Belgium orders mobilisation

On 31 July 1914 the government of Belgium ordered a general mobilisation of the army. Its first day was 1 August. The decision came as Russia was beginning general mobilisation and a state of imminent danger of war was being proclaimed in Germany. War between the great powers had become almost certain, and Belgium, lying between France and Germany, had to prepare for the worst.

The mobilisation was not directed against any particular state. Belgium, whose neutrality had been guaranteed by the powers since 1839 under the Treaty of London, intended to defend it against anyone who might wish to violate it. King Albert I, under the constitution commander-in-chief of the army, was determined to make good the government’s statement of a few days earlier: neutrality was to be defended, not merely declared.

The Belgian armed forces were, however, small and poorly prepared for a major war. A military reform passed in 1913 was meant almost to double the size of the army, but in 1914 its implementation had only just begun. An important role was played by the rings of forts around Liège, Namur and Antwerp, which were intended to delay the advance of any invader.

That same day the question of Belgium became a matter for great-power diplomacy. The British Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey, asked Paris and Berlin whether they would respect Belgian neutrality. France replied that it would, while Germany avoided giving a clear undertaking. It was an ominous silence: the German war plans envisaged a march on France precisely through Belgian territory.

A few days later it became clear how well founded Belgium’s fears had been. On 2 August Germany demanded free passage for its troops through Belgium, and on 4 August it crossed the Belgian border. Thanks to the mobilisation of 31 July, the Belgian army was by then already under arms and able to put up resistance.