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89-791: The Wiener Bankverein or Bank-Verein ( WBV , lit.   ' Viennese Bank Union ' ) was a major bank in the Habsburg Monarchy and the First Austrian Republic , founded in 1869. In 1888 it was the fourth-largest bank of Austria-Hungary by market capitalization, behind the Austro-Hungarian Bank , the Länderbank , and the Creditanstalt . It merged with the troubled Creditanstalt in 1934 to form Creditanstalt-Bankverein. Wiener Bankverein

178-623: A French strike at Germany's Ruhr area using Belgium as a spring-board in October 1930 and again in January 1933. Belgium feared it would be drawn into a war regardless, and sought to avoid that eventuality. The Belgians also feared being drawn into a war as a result of the French–Soviet pact of May 1935 . The Franco-Belgian agreement stipulated Belgium was to mobilise if the Germans did, but what

267-581: A German attack on the country. The Belgians, recognising the danger posed by the Germans, secretly made their own defence policies, troop movement information, communications, fixed defence dispositions, intelligence and air reconnaissance arrangements available to the French military attaché in Brussels . Officially, the Belgian government retained a suspicious posture towards France, considering them as equal

356-546: A German invasion as inevitable and were determined that if an invasion did take place it would be effectively resisted by new fortifications such as Eben Emael . The Belgians had taken measures to reconstruct their defences along their border with Germany upon Adolf Hitler 's rise to power in January 1933. The Belgian government had watched with increasing alarm the German withdrawal from the League of Nations , its repudiation of

445-504: A bill to require longer military service and training was rejected on the basis that it would increase Belgium's military commitments, perhaps in conflicts far from home. King Leopold III made a speech on 14 October 1936 before the Council of Ministers to persuade the people and their government that Belgium's defences needed strengthening. He outlined three main military points for Belgium's increased rearmament: a) German rearmament and

534-799: A branch of Ziraat Bank . The WBV branch office in Prague was designed by Neumann and Josef Zasche  [ de ] and completed in 1908, with expressionist sculptures by Franz Metzner . Around that time, the WBV had branches in Agram (later Zagreb ), Aussig an der Elbe ( Ústí nad Labem ), Bielitz-Biala ( Bielsko-Biała ), Brünn ( Brno ), Czernowitz ( Chernivtsi ), Graz , Karlsbad ( Karlovy Vary ), Klagenfurt , Krakau ( Kraków ), Lemberg ( Lviv ), Pilsen ( Plzeň ), and Teplitz ( Teplice ) in addition to Vienna, Prague and Constantinople. A new branch building in Zagreb

623-633: A danger to Belgian sovereignty as the Third Reich. French forces were not allowed to enter Belgium, even when the German plans to invade became imminent. The Allied plan to aid Belgium was the Dyle Plan ; the cream of the Allied forces, including French armoured divisions , would advance to the Dyle river in response to a German invasion. The choice of an established Allied line lay in either reinforcing

712-759: A force totaling some 600,000 men. Belgian reserves may have been able to field 900,000 men. The Army lacked armour and anti-aircraft guns. After the completion of the Belgian Army's mobilisation, it could muster five regular corps and two reserve army corps consisting of 12 regular infantry divisions, two divisions of Chasseurs Ardennais , six reserve infantry divisions, one brigade of cyclist Frontier Guards, one cavalry corps of two divisions, and one brigade of motorised cavalry. The Army contained two anti-aircraft artillery and four artillery regiments, and an unknown number of fortress, engineer, and signals force personnel. The Belgian Naval Corps ( Corps de Marine )

801-928: A joint-stock bank in Constantinople , the Austro-Ottomanische Bank ; but that venture soon faltered and was acquired by the Imperial Ottoman Bank in 1874. It the late 19th century, the WBV became active in financing ventures in southeastern Europe including railways in the Balkans and petroleum production in Romania . In 1890, it founded the Hungarian Industrial and Commercial Bank in Budapest , with privileged tax status granted by ad hoc legislation. In 1895, it led

