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Palgrave Macmillan

The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Mario Draper

    1. University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom

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  • Explores the complicated relationship between the Belgian army and society from 1830 to 1914

  • Provides insight into the concepts of citizenship, nationalism and militarisation in a divided society

  • Argues that the Belgian army failed to foster a unified national identity from independence to the start of the First World War

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  2. Introduction

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 1-11

  3. Securing the Nation

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 13-46

  4. The Officer Corps

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 47-79

  5. The Rank and File

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 81-121

  6. The Auxiliary Forces

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 123-155

  7. Fortress Policy and Strategy

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 157-189

  8. The Great War

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 191-235

  9. Conclusion

    • Mario Draper
    Pages 237-245

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 247-281
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Keywords

About this book

This book explores Belgian state-building through the prism of its army from independence to the First World War. It argues that party-politics, which often ran along geographical, linguistic, and religious lines, prevented both Flemings and Walloons from reconciling their regional identities into a unified concept of Belgian nationalism. Equally, it obstructed the army from satisfactorily preparing to uphold Belgium’s imposed neutrality before 1914. Situated uneasily between the two powerhouses of nineteenth-century Europe, Belgium offers a unique insight into the concepts of citizenship and militarisation in a divided society in the era of fervent nationalism. By examining the composition, experience, and image of the army’s officer corps and rank and file, as well as those of the auxiliary forces, this book shows that although military and civilian society often stood aloof from one another, the army, as a national institution, offered a fleeting glimpse into the dichotomy that was pre-war Belgium.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom

    Mario Draper

About the author

Mario Draper is Lecturer in Modern British and European History at the University of Kent, UK. His research focuses on the links between European armies and their parent societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with a particular focus on identity, nationalism, and citizenship.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War

  • Authors: Mario Draper

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70386-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and the Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-70385-5Published: 22 February 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88929-0Published: 06 June 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-70386-2Published: 13 February 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 281

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 2 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Modern Europe, History of Military, Modern History, Social History, Political History

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