Free Belgian forces

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The Free Belgian Forces were members of the Belgian armed forces in World War II who continued fighting against the Axis after the surrender of Belgium and its subsequent occupation by the Germans. The Belgians fought in several theaters of the war, including Great Britain, East Africa, the Mediterranean, and northwestern Europe.

The decision of King Léopold III to surrender on May 28, 1940 was not accepted by members of the Belgian government-in-exile (under Prime-Minister Hubert Pierlot), who had fled to Paris and later to London. Under the auspices of this government, Belgian armed forces were organized to continue military operations as part of the Allies, and existing Belgian colonial troops in the Belgian Congo were made available to the Allied war effort.

Free Belgian Forces: Army

The ground troops of the Free Belgian Forces were drawn from three sources during the course of the war. These were the Force Publique in the Congo, expatriate Belgians in Great Britain and Canada, and after September 1944, Belgians liberated by the Allied campaign in Northwestern Europe.

Belgian colonial troops in Africa

Three brigades of infantry were mobilized from the Force Publique in the Congo to fight with the Allies in Africa. These troops fought in the campaigns to defeat Italian troops in Abyssinia and Ethiopia in 1941. In May 1941, Belgian Major General Gilliaert cut off the retreat of Italian General Gazzera in Ethiopia and accepted the surrender of 7,000 of his troops.[1] After the successful conclusion of these campaigns, the 1st Belgian Colonial Brigade was redesignated the Belgian Colonial Motor Brigade Group and served in a garrison and rear-area security role in Cairo, Egypt and British Palestine during 1943 - 1944.[2] The Belgian colonial troops in Africa had aged weapons and equipment such as the Stokes Mortar and 75-mm St. Chamond cannon.[3]

Brigade Piron

Belgians and some Luxembourgers in Great Britain and Canada, including 163 rescued from Dunkirk, were recruited from May 25, 1940 to form the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade.[4]. The commander of the Belgian ground troops in Great Britain was Lieutenant General van Strijdonck de Burkel. Because of the shortage of Belgian manpower, the unit grew slowly, first formed as a battalion, and finally as a brigade in January 1943. Initially, for operations in northwestern Europe, the brigade had three motorized rifle companies, an artillery battery, an engineer company, an armored car squadron, and combat support units.[5] The brigade landed at Arromanches in Normandy on August 8, 1944 and fought for the next month on the northern coast of France, reaching Belgium on September 3. Assigned to the First Canadian Army, the brigade fought in the southern Netherlands until December 1944, when it returned to Belgium and reorganized. The reorganized brigade had three infantry battalions, an artillery regiment of six batteries, and an armored car regiment. Returning to combat in the Netherlands in April 1945, the brigade's units fought at Nijmegen and Walcheren. Also known as Brigade Piron (for its commander, Colonel Jean Piron), the Belgian Brigade was equipped with British weapons and material.

Belgian Special Forces

Belgian soldiers in Great Britain also contributed a troop (company) to the British commandos (assigned as 4 Troop, No. 10 Inter-Allied Commando). The Belgian commandos fought in Italy, Yugoslavia, and on Walcheren. In late 1944, two other troops of commandos were formed from liberated manpower who had been members of the Belgian resistance.[6] Belgium also contributed a battalion-sized regiment to the Special Air Service, fighting in northern France, occupied Belgium, and the Netherlands during 1944 - 1945.

The Fusilier Battalions

Liberated manpower was used to form 57 fusilier (infantry) battalions, four engineer and four pioneer battalions, and 34 motor transport battalions from October 1944 until June 1945.[7] The bulk of the Fusilier battalions were used to secure rear areas. This task grew demanding as large areas of Germany were overrun in 1945 and the presence of the lightly-equipped Belgian units allowed better equipped units of the major allies to pursue combat operations and not have to detach elements for security of their lines of communication. However, some 20 of the Fusilier battalions were used in combat in the Ardennes Offensive, in the Netherlands, at the Remagen Bridgehead, and in Czechoslovakia at Pilsen.[8] Among Belgians today, the 5th Fusilier Battalion is particularly remembered for its service with the U.S. Army during the Ardennes Offensive.

Free Belgian Forces: Navy

During the war, the Belgian Navy operated two corvettes and a group of minesweepers. The navy participated in the Battle of the Atlantic, and had 350 men by May 1943.[9]

Free Belgian Forces: Air Force

The initial Belgian fliers with the Royal Air Force were individual members of British squadrons. Belgium contributed 29 pilots to Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. Later, some of the Belgian pilots were organized into two all-Belgian squadrons, the 349th (formed November 1942) and the 350th (formed November 1941). By June 1943, some 400 Belgian pilots were serving with the R.A.F.[10] Initially part of the air defense of Great Britain, both squadrons later served in the campaign in northwestern Europe supporting 21st Army Group with No. 83 and No. 84 Groups of the R.A.F.[11] The British air raid on Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen on March 22, 1945 was led by a Belgian Wing Commander, Michael Donnet.[12] Altogether, some 1,200 Belgians served in the R.A.F.[13] The Belgians flew Spitfires and Tomahawks with the R.A.F.

Postwar

Ultimately, Belgium mobilized some 100,000 men under arms between the time Belgium surrendered in 1940 and VE Day in 1945.[14] After the war, five of the brigades mobilized by Belgium with liberated manpower and the Brigade Piron formed two divisions of the new Belgian Army and were used in the occupation of Germany. The Belgian commandos and S.A.S. troops were ultimately used to form the Belgian Paracommando Regiment, and 349 and 350 Squadrons of the R.A.F. formed the postwar Belgian Air Force.

References

  1. ^ Forgotten Allies, Vol. 1, p. 44
  2. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 17
  3. ^ Commonwealth Divisions 1939 - 1945, p.45
  4. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 15
  5. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 15
  6. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 16
  7. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 16
  8. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 16
  9. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 17
  10. ^ Forgotten Allies, Vol. 1, p.254
  11. ^ Victory in the West, Vol. II, p. 390
  12. ^ Forgotten Allies, Vol. 1, p.405
  13. ^ Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939 - 45, p. 17
  14. ^ http://www.belgianbadges4046.be/index2.htm

Article Sources

  • Commonwealth Divisions 1939-1945, Malcolm A. Bellis, U.K.: John Rigby, 1999.
  • Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces 1939-45, Nigel Thomas, London: Osprey, 1998.
  • Forgotten Allies Vol. 1, J. Lee Ready, Jefferson: McFarland and Co., 1985.
  • Victory in the West Vol. II, L. F. Ellis, London: HMSO, 1968.

External Links

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