As a result of the extensive use of anti-German propaganda featuring the atrocities of Belgium by the Allied Powers, (France, Britain, Soviet Union, and later the U.S.), Belgian resistance has been forgotten along with the numbers atrocities which occurred during German occupation of Belgium. As a result, only a few influential people are remembered throughout history as standing to fight against the Germans, however it is relevant to note the hundreds of individual civilians who battled infiltrating German forces in their towns.
German
Alfred Von Schlieffen
Schlieffen was the developer of the Schlieffen plan, and advocated for fighting “a war on two fronts.” He spent a lifetime in the military, fighting many wars and quickly moving through the ranks. His years of military experienced enabled him to devise the plan, which he suggested be enacted in 1916 when he suspected France to be economically weak. Schlieffen retired in 1906 following the development of his plan, and was preceded by Helmuth von Moltke.
Helmuth von Moltke
Moltke was promoted to chief in 1906, taking the title of Schlieffen and the capabilities to put the plan into effect. Moltke is credited with the failure of the plan, convincing the Kaiser to accelerate the timeline and enact the plan in 1914. Moltke’s decision to institute the Schlieffen plan triggered the transpiring events surrounding the Rape of Belgium, as well as the ultimate failure of the Schlieffen plan.
Theobald Von Bethmann-Hollweg
Bethmann-Hollweg was the German Chancellor from 1909-1917, who is well known for regarding Belgium’s British-backed neutrality, put into effect through the Treaty of London, as a “scrap of paper” in his infamous speech to rally German support behind the instigation of the Schlieffen plan. This statement was subsequently used in numerous anti-German propaganda throughout Britain and in the US.
Belgian
King Albert 1
King of the Belgians throughout the war, and stood as a figurehead for Belgian resistance during the Rape of Belgium. Upon German request to invade, Albert courageously spearheaded Belgium’s small army of around 43,000 men to fight against the impending German army. Their army was demolished, forcing Albert and his government to retreat to Le Harve For four years, Albert fought on the front lines, leading countless resistance measures and finally on November 22, 1918, he lead a group of soldiers who reclaimed Brussels following German evacuation.
Lord Bryce
Serving as Britain's Ambassador to the U.S. from 1907-1913 following his London education in law and Oxford professorship of civil law, Lord Bryce was a highly regarded government official and philosopher. In 1914 he was appointed by British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith to investigate reports of alleged German barbarity towards civilians in occupied Belgium. He later wrote the influential Bryce Report which proved the accusations against German soldiers to be true.
Cardinal Desire Joseph Mercier
Mercier was occupied Belgium’s effective wartime resistance leader upon Kind Albert’s exile to Le Harve. Mercier acted as a rallying point for Belgian resistance to German occupation. He openly published letters criticizing German occupation force and exerted continues pressure upon the impending German force until the end of German occupation.