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Dogs under the occupation

Because so many horses and donkeys were requisitioned in occupied Belgium, dogs had to provide even more pulling power than before the war. They were harnessed to dogcarts and pulled the milkman's milk, the baker's bread, and the farmer's children. However, the Germans, who were not familiar with the practice, rejected dogcarts as animal cruelty.
Redactie 05 January 2016

Wait at the Yser or major offensives?

In contrast to the British and French armies, the Belgian army suffered much fewer losses. While approximately 3,75% of the mobilised soldiers in the Belgian army were killed, this was around 10,3% and 16,8% in the British and French armies. On the one hand, this was caused by the strategic choices of the high command, and on the other, by the physical state of the frontline.
Redactie 03 September 2015

Reading historical newspapers critically

Newspapers are an accessible source for studying different aspects of The First World War. But just as with other historical sources, the information in newspapers has to be critically examined. This is true of both the texts and the photos and illustrations.
Redactie 03 September 2015

American shops

During The First World War, the Belgian population was dependent on foreign food aid. The Nationaal Hulp- en Voedingscomité played a crucial role in the distribution of the imported foodstuffs. To this end, the committee opened its own sales points, which the population could visit to buy sugar, corn, tinned meat, rice and other staple products. Because the United States took the lead with aid, and because many products originated there, the sales points were soon named American shops in popular parlance.
Redactie 03 September 2015

Play during the occupation

Wartime was sometimes a difficult period for children but this did not discourage them from continuing to play. The war had a great appeal and offered them a great deal of inspiration for fantasy play. They marched along with passing troops, sang satirical songs and tore German ordinances from the walls. They collected souvenirs and began a trade with the German soldiers. They played war on their own battlefields with wooden weapons and had their own hierarchy. Sometimes they would put on some war play for a little money or something nice.
Redactie 03 September 2015

The dog at the front

Dogs, like other animals, played a role in the warfare that should not be underestimated. They too were 'called to arms' in 1914, and helped the soldiers in a variety of ways. Behind the front, they were hitched to small carts, and in this way they transported machine guns, ammunition cases and food. After artillery fire, or in no man's land, dogs would track down the wounded.
Redactie 03 September 2015

The start of the final sprint: the liberation offensive

The allied liberation offensive began in August 1918. The allies launched an offensive over the entire western front, in order to push the Germans back for good. It was now or never. The German troops were at the end of their tether after the failure of their spring offensive. Revolution threatened in Germany. On the allied side, two million fresh American soldiers had joined their ranks. For the first time in the war, all of the allied troops were under the authority of one commander-in-chief, the French field marshal Foch.
Redactie 03 September 2015

Ludwig von Falkenhausen at the head of the occupation regime

On 26 August 1914, the German high command established a military administration in Belgium to run the occupation smoothly. This administration was called the General Governorate, and was led by a general governor. Moritz von Bissing occupied this position from December 1914 until his death in April 1917. After his death, the German military command had to go in search of a new governor general, and they were looking for someone hard-line. They soon appointed Ludwig von Falkenhausen.
Redactie 03 September 2015

The electrified frontier: the border fence between Belgium and the Netherlands

The border region between occupied Belgium and the neutral Netherlands soon became a smuggling paradise. Traffic in letters, military information and foodstuffs was rife. Young men who wanted to join the Belgian army also crossed the border. From the spring of 1915, the German troops decided to call a halt to this. They constructed a barbed wire fence more than 323 kilometres long, which would carry 2000 volts of electricity.
Redactie 03 September 2015

A deadly cloud: the first big gas attack in Belgium

On 22 April 1915, French and British troops were surprised by a yellow cloud drifting towards their lines between Steenstrate and Langemark. When the cloud reached the soldiers, they suffered violent and painful coughing fits and burning eyes. This first large-scale gas attack using deadly gas sent a wave of panic through the soldiers.
Redactie 03 September 2015

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