890-490: A similar one in 1933 proved insufficient. Eventually, the Wiener Bankverein was merged on 31 December 1933 into the recapitalized Creditanstalt , which simultaneously took over the viable operations of Niederösterreichische Escompte-Gesellschaft . The resulting merged entity adopted the name Österreichische Creditanstalt - Wiener Bankverein , in short Creditanstalt-Bankverein. As part of their restructuring of

979-587: A truck or by a fully tracked armoured utilitie B-tractor. One report states that a round from a 47 mm gun went straight through a Sd kfz 231 and penetrated the armour of the Panzer IV behind it. These Belgian guns were better than the 25 mm and 37 mm guns of, respectively, the French and the Germans. The Belgians began mobilisation on 25 August 1939 and by May 1940 mounted a field army of 18 infantry divisions, two divisions of partly motorised Chasseurs Ardennais and two motorised cavalry divisions,

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1068-542: Is thus one of the many predecessor entities of UniCredit , as the latter in 2005 acquired Bank Austria which itself had merged with Creditanstalt in 1997. The Wiener Bankverein's creation was sponsored in 1869 by the Allgemeine Bodencreditanstalt , which had been established in Vienna in 1863. In 1871, with assistance from Anglo-Austrian Bank and Darmstädter Bank , it sponsored the creation of

1157-770: The Luftwaffe bases to engage in strategic offensive operations against the United Kingdom in the coming conflict. However, the British government paid little attention to the concerns of the Belgians. The lack of this commitment ensured the Belgian withdrawal from the Western Alliance , the day before the remilitarisation of the Rhineland . The lack of opposition to the remilitarisation served to convince

1246-669: The 18 Days' Campaign ( French : Campagne des 18 jours ; Dutch : Achttiendaagse Veldtocht ), formed part of the larger Battle of France , an 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

1335-466: The 1er with 60 aircraft, the 2ème with 53 aircraft, and the 3ème with 79 aircraft. The Belgians were afforded substantial support by the French Army. The French 1st Army included General René Prioux 's Cavalry Corps. The corps was given the 2nd Light Mechanized Division (2 Division Légère Mécanique, or 2 DLM) and the 3rd Light Mechanized Division (3 DLM), which were allocated to defend

1424-664: The Banque Belge pour l'Étranger (BBE) recapitalized Wiener Bankverein in 1920, joined in 1922 by Basler Handelsbank and in 1927 by Dillon, Read & Co. . Following the banking crisis of 1931 , the Bankverein experienced financial distressed. In 1932, it transferred a significant portfolio of problem assets to a government-owned vehicle, the Gesellschaft für Revision und Treuhandige Verwaltung and issued new shares to restore its capital base, but that transaction and

1513-453: The Belgian combat vehicles included 200 T-13 tank destroyers . These had excellent 47 mm antitank guns and coaxial FN30 machine guns in turrets. The Belgians also possessed 42 T-15s . They were officially described as armoured cars but were actually fully tracked tanks with 13.2 mm turret machine guns . The standard Belgian anti-tank gun was the 47 mm FRC , towed either by

1602-645: The British Expeditionary Force (BEF), along with many Belgian and French soldiers, to escape capture and continue military operations. France reached its own armistice with Germany in June 1940. Belgium was occupied by the Germans until the autumn of 1944, when it was liberated by the Western Allies. The Belgian strategy for a defence against German aggression faced political as well as military problems. In terms of military strategy ,

1691-576: The Creditanstalt . On 25 July 1914, the prospect of impending war triggered a bank run at the Wiener Bankverein's branch in Constantinople , which was subsequently closed on 1 August 1914. It opened a branch in Belgrade under Austro-Hungarian occupation in 1916 during World War I . Following the war's end and post-war financial turmoil in the newly formed First Austrian Republic , the Société Générale de Belgique (SGB) and its affiliate

