History of Belgium

whatever it was they needed from the country. Often, imperialistic countries were looking for raw materials and other means to better their own economies by expanding into the country they had just entered. The imperialism practiced by America and Belgium, each in its own way, resulted in short and long term effects on the people of their target countries. In the year 1902, the United States of America colonized the Philippines. They did it for the classic reasons; money and raw materials.…

The Second Battle of Marne is important because it was the first Allied offensive victory of 1918, and became the first of many battles won by the Allied forces. The battle began on July 15th, and ended on August 6, 1918. The Germans began the battle with 3 ½ armies, and the Allied armies were comprised of mostly French, Italian and American military. The Marne between the Chalons and Epernay had been the German’s first objective. The Germans had been advised by prisoners that the attack…

Battle of Oder-Neisse (the Battle of Seelow Heights) The first operational phase of the attack on Berlin came on April 16 at Seelow Heights, the last main line of defense outside the Berlin border. Seelow Heights served as the “Gates to Berlin” and was defended by 100,000 German soldiers in the German 9th Army Division. The Battle of Seelow Heights lasted from the 16th to the 19th, and after suffering severe losses (20,000 casualties) Zhukov’s 1st Belorussian Front broke through the German line…

Vesalius College for a semester is the main reason that I want to go abroad. It is a special privilege to have this opportunity, and I intend to take full advantage of being abroad by accomplishing things that will help me have a fantastic time in Belgium but also influence my life going forward. In order to achieve what I want to achieve I have set several goals that will help me succeed. Professionally, a few goals come to mind when it comes to looking at my future life as a member of the…

For the purpose of this paper I will be explaining the reasons for the rapid fall of France in 1940. Some, if not most, of the attention is given to Hitler’s blitzkrieg style of invasion as a main reason for France’s crushing defeat, but there were many other factors that compounded the devastation that was associated with Hitler’s war on France. As I will highlight, the German advance via the “all new” tank tactics of the time was an extremely devastating driving force that was the tip of the…

Final Book Review Project, Postwar by Tony Judt Approaching the historic context of Europe since 1945 is generally not an easy task, but in the case of Tony Judt’s 2005 book, Postwar, he provides a strong interpretation of all the occurrences in this time period. Throughout his book, Judt is very efficient in tackling all of the issues that were important during these years, which would make Postwar a book that in general, can very effectively speak to the present generation of Europeans. The…

After World War II, Europe was left devastated and separated due to political and cultural differences. Following, the Cold War only furthered the divide between Europe causing a terrible economic situation for all countries. After the Cold War ended, Europe began to discuss a policy that would unite all of Europe on an economic and cultural basis to increase productivity and an overall better life for their citizens. While in the beginning the motions for European unity were met with little…

Northern Baroque: Baroque Art was the principal European style of art in the 17th century. Although encapsulating the whole of Europe, Baroque art greatly varied from region to region. Having been divided into two separate spheres, the Northern countries who turned Protestant, and the Southern countries who remained Catholic, developed two distinctive artistic styles. In Italy and Spain, the Counter-Reformation was in full swing, promoting complex and dramatic paintings and sculptures such as…

November 13, 2015. Nazi Germany’s Blitzkrieg in Belgium During World War II, Nazi Germany was able to assault various countries using their famous Blitzkrieg technique; which could be coined as where the German troupes quickly broke through defensive lines using motorized and mechanized forces, along with close and powerful air support. One significant country unfortunate to be assaulted was that of Belgium, Germany elected to invade Belgium as an easier route to get to northern France. The…

Ultimately, this advance is known as ‘Patton’s Blitzkrieg’ and rightly so as it cut directly through France (Axelrod 94). The literal definition of ‘blitzkrieg’ is quick attack, which fits appropriately as it would take Patton roughly two weeks to cross all of France and reach the Rhine (a river along the German border). Patton’s Third Army acted like a massive wrecking crew, obliterating everything in their path for their 508-mile treck. This goes to show just how hard Patton pushed his men and…