Former enemies unite at ceremony
LIEGE, Belgium — Former enemies during World War I united for ceremonies surrounding the 100th anniversary of the start of the conflict, with Belgium, France, Germany and Britain standing together at an Allied memorial today to commemorate one of the great early battles.
In a spirit of reconciliation, Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde welcomed German President Joachim Gauck under cloudy skies for the late-morning ceremony amid pomp and military honor.
Germany invaded Belgium on Aug. 4, 1914, as part of a planned attack on France. By nightfall, Britain had joined the war.
The war wasn’t expected to last long. Instead of weeks, the continent was plunged into unknown hardship and misery for more than four years.
Gauck will join British Princes William and Harry at the Saint Symphorien cemetery late today for a similar remembrance. In Britain, there will be ceremonies in Glasgow, Scotland, and a candlelit vigil at London’s Westminster Abbey.
On Sunday, an intense hug between Gauck and French President Francois Hollande during a remembrance ceremony in eastern France close to the German border sealed again the friendship between the two neighbors, which have become the cornerstones of the European Union.
Monday’s ceremony in Liege was significant since the battle for the forts around the city meant the first delay for Germany’s enveloping move through Belgium, the so-called Schlieffen Plan strategy to defeat France in a matter of weeks.
Liege held much longer than expected and allowed the allied forces to gather strength and keep Germany at bay within dozens of kilometers of Paris.
By the end of autumn in 1914, both sides dug in, and from the early battles, the war quickly changed into trench warfare on the Western Front, with hundreds of thousands of casualties in a barren landscape where poison gas wafted through the air.
The U.S. joined the fight against the German and Austro-Hungarian empires in 1917 and provided a decisive impetus that led to the Nov. 11, 1918 armistice.