1780-786: The Duchy of Austria for the Habsburgs in 1282. In 1482, Maximilian I acquired the Netherlands through marriage. Both realms passed to his grandson and successor, Charles V , who also inherited the Spanish throne and its colonial possessions , and thus came to rule the Habsburg empire at its greatest territorial extent. The abdication of Charles V in 1556 led to a division within the dynasty between his son Philip II of Spain and his brother Ferdinand I , who had served as his lieutenant and

1869-1132: The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza between 1814 and 1847. Also, the Second Mexican Empire , from 1863 to 1867, was headed by Maximilian I of Mexico , the brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria . The so-called "Habsburg monarchs" or "Habsburg emperors" held many different titles and ruled each kingdom separately through a personal union . The decline of the Habsburg Empire is given in Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday . Stefan Zweig, l'autore del più famoso libro sull'Impero asburgico, Die Welt von Gestern German invasion of Belgium (1940) German victory German occupation of Belgium Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as

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1958-513: The European banking crisis of 1931 . In 1940 following the German invasion of Belgium , Deutsche Bank bought out the Belgian stake under duress and became its dominant shareholder, with 88 percent held either directly or through Creditanstalt, also under Deutsche Bank's control since Anschluss in 1938; businessman Franz Neuhausen became its Chairman. Deutsche Bank simultaneously took control of

2047-614: The First Hungarian Republic in late 1918. In historiography , the terms "Austria" or "Austrians" are frequently used as shorthand for the Habsburg monarchy since the 18th century. From 1438 to 1806, the rulers of the House of Habsburg almost continuously reigned as Holy Roman Emperors . However, the realms of the Holy Roman Empire were mostly self-governing and are thus not considered to have been part of

2136-647: The Galata neighborhood of Constantinople , on a highly visible location at the northern entrance of the Golden Horn , designed by Gotthilf and Neumann and completed in 1912. In 1921, the property was acquired by the newly created Banque Française des Pays d'Orient . In the 1930s, it was used by the Turkish tobacco concern that had succeeded the Ottoman Tobacco Company in 1925, and in 1944 became

2225-465: The Gembloux gap . The armoured forces consisted of 176 of the formidable SOMUA S35s and 239 Hotchkiss H35 light tanks. Both of these types, in armour and firepower, were superior to most German types. The 3 DLM contained 90 S35s and some 140 H35s alone. The French 7th Army was assigned to protect the northernmost part of the Allied front. It contained the 1st Light Mechanized Division (1 DLM),

2314-458: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany between 1765 and 1801, and again from 1814 to 1859. While exiled from Tuscany, this line ruled at Salzburg from 1803 to 1805, and in Grand Duchy of Würzburg from 1805 to 1814. The House of Austria-Este ruled the Duchy of Modena from 1814 to 1859, while Empress Marie Louise , Napoleon 's second wife and the daughter of Austrian Emperor Francis I , ruled over

2403-677: The House of Austria . Between 1438 and 1806, with few exceptions, the Habsburg Archduke of Austria was elected as Holy Roman Emperor . The Habsburgs grew to European prominence as a result of the dynastic policy pursued by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor . Maximilian married Mary of Burgundy , thus bringing the Burgundian Netherlands into the Habsburg possessions. Their son, Philip the Handsome , married Joanna

2492-725: The North African Campaign and the Eastern Front . The battle also included the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael , the first strategic airborne operation using paratroopers ever attempted. The German official history stated that in the 18 days of bitter fighting, the Belgian Army were tough opponents, and spoke of the "extraordinary bravery" of its soldiers. The Belgian collapse forced the Allied withdrawal from continental Europe. The British Royal Navy subsequently evacuated Belgian ports during Operation Dynamo , allowing

2581-530: The Ottoman Turks , Archduke Ferdinand (who was his brother-in-law by virtue of an adoption treaty signed by Maximilian and Vladislaus II , Louis's father at the First Congress of Vienna ) was also elected the next king of Bohemia and Hungary in 1526. Bohemia and Hungary became hereditary Habsburg domains only in the 17th century: Following victory in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) over

