The story of the Belgian Army in the First World War is in large part a story of forced modernization and transformation. As a result of its guaranteed neutrality under the 1839 Treaty of London, and the consequential sense of security among political and military leaders, the Belgian Army that took the field in August of 1914 was rather antiquated in size and organization, as well as in its uniforms and equipment. Reforms had been instituted to enlarge and reorganize the Kingdom’s forces, but these had not yet taken effect by the time German forces crossed into Belgian territory. Similarly, prototypes for new uniforms and equipment had been under consideration in the years leading up to the Great War, but few changes had actually been made to the either since the middle of the nineteenth century.

The cost of these deficiencies was apparent throughout the closing months of 1914, and the Belgian Army underwent a series of changes over the course of the war. The trajectory of these changes mirrors those of the other armies on the Western front, and can therefore be grouped into three general phases: the pre-war standardization and uniformity seen in 1914, the collapse of both and the issuance of emergency uniforms and equipment throughout 1915, and the gradual march toward a new, more modern army between 1916 and 1918.

The story of the Belgian Army between 1914 and 1918 is also a story of incredible national perseverance against overwhelming odds. While the dogged actions of the Belgian forces in the opening weeks of the war is usually given its just tribute, the continued persistence of those same forces over the ensuing four years is often overlooked. First and foremost, the Belgian forces had not been eliminated in 1914. The field army that was firmly settled into defensive positions along the Yser River at the start of 1915 was certainly a battered and emaciated shadow of its former self, but this did not mark the end of Belgian participation in the conflict. They remained in the fight until its conclusion, despite holding only a sliver of their own territory.

And over the following years Belgians from around the world, including thousands who escaped from German-occupied Belgium, found their way to the Yser Front and into the ranks of King Albert I’s forces. By 1917 the Belgians could field an army that was larger and better equipped than that with which they had started the war. All the while, plucky little Belgium sought to maintain its military and political independence, holding ever firm to the tenets of the Treaty of London.