Belgian Civil War

[Olefin]

One thing to me that never made sense in the timeline was the Franco Belgian Union. And I dont mean the idea I mean the fact that half of Belgium doesnt like the French at all - even their own countrymen.

The country today is possibly looking at a breakup because of this issue.

So how did the developers miss this when they put together the FBU? Unless I missed something in the timeline I dont see any mention of anything like it.

And the actions of the French and the Belgians when they invaded the Netherlands (as mentioned in the NATO vehicle guide) would surely have had the Dutch speaking Belgians either refusing orders or shooting at their fellow soldiers once they went into the Netherlands, certainly not all of them but a good portion of them.

Certainly an idea for a future event in Europe for players who didnt come home and kept their guys in Europe post Omega. I.e. a Belgian civil war breaks out and you get Belgian units cross into the NATO held areas either defecting to NATO or going after anti-Belgian govt forces.

[RN7]

I think its stems down to the fact that territory north and east of the Rhine River largely becomes a no-mans land due to the nuclear attacks on NATO targets in Germany and the Netherlands, which Belgium avoided when it joined France in officially withdrawing from NATO and declare their neutrality after American, Canadian, and British troops crossed the East German frontier in support of the West Germans. Although the Flemish north of Belgium has some sympathy for their Dutch brethren in the Netherlands, in hind sight they are probably glad that the Belgian government threw their lot in with France and were spared the nuclear destruction of their country.

Belgian units serve alonside French units in occupying territory west of the Rhine to secure a geographic barrier and guarantee its frontiers against the hordes of refugees and renegade military personnel which were swarming across the border. From T2K Module: Going Home their are plenty of Belgian units serving alongside French and even Senegalese troops. Belgian troops of Flemish origin who are sympathetic to the Dutch may be transferred to the German border or other units in the Franco-Belgian Union.



The French III Corps

2nd French Armored Division:

501st Tank Regiment (armored)
6th Cuirassier Regiment (armored)
1st Belgian Guides (armored)
5th Infantry Regiment (infantry)
30th Chasseur Group (mechanized)
Chad March Regiment (mechanized)
1st Marine Artillery Regiment (155mm)
5th Engineers Regiment (engineers)
3rd Belgian Chasseur Regiment (cavalry)

17th French Armored Division:

2nd Belgian Guides (armored)
1st Belgian Lanciers (armored)
2nd Chasseur Regiment (armored)
5th Belgian Infantry Linie (mechanized)
1st Chasseurs Ardennois (mechanized)
151st French Infantry Regiment (mechanized)
2nd Belgian Chasseurs (cavalry)
17th Artillery Regiment (Belgian 155mm)

1st French Armored Division:

1st Cuirassier Regiment (armored)
6th Dragoon Regiment
3rd Cuirassier Regiment (armored)
8th Chasseur Group (mechanized)
16th Chasseur Group (mechanized)
1th Belgian Infantry Linie (mechanized)
1st Spahis Regiment (cavalry)
9th Artillery Regiment (155mm)
13th Engineers Regiment (engineers)

III Corps Troops:

76th Infantry Regiment
15th Senegalese Tirailliers Regiment
58th Regiment Artillerie a Pied (Inf)
2nd Hussar Regiment (Cav)
4th Chasseurs Ardennois (Cav)
8th Marine Parachute Regiment (Para)
Belgian Parachute Commando Regiment (Para)
31st Engineer Regiment (Eng)
71st Engineer Regiment (Eng)
16th Artillery Regiment (155mm)

[Rainbow Six]

Interesting topic...I think RN7 probably hits the nail on the head in stating that the average Flemish speaking Belgian is going to settle for being grateful that Belgium largely stayed out of the war and if one of the consequences of that is alliance with (or even de facto annexation by) the French then that is a price they are prepared to pay.

I like the idea of Belgian units defecting, although I think the same logic would probably apply...

[Olefin]

Even though its not canon the idea of encountering some Flemish Belgian troops who have defected is probable if a GM or story creator here on the site wants to include them - but they would only be a small number of men here and then.

Most likely any encountered may have had relatives or friends in Dutch units and either refused to fight them or went over to the other side instead of following orders to fire on them.

[Rainbow Six]

Yeah, I'm thinking either individual defectors or small groups of half a dozen or so are probably more likely than entire units deserting en masse.

On a semi related note, James Langham put together a really good piece a little while ago on Dutch auxilliaries in French service. If you haven't already come across it I'd recommend reading it if you're interested in this topic.

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=2648