The Tragedy of Belgium, an Answer to Professor Waxweiler

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: V. THE GARDE CIVIQUE AND THE CIVILIAN CLOTHES OF THE BELGIAN SOLDIER Aside from the regular army and the many volunteers, Belgium, at the outbreak of the war, also had at its disposal a peculiar police troop: the garde civique (citizens' guard). It was divided into an active and an inactive part. The...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: V. THE GARDE CIVIQUE AND THE CIVILIAN CLOTHES OF THE BELGIAN SOLDIER Aside from the regular army and the many volunteers, Belgium, at the outbreak of the war, also had at its disposal a peculiar police troop: the garde civique (citizens' guard). It was divided into an active and an inactive part. The active garde also served in peace; it remained confined to the larger cities, where its duty was, in case of riots or such disturbances, to supplement the professional city police in the maintenance of order. The members of this active garde civique wore, when called out to serve, uniforms which at home they were permitted to exchange for civilian attire; they were organized and had a regular leadership. Popularly called garde comique, this garde, with its Sunday exercises, not only amused the heart of its countrymen but also often thatof the stranger. The inactive garde civique existed only on paper as a calculable factor which the State at any time could call upon for assistance. It included, in all the smaller towns, and in the country districts, all men between twenty and forty years of age. It was intended, in the first instance, as a support of the professional rural police, the gendarmerie. In peace times no one had ever thought of using it. Among the populace it 'was like everything that is unreal, entirely unknown. Wo equipment of any kind existed for it, much less an organization, armament, and schooled leadership. When the war broke out, the Government bethought itself of its authority to call out the inactive garde civique. This order reads: In accordance with articles four and eighty-two of the statute of September Qth, 1897; In accordance furthermore with our orders in which the cities and communities are enumerated, in which the garde civique has b...