Why didn't Belgium let the German through in World War One (Short Animated Documentary)
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Date: 2024-05-22
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Comments and reviews: 20
cooldude-gb2mq
2: 15 Not true, Belgium was a part of the allies from the start of WW1 up until 1936, after the remilitarization of the Rhineland by Germany and the failure of France and Britain to intervene and stop it, Belgium became skeptical of the Allies willingness to challenge German aggression and left.
This also ruined the Maginot line because it was built with the assumption that Belgium would be a member of the allies which is why it wasn't extended to cover the Belgian border, the purpose of the maginot line was not to stop a German invasion but to redirect it towards more difficult to pass terrain. Had Belgium not gotten cold feet and left the allies French and British troops would be in Belgium along the Meuse river on dug in positions to block a German advance into France at the time the war started. Instead what happened was that French and British troops had to rush into Belgium to try and reach the river first, the Germans had already crossed the river before they were able to dig in and the allies army was outflanked, cutoff and surrounded at Dunkirk
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2: 15 Not true, Belgium was a part of the allies from the start of WW1 up until 1936, after the remilitarization of the Rhineland by Germany and the failure of France and Britain to intervene and stop it, Belgium became skeptical of the Allies willingness to challenge German aggression and left.
This also ruined the Maginot line because it was built with the assumption that Belgium would be a member of the allies which is why it wasn't extended to cover the Belgian border, the purpose of the maginot line was not to stop a German invasion but to redirect it towards more difficult to pass terrain. Had Belgium not gotten cold feet and left the allies French and British troops would be in Belgium along the Meuse river on dug in positions to block a German advance into France at the time the war started. Instead what happened was that French and British troops had to rush into Belgium to try and reach the river first, the Germans had already crossed the river before they were able to dig in and the allies army was outflanked, cutoff and surrounded at Dunkirk
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history_matters
Just a small catch that's probably not worth pointing out (so I will. Using Britain when you highlight the UK is a bit lazy in diction, isn't it (Shame on you English; they're all just other to you. ;p )
The formal name in 1914 was, I believe, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was that from 1801 to 1922. I believe it's best to use Britain to refer to only to the island of Great Britain, and the good people of Ordnance Survey (whoever they are ) feel the same.
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Just a small catch that's probably not worth pointing out (so I will. Using Britain when you highlight the UK is a bit lazy in diction, isn't it (Shame on you English; they're all just other to you. ;p )
The formal name in 1914 was, I believe, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was that from 1801 to 1922. I believe it's best to use Britain to refer to only to the island of Great Britain, and the good people of Ordnance Survey (whoever they are ) feel the same.
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novat9731
Wait, i thought Belgium WAS in an Alliance. But decided to get out of due to France's inaction over the whole Rhineland incident in 1936.
The reoccupation of the Rhineland, by ending the Locarno arrangement, has almost brought us back to our international position before the war. We must follow a policy exclusively and entirely Belgian. The policy must aim solely at placing us outside the quarrels of our neighbors
- King Leopold III 14th October 1936.
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Wait, i thought Belgium WAS in an Alliance. But decided to get out of due to France's inaction over the whole Rhineland incident in 1936.
The reoccupation of the Rhineland, by ending the Locarno arrangement, has almost brought us back to our international position before the war. We must follow a policy exclusively and entirely Belgian. The policy must aim solely at placing us outside the quarrels of our neighbors
- King Leopold III 14th October 1936.
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mrgermanyhd
It is a commonly uttered propaganda lie that England entered the war due to the German attack on Belgium but that is not true. Christopher Clark states in his book that the German ambassador in London Lichnowsky said that the British won’t stay neutral in case of war. That is why the Kaiser gave in Moltkes demands to invade Belgium and to seize control over the Luxembourgish railway system.
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It is a commonly uttered propaganda lie that England entered the war due to the German attack on Belgium but that is not true. Christopher Clark states in his book that the German ambassador in London Lichnowsky said that the British won’t stay neutral in case of war. That is why the Kaiser gave in Moltkes demands to invade Belgium and to seize control over the Luxembourgish railway system.
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LuziFearon
And Georg V. realy realy REALY wanted to go to war with germany, so when german ambassador Prince Lichnowsky asked on his stance on Belgium he said no biggies, we'll just diplomaticly protest and then he ordered foreign minister Edward Grey to mobilise. This all was uncovered in 2014 and was a small scandal in Britain but since noone realy cares abt WW1 any more, it went by
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And Georg V. realy realy REALY wanted to go to war with germany, so when german ambassador Prince Lichnowsky asked on his stance on Belgium he said no biggies, we'll just diplomaticly protest and then he ordered foreign minister Edward Grey to mobilise. This all was uncovered in 2014 and was a small scandal in Britain but since noone realy cares abt WW1 any more, it went by
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bigblue6917
Thanks to the British Belgium was never fully occupied but this did lead to some huge battles around Ypres.
Before he left Kaiser Wilhelm's service Otto von Bismarck warned the Kaiser never to fight the English, British. But both he and a certain tooth brushed Austrian man failed to take this advice and it did not end well for either of them.
