Belgian Army

Belgian Armed Forces Armée belge / Belgisch leger belgische Armee
Coats of arms of Belgian Military Forces
Founded	1830
Service branches	Land Component Air Component Naval Component Medical Component
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	King Albert II
Minister of Defence	Pieter De Crem (CD&V)
Chief of Defence	General Charles-Henri Delcour
Manpower
Military age	18 years of age (2005)
Active personnel	47,000 (ranked 76th)
Reserve personnel	100,500
Expenditures
Budget	€ 3.0 billion (FY09)
Percent of GDP	1.2% (FY09)
Related articles
Ranks	Belgian military ranks

The Belgian Armed Forces (L'armée belge/"Belgisch leger") is the national military of Belgium. The Belgian Army was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830. Since that time Belgian armed forces have fought in World War I, World War II, have stood on watch in the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War, and have intervened several times in the Congo.

From 1885 the Force publique was established as the military garrison and police force in the Belgian Congo. In 1913, compulsory and universal military service was established in Belgium. In August 1914, the Belgian armed forces were being restructured, due to this measure and the rapid occupation of Belgium only 20% of men were mobilized and incorporated into the armed forces. Ultimately, 350000 men were incorporated into the Belgian armed forces. One third did not participate directly in combat.

Invaded by surprise by the Imperial German Army, which was approximately 600,000 men strong, the small, ill-equipped, 117,000 strong Belgian army succeeded, for ten days, to hold the German army in front of Liège. They fought between the emplaced forts in the area and with their support. This strategy was based on the Napoleonic concept of fighting the advance force and preventing a portion of the enemy forces joining the main body. At the time, the authorities and the public celebrated the Franco-Belgian resistance that the Germans did not expect. Indeed, the Belgians delayed the Germans and thus allowed the French armies to resist the German attacks which became the First Battle of the Marne.

For four years, under the command of King Albert I of Belgium, the Belgian army guarded the important sector of the Allied left wing between Nieuwpoort, on the coast, and Ypres with the help of the forces of the Entente but did not participate in any of the major Allied offensives, deemed unnecessarily expensive and unnecessary in men by the King of the Belgians.

In 1916, a body of Belgian armored cars were moved from the Ijzer front to help the Russian Empire. The force found itself alongside an identical body sent by the British on the Eastern Front.

In Africa, the staffs and officers at the head of Belgian colonial troops, after their rescue of struggling French with the Germans Togo, would win several battles during the East African Campaign against German forces in German East Africa. The most significant victory was at Tabora, won under the command of General Charles Tombeur.

In Belgium, after four years of war, as of 26 May 1918, the army had 166,000 men of which 141974 were combatants, forming twelve infantry divisions and one cavalry division. It had 129 aircraft and 952 guns of all calibres. From September, the Belgian army was involved in the Allied offensive until the final victory of November 11, 1918.

After the Armistice with Germany of 1918, the Belgian government sought to retain the strategy of 1914. Little effort was made to acquure tanks and aircraft for the Belgian armed forces, while instead the Government strengthened the fortifications of Liege and Antwerp. This was despite the fact that during the First World War the forts had proved ineffective despite strong support from artillery and infantry. Until 1936, Belgium remained allied to France and the United Kingdom.

On 1 September 1939, when the Wehrmacht invaded Poland, King Leopold III of Belgium ordered a general mobilisation, in which 600,000 Belgians were mobilised. Despite warnings from the French and British governments, the king refused an alliance with its former allies. Belgium was invaded, defeated, and occupied in an eighteen-day campaign after 10 May 1940. 163 Belgian troops were rescued during the Dunkirk evacuation, and Belgium's new navy, the Corps de Marine, only reformed in 1939, also participated. The Belgian vessels were later interned in Spain, except for the patrol craft P16, which managed to escape to the United Kingdom, where it became HMS Kernot. Later many sailors, Belgian fishermen, and merchant seamen left for the UK to fight against the Axis.

