Explanation: In WW1, Imperial Germany invaded Belgium in order to move its troops to attack France.
In WW2, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium in order to move its troops to attack France.
In WW3-oops! Sorry, no spoilers, I forgot!
this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2026
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Well, Belgium was founded in order to prevent Germany from moving its troops to attack France. What were they supposed to do other than waltz right through?
FUN FACT! Belgium is older than Germany.
Go back far enough, and the area of Belgium was part of the Holy Roman Empire, which starting around the 15th century was called Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. Check out this map showing the 1618 borders. The people in the area of Belgium probably didn't have much of an identity separate from the HRE (and their village) yet and might still have considered themselves "deutsch" (which is where the Dutch got their English name from) depending on the context.
IMO, the question of "when was Germany founded" just isn't as clear-cut as "when was Belgium founded". Many modern states would consider the year they first became an independent polity as their foundational year (or at least as a foundational year), rather than the year the current state construct was founded. e.g. consider how the Chinese keep going on about how China was one state for thousands of years. In that sense, "Germany" was founded when the Carolingian empire was split in three.
Another fun fact: Both countries have an invisible divide between two regions that don't seem to get along as well as they're supposed to.
Amusingly, thats exactly what Dutch people mostly use Belgium for. A very bumpy, annoying way to get to France.
And germans. And belgians.
France: We don't need any fortifications on this border. Belgium will not attack us.
Interwar Period France: "Don't worry, next time, Belgium will cooperate with us, and we'll fight the war on Germany's border instead."
Belgium, 1936: "Psyche"
And that set the wheels in motion to create me. After their town was leveled by the Germans in ww2 my grandparents came to Canada where my mom met my dad.
The soviets kicked each of my grandparents families out of their homes in former easter Germany in '45-46. After a couple years of hardship as refugees they ended up meeting in the city I would later be born :)
When Germany goes right, they go right - through Belgium
the french will look at this and say, this is our front door.
'Belgium' comes from the latin 'bellum'.
While the Belgae are the bravest of all the Gauls, I don't think that's quite where the name comes from!
The second part of that quote can be summarised as
“Because they are an uncivilised bunch of warmongers”