Violence and Legitimacy Occupied Belgium 1914-1918

One forgets easily that by November 1914 the majority of Belgians were trapped inside an occupied country. The capture of Belgium had started with an outburst of extreme German violence. The army would resist behind the Yser, a river in a small uninvaded corner of the country. When on 22 November 1918, King Albert rode past the cheering crowds in Brussels, he presided a reunion between the different segments of Belgium-at-war that brought its share of tensions.