After the defeats of 1940 a number of military units were formed in exile, usually under British command: these became known as the Free Belgian Forces. By September 1940, a Belgian section of the Royal Navy was created on the initiative of a Belgian navy Lieutenant Victor Billet. The ground troops of the Free Belgian Forces were drawn from three main sources during the course of the war. These were the Force Publique in the Congo (victory against Italian troops in the South Etyopia), expatriate Belgians in Great Britain and Canada (which eventually formed the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade), and after September 1944, Belgians liberated by the Allied campaign in Northwestern Europe.

The harsh lessons of World War II made collective security a priority for Belgian foreign policy. In March 1948 Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels, and then joined NATO in 1948. However the integration of the armed forces into NATO did not begin until after the Korean War, to which Belgium (in co-operation with Luxembourg) sent a detachment known as the Belgian United Nations Command. Later Belgium contributed the I Belgian Corps to NATO's Northern Army Group. Defence expenditure grew along with the force size. In 1948 the army was 75,000 strong which grew by 1952 to 150,000. A major defence review in 1952 set a target of three active and two reserve divisions, a 400-aircraft air force and a fifteen-ship navy. Forty anti-aircraft defence battalions were created, linked with radar and a centralised command-and-control system.

As a safeguard against Belgium being invaded again, two major bases, Kitona and Kamina, were established in the Belgian Congo. They were almost viewed as a 'national redoubt,' permitting the survival and rebuilding of forces if Belgium was again invaded.

Following a change in government in 1954 conscript service was reduced to 18 months. The Belgian Army gained nuclear capability in the 1950s with Honest John missiles initially and then with nuclear-capable tube artillery. It also adopted the U.S. Pentomic organisation, but then switched to a triangular division structure by the early 1960s. Just after independence in the Congo, a Metropolitan Command (Cometro) was active to control the Belgian forces there.

Current status

Since 2002, by a Royal Order issued by Albert II of Belgium the three independent armed forces were merged into one unified structure and organised with four components which consists of about 47,000 active troops. They are structured as follow:

1. Land Component, previously known as the Land Force (Composante terre / Landmacht / Heer);
2. Air Component, previously known as the Air Force (Composante Air / Luchtmacht / Luftmacht);
3. Marine Component, previously known as the Naval Force (Composante Marine / Zeemacht / Seemacht),
4. Medical Component, previously known as the Medical Service (Composante Médicale / Medische dienst / Sanitätsdienst).

The budget of €3.4 billion is divided amongst the four components as follows :

• 63% is spent on salaries
• 25% is spent on equipment maintenance
• 12% is spent on new investments

The operational commands of the components (COMOPSLAND, COMOPSAIR, COMOPSNAV and COMOPSMED) are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defence, which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training (ACOS Ops & Trg), and to the Chief of Defence (CHOD).

Belgium, which is a member of the NATO and the EU, is currently restructuring its army to be able to faster respond to humanitarian crises or disasters occurring in the world (peacekeeping).^{citation needed} In order to do so, the Belgian Army is currently phasing out all tracked vehicles in favour of wheeled vehicles. Examples are the new MOWAG Piranha and Dingo 2 vehicles currently bought to replace vehicles such as the Leopard 1A5BE. In addition, the air component is buying new aircraft such as the Airbus A400M, NHI NH90 to accompany other aircraft for humanitarian missions such as the Agusta 109 and Alouette 2/3 helicopters. The transition will be complete by 2015. Due to Belgium's often-complicated politics, restructuring has led to decisions seen by some as illogical, such as the decision to mount the (very uncommon) CMI 90 mm cannon on the Piranha 3 (munition is very scarce and only made by a handful of manufacturers; it will probably be supplied by Mécar). Finally, other controversies have arisen around the relocation of Belgium’s ‘cavalry school´.

Land Component

Main article: Belgian Land Component

In 1914, the Belgian army trains.

Belgian soldiers during an exercise

The Belgian Land Component is the Ground Arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. It currently has 24,361 soldiers and 10,000 civilian staff.^{citation needed}

The Belgian Land, Air, and Medical Components all use the same military ranks. The Naval Component's ranks are unique in the Belgian Armed Forces.

