Landships II

I'm sure an Early Belgian issue would attract a small but devoted following. There's the opportunity to pit them against the Early German Cavalry, Infantry, and Jäger, and line them up with Early BEF, Early French, and Zouaves.

For the Belgian Garde Civique, French Fusiliers Marins, and Royal Naval Brigade, we're in conversion territory. Some of the photos of Belgian civilian volunteers and recruits with no uniforms indicate that even the Dapol Railway Workers could be pressed into service.

The latest news from Brussels; Dr. Lierneux now believes that the Tent Section rolled around the knapsack had been abandoned by 1914 (even though it is shown in some modern photographs and on PDA's "Irregular" figures); that makes the FFL figures slightly more of a problem, but they and the HäT Early French are both candidates for conversion.


-- Edited by James H on Sunday 25th of April 2010 02:15:17 PM

There were no partisans. King Albert forbade civilian resistance and ordered the Garde Civique (which was a militia with a military-style uniform) to turn in its weapons because of the threat of German reprisals against the civilian population.

But lots of civilians turned out to work on the defences at Antwerp, and many men who enlisted after the invasion didn't have time to collect uniforms. The flat caps and bowler hats on the Dapol figures look OK for the period. I've got a pic of a "civilian levy" somewhere.

James H wrote:

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There were no partisans.

Hi James, I agree, at least the Garde Civique were not.

In 1831 the Belgian adjudant of King Leopold I, mr. Capiaumont founded the Partizanenkorps, this to get control over the Vrijkorpsen who fought against the Dutch. The famous top hat is introduced then. In 1836 the Partizanenkorps went to the 1e Jagers te Voet, later called Jagers-Karabiniers, in 1865 again reformed and called Karabiniers. They must have been an elite, you would not think so looking at their 'unmilitary' leather hats.

The Garde Civique dates back to 1831 (officially). It was under the command of the Ministry of Binnenlandse Zaken, Internal Affairs as you call it I guess? In war time command came partially under the War Ministry.

Commanders of the Gardes were the town mayors. There were 3 echelons called Ban(s). The Eerste (first) Ban: all unmarried men and widowers without children between 21-30 year. Tweede(second) Ban: unmarried men between 31-51. And the "Achterban", the rear, having married men. They were forbidden to act in 1914 (by Brussels town mayor Adolphe Max too who fore saw only disaster) and officially disbanded somewhere in 1920. The regular army had not a high opinion of the Gardes skills, though they were a bit more than just some civilians with old guns. They even had artillery. If there were real partisans or franc-tireurs, I personally think that there were only a few.

regards, Kieffer

I think any film or photos of apparent civilians bearing arms are probably of recruits without uniforms or 'staged' propaganda shots. There's no evidence that the Garde Civique ever fired a shot in 1914, and, as Kieffer says, instances of civilians firing on Germans were either very few or figments of the invaders' imagination. That did not deter the Germans from executing several hundred civilians. Resistance wasn't crushed, it never got going.

The Garde Civique (Burgerwacht) were not held in high esteem by the populace. They largely represented the middle classes who could afford to buy their own uniform, and were used by the Government to quell industrial and civil unrest when the regular Army objected. On occasion, they shot strikers dead. Much resented by the Flemish working class, they were mocked as "Sunday Soldiers" who treated the organisation as a bit of a social club and an excuse to parade in flashy uniforms. See the enclosed caricatures.

However, when the invasion took place many did rise to the occasion and were prepared to fight, until the King ordered them to stand down. In Brussels they marched to the City Hall, singing the National Anthem, and laid down their arms on the steps. Since they were now under the command of the Ministry of War, they were, technically, soldiers, but the Germans refused to recognise them as such and threatened mass executions. During the occupation they acted as sort of Special Constables, which was, I suppose, a form of collaboration, but they were in an extremely difficult position (as were the King and the whole country).

Kieffer's description is about right. All I can add is that towns with a certain size of population were required to maintain a Garde Civique unit, and there were special regulations for men who moved from a place that didn't qualify to one that did. They had to go on a fast-track training course. An American diplomat said that he knew of no comparable organisation anywhere else in the world.

I guess a propaganda re-construction must be the case. After all, the camerman was right next to the Belgians (not in uniform), but facing opposite them.