Belgian army WW1 (1 Viewer)
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Guy
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Hope Guy doesn't mind me adding a pic now and again;
Belgian soldiers sit behind a barricade armed with rifles in a street in Louvain on 20 August 1914 during the retreat to Antwerp.
© IWM (Q 53206)
Rob
to me they look like they are " Chassseurs à pieds"
In your picture most of them wear an oil skin cover over their head gear
Guy
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Some info about the Grenadiers. After the retreat from Antwerp the Grenadiers assured positions on the Yser river. 2nd Grenadiers fought for 9 days uninterrupted to the South of Ramskapelle. The opening of the Yser locks made it impossible for the German army to make further attacks on the exhausted Belgian army.
22nd of April is Grenadier day in the village of Steenstraete. The Belgian 6th Div. formed the extreme right flank of the Belgian army. The Grenadiers occupied the position at the extreme right of the Belgian front. About 17.00 hrs chlorine gas was released by the Germans. It was carried towards the French positions.The French African Div. fled in panic.The Belgians and the Canadians saw to their great surprise a large breach of 5 kms length in the front between them. Everybody was shocked by the effect of the gas but the German attcak ( 4th Div.)was stopped by the Grenadiers. They also fought at Passendaele as part of the 12th Div. in which were incorporated 1st and 2nd Grenadiers and the 4th Carabiniers ;
the very last Belgian soldiers who fell on the battlefield were Grenadiers. 21 lost their lives on the night of 10/11 November in the village of Eke.
Here a few pics of this famous Belgian unit
guy
Grenadiers at Steenstraete
22nd of April is Grenadier day in the village of Steenstraete. The Belgian 6th Div. formed the extreme right flank of the Belgian army. The Grenadiers occupied the position at the extreme right of the Belgian front. About 17.00 hrs chlorine gas was released by the Germans. It was carried towards the French positions.The French African Div. fled in panic.The Belgians and the Canadians saw to their great surprise a large breach of 5 kms length in the front between them. Everybody was shocked by the effect of the gas but the German attcak ( 4th Div.)was stopped by the Grenadiers. They also fought at Passendaele as part of the 12th Div. in which were incorporated 1st and 2nd Grenadiers and the 4th Carabiniers ;
the very last Belgian soldiers who fell on the battlefield were Grenadiers. 21 lost their lives on the night of 10/11 November in the village of Eke.
Here a few pics of this famous Belgian unit
guy
Grenadiers at Steenstraete
Mirof
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Guy
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The Military Workshop
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Great thread Guy and some interesting pictures. Good to learn about what the Belgians did during WWI. Lest We Forget.
Keep them coming.
Brett
Keep them coming.
Brett
Fitzgibbon
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Great topical thread Guy. Good info; wonderful reference material for uniforms; and a worthy build up to the centennial. :salute::
Martin Tabony
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Mirof
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Guy
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Belgium was the first country during ww1 to use armoured cars effectively.There had been some trials by the French and the Germans but they failed
The very first armoured car was the PIPE an improvised armoured vehicle . It was a commercial car with steel plates welded to its chassis and body. The Belian army also was equiped with the MINERVA, the SAVA and the MORS
The Minerva was a very robust Belgian sports car that received a steel armour (made by Cockerill)and fitted with a Hotchkiss machine gun .It was in use until 1935 in the Cavalry units
The Sava, also made in Antwerp (until oct 1914 when production ceased when the city was overrun by the Germans) The Sava company was bought by Minerva in 1923. Sava is an acronym for "Société Anversoise de Véhicules Automobiles"
The Mors was built after the fall of Antwerp under Minerva licence in France;
These cars were used for reconnaissance-intelligence and infantry support attacks.It was also frequently used in raids behind enemy lines. Churchill, First Lord of the Admirality in 1914 was very impressed with these cars and ordered to form a British unit with members of his Royal Naval Air Service.
When the war turned into a war in the trenches, these cars were no longer useful;They were organised into the "Corps Autos-Canons-Mitralleuses" or simply called the ACM. To the ACM belonged 350 volunteers.Tsaar Nicolas asked the Belgian King Albert 1st to send the ACM to Russia to help in the fight against the Austrians and the Germans . The Corps left the French port of Brest in sept 1915 arrived in october in Russia and stayed there until the end of the war
guy:smile2:
Pipe 1st Belgian armoured car
Sava and Minerva on the market square of the city Veurne 1914
The SAVA
The Minerva
The Mors armoured car
The very first armoured car was the PIPE an improvised armoured vehicle . It was a commercial car with steel plates welded to its chassis and body. The Belian army also was equiped with the MINERVA, the SAVA and the MORS
The Minerva was a very robust Belgian sports car that received a steel armour (made by Cockerill)and fitted with a Hotchkiss machine gun .It was in use until 1935 in the Cavalry units
The Sava, also made in Antwerp (until oct 1914 when production ceased when the city was overrun by the Germans) The Sava company was bought by Minerva in 1923. Sava is an acronym for "Société Anversoise de Véhicules Automobiles"
The Mors was built after the fall of Antwerp under Minerva licence in France;
These cars were used for reconnaissance-intelligence and infantry support attacks.It was also frequently used in raids behind enemy lines. Churchill, First Lord of the Admirality in 1914 was very impressed with these cars and ordered to form a British unit with members of his Royal Naval Air Service.
When the war turned into a war in the trenches, these cars were no longer useful;They were organised into the "Corps Autos-Canons-Mitralleuses" or simply called the ACM. To the ACM belonged 350 volunteers.Tsaar Nicolas asked the Belgian King Albert 1st to send the ACM to Russia to help in the fight against the Austrians and the Germans . The Corps left the French port of Brest in sept 1915 arrived in october in Russia and stayed there until the end of the war
guy:smile2:
Pipe 1st Belgian armoured car
Sava and Minerva on the market square of the city Veurne 1914
The SAVA
The Minerva
The Mors armoured car
Guy, thanks for taking the time and effort to post all these excellent pictures. The uniforms are very interesting as is the equipment and especially the headgear. The armored car shots are great. I didn't know that Belgium had pioneered the use of the AC. -- Al
Martin Tabony
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Good pictures. In the first picture, it appears that the gunners are wearing some sort of hearing protection in their ears. Looks like ear plugs but might just be cotton or some similar fabric stuffed in the ear. Anyone know for sure. I don't know if any kind of hearing protection existed beyond a field expedient. -- Al
farmertony
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What an interesting and informative thread this has turned out to be.Thanks,GUY, for starting it and to all who have contributed.Makes me glad I joined up.