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Thanks to the British Belgium was never fully occupied but this did lead to some huge battles around Ypres.
Before he left Kaiser Wilhelm's service Otto von Bismarck warned the Kaiser never to fight the English, British. But both he and a certain tooth brushed Austrian man failed to take this advice and it did not end well for either of them.
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joermnyc
It’s only in the American version (I believe) but in Hitchhiker’s trilogy the word Belgium is considered foul language across the known universe. Humans are looked down upon for using that word to name one of their countries. (In the original version it was just the f-word, but I think the B-word version is much more hilarious)
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It’s only in the American version (I believe) but in Hitchhiker’s trilogy the word Belgium is considered foul language across the known universe. Humans are looked down upon for using that word to name one of their countries. (In the original version it was just the f-word, but I think the B-word version is much more hilarious)
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benbellusci4413
Let’s be honest, the UK was entering the war whether Belgian neutrality was violated or not. There was no universe where the British let Germany dominate the continent with an ascendant navy, they were intervening no matter what. The Germans violating Belgian neutrality gave them a righteous entry to the war, however.
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Let’s be honest, the UK was entering the war whether Belgian neutrality was violated or not. There was no universe where the British let Germany dominate the continent with an ascendant navy, they were intervening no matter what. The Germans violating Belgian neutrality gave them a righteous entry to the war, however.
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history_matters
It's very weird that the Germans were the Belgian's least trustworthy, especially when you consider their disillusion with the British Empire. and their neutrality was preserved by the British, which is contradictory of their neutrality. Just another case of why people think Belgium is more non-existent than Australia.
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It's very weird that the Germans were the Belgian's least trustworthy, especially when you consider their disillusion with the British Empire. and their neutrality was preserved by the British, which is contradictory of their neutrality. Just another case of why people think Belgium is more non-existent than Australia.
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kennethhigdon1159
Lead the way, we will follow into the fray
We will hold the line, we will not be led astray
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
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Lead the way, we will follow into the fray
We will hold the line, we will not be led astray
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
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ItzJustHistory1916
Twas England bade our wild geese go, that small nations might be free’;
Their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves or the fringe of the great North Sea.
Oh, had they died by Pearse's side or fought with Cathal Brugha
Their graves we'd keep where the Fenians sleep, 'neath the shroud of the foggy dew.
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Twas England bade our wild geese go, that small nations might be free’;
Their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves or the fringe of the great North Sea.
Oh, had they died by Pearse's side or fought with Cathal Brugha
Their graves we'd keep where the Fenians sleep, 'neath the shroud of the foggy dew.
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kidfox3971
The tiny Belgian Army put up a bigger and braver fight against the massive German war machine than the 400k men of the Afghan Army put up against the 80k Taliban. Hell, Greedo put up a better fight against Han Solo in the Star Wars Special Edition than the Afghan Army did. At least he fired a single shot.
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The tiny Belgian Army put up a bigger and braver fight against the massive German war machine than the 400k men of the Afghan Army put up against the 80k Taliban. Hell, Greedo put up a better fight against Han Solo in the Star Wars Special Edition than the Afghan Army did. At least he fired a single shot.
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tobiasL1991
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.
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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.
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python_lordm5896
I don't know if it's also the case for the flag of the German Empire, but when the current flag is displayed vertically, the black stripe should be on the left from the perspective of the observer. Just something I've noticed in a few videos that rubbed me the wrong way
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I don't know if it's also the case for the flag of the German Empire, but when the current flag is displayed vertically, the black stripe should be on the left from the perspective of the observer. Just something I've noticed in a few videos that rubbed me the wrong way
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LoneManProductions
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
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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
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pdruiz2005
Frankly this had been happening since the days of the Spanish Netherlands, when Spanish kings controlled most of Belgium. I’ve always wondered why Spanish was never imposed on the people living there in the roughly 200 years the Spanish were in control.
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Frankly this had been happening since the days of the Spanish Netherlands, when Spanish kings controlled most of Belgium. I’ve always wondered why Spanish was never imposed on the people living there in the roughly 200 years the Spanish were in control.
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joesomebody3365
Kinda sucks that Belgium being a neutral state between several great powers meant that it was almost inevitably going to end up as a battle ground.
Oh well, at least they don't have to worry about getting invaded anymore in the near future.
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Kinda sucks that Belgium being a neutral state between several great powers meant that it was almost inevitably going to end up as a battle ground.
Oh well, at least they don't have to worry about getting invaded anymore in the near future.
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fransbuijs808
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.
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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.
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thoronirgros188
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.
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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.
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arishokqunari1290
Why did Germany even bother with marching through Belgium and Luxembourg I mean they could have just met France at their actual border like they did in 1870 without the risk of getting Great Britain to enter the war
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Why did Germany even bother with marching through Belgium and Luxembourg I mean they could have just met France at their actual border like they did in 1870 without the risk of getting Great Britain to enter the war
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