Its equipment consists of:

Vehicles:

• Mowag Piranha
• Pandur I
• M113 Armored Personnel Carrier
• Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
• Dingo 2
• Iveco LMV
• M-Gator
• JCB Groundhog
• BMW R 1150 RT
• Unimog U1350L
• Volvo Trucks N10
• Iveco M250.45WM
• Iveco EuroCargo
• Mercedes-Benz 814 Transporter
• Iveco EuroTrakker
• Scania T144
• Scania P124 CA
• Renault Kerax
• Caterpillar D6 bulldozer
• Case tracked excavator
• Liebherr Litronic 912
• / Fiat-Hitachi W170 wheeled loader
• Krupp AS35 wheeled lifting crane
• Grove GMK 3050 wheeled all-terrain crane
• Volkswagen Iltis

Air Component

Main article: Belgian Air Component

An F-16 jet of the Belgian Air Component

The Belgian Air Component is the Air force of Belgium. It currently has 8,600 personnel. The history of the Belgian air force began in 1910 when the Minister of War, général Hellebaut, decided after his first flight to acquire « aeroplanes ». On 5 May 1911 a Farman type 1910 was delivered, followed by a second on 24 May and two other in August of the same year.

Its current aircraft are:

Fighter Aircraft:

• F-16 Fighting Falcon

Trainer Aircraft:

• Aermacchi SF.260
• / Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet

Helicopters:

• Aerospatiale Alouette III
• Agusta A109
• NHI NH90
• Westland Sea King

Transport Aircraft:

• Airbus A330
• Airbus A310
• Airbus A400M
• Dassault Falcon 20
• Dassault Falcon 900
• Embraer ERJ 135
• Embraer ERJ 145
• C-130 Hercules

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles:

• RQ-5 Hunter

Marine Component

Main article: Belgian Navy

A Frigate of the Belgian Navy

The Belgian Navy is the naval arm of the Belgian military. Belgian naval ranks are unique within the Belgian armed forces, corresponding to naval ranks worldwide.

It currently has 1,600 personnel and 20 vessels. Its current vessels are:

Frigates:

• F930 Leopold I
• F931 Louise-Marie

Minesweepers:

• M915 Aster
• M916 Bellis
• M917 Crocus
• M921 Lobelia
• M923 Narcis
• M924 Primula

Support Vessels:

• A960 Godetia
• A950 Valcke
• A962 Belgica
• A963 Stern
• A996 Albatros
• A997 Spin

Patrol Boats:

• P902 Liberation

Auxiliary Vessels:

• A958 Zenobe Gramme
• A995 Spich
• A998 Werl
• A983 Quatuor
• A999 Barbara

Chiefs of Staff since 1958

• Lieutenant général Jacques de Dixmude (28.02.1958 - 30.11.1959)
• Lieutenant général Baron de Cumont (09.12.1959 - 30.06.1963)
• Lieutenant général G. Wagner (01.07.1963 - 31.03.1965)
• Lieutenant général V. Dessart (01.04.1965 - 31.03.1968)
• Lieutenant général Baron G. Vivario (01.04.1968 - 14.03.1972)
• Lieutenant général aviator Albert Crekillie (15.03.1972 - 31.10.1979)
• Lieutenant général Willy Gontier (01.11.1979 - 30.09.1982)
• Lieutenant général Baron Maurice Gysemberg (01.10.1982 - 21.07.1988)
• Lieutenant général José Charlier (22.07.1988 - 30.09.1995)
• Vice-amiral, puis amiral Willy Herteleer (01.10.1995 - 31.12.2002)
• Général d'aviation August Van Daele (01.01.2003 - 01.04.2009)
• Général Charles-Henri Delcour (02.04.2009 -

See also

• List of Belgian military decorations

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2005 edition".

External links

• Official website of the Belgian armed forces
• Belgian army rank insignia