Cecily Zamora
Germany has broken international law on several occasions, including in 1917 when it invaded Belgium and Luxembourg in breach of its treaty obligations. More recently, Germany broke international law without facing any consequences, sparking uproar in the UK and Brussels. This was in response to Boris Johnson's proposal to break international law 'in a specific and limited way'.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 1917 |
| Reason | Invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg |
| Treaty Obligations | Breached |
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What You'll Learn
Germany's invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg in 1914
Germany broke international law when it invaded Belgium and Luxembourg in 1914.
The German invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg was a military campaign that began on 4 August 1914. The Belgian government had announced on 24 July that it would uphold its neutrality if war came. However, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium on 2 August, demanding passage through the country. When Belgium refused the German demands on 3 August, the German government declared war on Belgium on 4 August and German troops crossed the border, beginning the Battle of Liège.
The invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg was in violation of Article VII of the Treaty of London and was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. The German military operations in Belgium were intended to bring the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies into positions in Belgium from which they could invade France. During the war, the Belgian government sat at Le Havre in France, while King Albert I, as commander-in-chief of the army, remained with his troops in unoccupied Belgium.
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Germany's invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg in 1917
Germany broke international law in 1914 when it invaded Belgium and Luxembourg, breaching its treaty obligations.
The invasion of Belgium was a military campaign that began on 4 August 1914. On 24 July, the Belgian government had announced that if war came, it would uphold its neutrality. The Belgian government mobilised its armed forces on 31 July, and a state of heightened alert (Kriegsgefahr) was proclaimed in Germany. On 2 August, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding passage through the country. German forces invaded Luxembourg, and two days later, the Belgian government refused the German demands. The British government guaranteed military support to Belgium, and the German government declared war on Belgium on 4 August. German troops crossed the border and began the Battle of Liège.
The German invasion of Belgium was part of a larger offensive campaign by Germany during the Second World War. It took place over 18 days in May 1940 and ended with the German occupation of Belgium following the surrender of the Belgian Army. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium under the operational plan Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). The Allied armies attempted to halt the German Army in Belgium, believing it to be the main German thrust.
German military operations in Belgium were intended to bring the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Armies into positions in Belgium from which they could invade France. After the fall of Liège on 7 August, there were sieges of Belgian fortresses along the river Meuse at Namur and the surrender of the Belgian Army.
Belgian resistance and German fear of francs-tireurs led the Germans to implement a policy of terror (schrecklichkeit) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion. This included massacres, executions, hostage-taking, and the burning of towns and villages.
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Germany's invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg in 1940
Germany broke international law in 1917 when it invaded Belgium and Luxembourg in breach of its treaty obligations.
The invasion of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg was entirely without justification. It was carried out in pursuance of policies long considered and prepared, and was plainly an act of aggressive war. The resolve to invade was made without any other consideration than the advancement of the aggressive policies of Germany.
On 2 August 1914, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding passage through the country. Two days later, the Belgian government refused the German demands and the British government guaranteed military support to Belgium. The German government declared war on Belgium on 4 August; German troops crossed the border and began the Battle of Liège.
The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign which saw massacres, executions, hostage-taking and the burning of towns and villages. German fear of francs-tireurs, led the Germans to implement a policy of terror (schrecklichkeit) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion.
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Germany's invasion of the Netherlands in 1940
The Netherlands was invaded on the morning of 10 May 1940, without a formal declaration of war, by German forces moving simultaneously into Belgium and Luxembourg. The attackers meant to draw Allied forces away from the Ardennes and to lure British and French forces deeper into Belgium and to pre-empt a possible British invasion in North Holland. The Luftwaffe needed to take over the Dutch airfields on the North Sea to launch air raids against the United Kingdom. The armed forces of the Netherlands, with insufficient and outdated weapons and equipment, were caught largely unprepared.
The German invasion of the Netherlands, otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (Dutch: Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign. Four days later, German planes bombed Rotterdam. The Germans tried to halt the raid on the city because Dutch authorities had agreed to negotiate the surrender of their country. However, a communications failure delayed the order halting the attack. The bombing destroyed much of the city centre, leaving almost 80,000 people homeless. The Netherlands surrendered just a few hours later, on 15 May.
After the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, a civil administration was installed under SS auspices. German occupation lasted in some areas until the German surrender in May 1945. Active resistance, at first carried out by a minority, grew in the course of the occupation. The occupiers deported the majority of the country's Jews to Nazi concentration camps.
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Germany's invasion of France in 1940
The invasion of France was part of a wider German campaign in Western Europe, known as Blitzkrieg, which also included the invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). The invasion plan for the Low Countries and France was called Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). Fall Rot (Case Red) was planned to finish off the French and British after the evacuation at Dunkirk.
This was not the first time Germany had broken international law. In 1917, Germany invaded Belgium and Luxembourg in breach of its treaty obligations.
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