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I was in Belgium last year (visiting where dad fought at Elsenborn Ridge[0]) and something I was curious about - after Belgium had been occupied in WW-I, and it

by chiph 8y ago

I was in Belgium last year (visiting where dad fought at Elsenborn Ridge[0]) and something I was curious about - after Belgium had been occupied in WW-I, and it became obvious during the inter-war years[1] that Germany was rearming, why didn't they launch a crash defense program? With Russia now becoming increasingly aggressive, I would think the time to prepare a deterrence is now. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elsenborn_Ridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elsenborn_Ridge [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxkk8CuejV4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxkk8CuejV4

Joeri 8y ago
They mobilized 20% of the male population, built large modern fortifications and had a strong air force. The germans just had better weapons and better tactics and rolled over them in 18 days. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium
- koonsolo 8y ago
  My Flemisch grandad was in the second WW. Back then all official things in Belgium were in French. Can you imagine a Flemisch farmer getting French instructions? Must have been real chaos I suppose.
  - valesco 8y ago
    So many nationalities served in so many armies with officers that didn't speak their own language (think of the USSR, the Italian colonies, the French colonies, the British colonies, the French enlisted in the RAF in WW2...). It isn't so hard to understand military orders when you're doing it on a daily basis.
AGoodName 8y ago
Belgium was bristling with defenses in WW2. In the same way France, Poland and the Western front of Russia were. They had networks of expensive forts with numerous gun turrets on them. eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Eben-Emael https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Eben-Emael Wars tend to expose obsolete military doctrines. Big fortresses on land and sea (battleships) that can bombard targets many miles away are great if the enemy doesn't just fly in.

by chiph 8y ago

Joeri 8y ago

They mobilized 20% of the male population, built large modern fortifications and had a strong air force. The germans just had better weapons and better tactics and rolled over them in 18 days. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belgium

koonsolo 8y ago
My Flemisch grandad was in the second WW. Back then all official things in Belgium were in French. Can you imagine a Flemisch farmer getting French instructions? Must have been real chaos I suppose.
- valesco 8y ago
  So many nationalities served in so many armies with officers that didn't speak their own language (think of the USSR, the Italian colonies, the French colonies, the British colonies, the French enlisted in the RAF in WW2...). It isn't so hard to understand military orders when you're doing it on a daily basis.

AGoodName 8y ago

Belgium was bristling with defenses in WW2. In the same way France, Poland and the Western front of Russia were. They had networks of expensive forts with numerous gun turrets on them. eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Eben-Emael https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Eben-Emael Wars tend to expose obsolete military doctrines. Big fortresses on land and sea (battleships) that can bombard targets many miles away are great if the enemy doesn't just fly in.