D.S.O. (A.D.C. to the King)

Jill wrote: "Not much information regarding this book; however, it might be quite interesting as Albert defied the Germans in an attempt to save his little country and led his soldiers in battle.

The War Diaries of King Albert (no cover) (no photo)

It's been 10 years, but I recall these being heavily altered by general Van Overstraeten for political reasons. In the meantime, a more academically neutral edition was published in 1991, based upon the original handwritten booklets held in the archive of the royal palace :
byMarie-Rose Thielemans(no photo)

It gives good insight into his views on the war and, such as his refusal to lend troops for the grinding Allied offensives of 1916 or the general futility of small Allies in the military balance (Romania etc), and his royal authority. Some historians go as far as to say government largely resembled a royal dictatorship. He was generous with his dismissals of ministers, for certain...

Thanks for that addition, Dimitri. When books are heavily edited, especially for political reasons,they go from fact to fiction.

The War of 1914: Military Operations of Belgium in Defence of the Country and to Uphold Her Neutrality

by Belgium Armee (no photo)

Synopsis

No information available but it appears to be a summary by the Belgium Army of their battle against Germany in the beginning of WWI.

This is a classic reprint from the Forgotten Books publishers.

The Neutrality of Belgium

(no image)The Neutrality of Belgium by Alexander Fuehr (no photo)

Synopsis:

Excerpt from The Neutrality of Belgium
When the news of Germany's invasion of Belgium reached the Far East, where I was living at the outbreak of the war, it did not create any particular measure either of surprise or of indignation.
In the official communication of the British to the Japanese Government on the reasons for Great Britain's intervention in the war, given out by the Tokio Foreign Office on August 5th, the Belgian incident was referred to in the following manner:
"Germany, however, committed a hostile act towards Belgium in invading her territory, the permanent neutrality of which was guaranteed by the Triple Alliance (sic) and by an understanding between the Great Powers."

The unforgivable invasion of neutral little Belgium which opened WWI.

1914: The Belgian Massacres

by Paul Ham

Synopsis:

In the early stages of World War 1 some 800,000 German troops defied Belgian neutrality and marched across the border. In August 1914 the bulk of the German army - some 800,000 troops - defied Belgian neutrality and smashed across the border. Their orders were to invade France, destroying any Belgian resistance in their path. The German commanders were to achieve this within 6 weeks. What followed was the rape and massacre of hundreds of Belgian civilians. Scores of villages were burned. The beautiful library at Louvain was left in ashes. Such crimes were not arbitrary acts of drunken violence. They were planned and approved under the German military code. In this extract from his book 1914: The Year the World Ended, historian Paul Ham shows how the invasion of of Belgium set a brutal precedent for the Nazi occupation of Europe, 25 years later

Thanks for posting this as I decided to order it.

How was the book Betsy?

Since it's only an excerpt, it's quite short and presents mainly material that I already knew. It would be good for someone just learning about the beginnings of the Great War.

Thank you for the update - it helps our members.

German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial

by John Horne (no photo)

Synopsis:

Is it true that the German army, invading Belgium and France in August 1914, perpetrated brutal atrocities? Or are accounts of the deaths of thousands of unarmed civilians mere fabrications constructed by fanatically anti-German Allied propagandists? Based on research in the archives of Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, this pathbreaking book uncovers the truth of the events of autumn 1914 and explains how the politics of propaganda and memory have shaped radically different versions of that truth.
John Horne and Alan Kramer mine military reports, official and private records, witness evidence, and war diaries to document the crimes that have long been denied: a campaign of brutality that led to the death of some 6500 Belgian and French civilians. Contemporary German accounts insisted that the civilians were guerrillas, executed for illegal resistance. In reality this claim originated in a vast collective delusion on the part of German soldiers. The authors establish how this myth originated and operated, and how opposed Allied and German views of events were used in the propaganda war. They trace the memory and forgetting of the atrocities on both sides up to and beyond World War II.

Meticulously researched and convincingly argued, this book re-opens a painful chapter in European history while contributing to broader debates about myth, propaganda, memory, war crimes, and the nature of the First World War.

Winner of the Fraenkel Prize for Contemporary History in 2000

Bentley wrote: "German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial

by John Horne (no photo)

Synopsis:

Is it true that the German army, i..."

Flip side to this whole thread? Already under the Campbell-Bannerman government, Britain was paying for the rearming of Belgium. Not so neutral, is it?