2670-765: The Treaty of Versailles and its violation of the Locarno Treaties . The government modernised fortifications at Namur and Liège , and established new lines of defence along the Maastricht – 's-Hertogenbosch canal, joining the Meuse, the Scheldt and the Albert Canal. Protection of the eastern frontier, based mainly on destroying a number of roads, was entrusted to new formations (frontier cyclist units and

2759-553: The "Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council". When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed (after 30 years of occupation and administration ), it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy. Instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. During the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , the Austrian territories collapsed under the weight of the various ethnic independence movements that came to

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2848-502: The Albert Canal from Antwerp to Liège and the Meuse from Liège to Namur, which was to be held long enough to allow French and British troops to occupy the line Antwerp–Namur– Givet . It was anticipated that the forces of the guarantor Powers would be in action on the third day of an invasion. (b) Withdrawal to the Antwerp–Namur position. (c) The Belgian Army was to hold the sector–excluding Leuven , but including Antwerp–as part of

2937-678: The Allied First Army Group into central Belgium, while Army Group A conducted the surprise assault through the Ardennes. Belgium was to act as a secondary front. Army Group B was given only limited numbers of armoured and mobile units, while the vast majority of the army group comprised infantry divisions. After the English Channel was reached, all Panzer division units and most motorised infantry were removed from Army Group B and given to Army Group A, to strengthen

3026-595: The Belgians in defending Belgium's eastern borders, which would allow it to stop a German attack well forward of the French border. The French were dependent on cooperation from the Belgians. Such a situation deprived the French of any prepared defences in Belgium to forestall an attack, a situation which the French had wanted to avoid as it meant engaging the German Panzer divisions in a mobile battle. The French considered invading Belgium immediately in response to

3115-523: The Belgians in the east of the country, at the Meuse – Albert Canal line, and holding the Scheldt Estuary , thus linking the French defences in the south with the Belgian forces protecting Ghent and Antwerp , seemed to be the soundest defensive strategy. The weakness of the plan was that it abandoned most of eastern Belgium to the Germans. Militarily it would put the Allied rear at right angles to

3204-426: The Belgians that France and Britain were unwilling to fight for their own strategic interests, let alone Belgium's. The Belgian General Staff was determined to fight for its own interests, alone if necessary. The French government was infuriated at King Leopold III 's open declaration of neutrality in October 1936. The French Army saw its strategic assumptions undermined; it could no longer expect cooperation from

3293-466: The Belgians were unwilling to stake everything on a linear defence of the Belgian–German border, in an extension of the Maginot Line . Such a move would leave the Belgians vulnerable to a German assault in their rear, through an attack on the Netherlands . Such a strategy would also rely on the French to move quickly into Belgium and support the garrison there. Belgium was wary of continuing its alliance with France. Marshal Philippe Pétain had suggested

3382-428: The Bohemian rebels, Ferdinand II promulgated a Renewed Land Ordinance (1627/1628) that established hereditary succession over Bohemia. Following the Battle of Mohács (1687) , in which Leopold I reconquered almost all of Ottoman Hungary from the Turks, the emperor held a diet in Pressburg to establish hereditary succession in the Hungarian kingdom. Charles V divided the House in 1556 by ceding Austria along with

3471-404: The Brussels–Ghent gap supporting the Belgian Army, holding the main defensive positions, some 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Brussels. The main defensive position ringing Antwerp would be protected by the Belgians, barely 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the city. The French 7th Army was to reach the Zeeland or Breda, just inside the Dutch border. The French would then be in a position to protect

3560-402: The Channel after five days, encircling the Allied armies. The Germans gradually reduced the pocket of Allied forces, forcing them back to the sea. The Belgian Army surrendered on 28 May 1940, ending the battle. The Battle of Belgium included the first tank battle of the war, the Battle of Hannut . It was the largest tank battle in history at the time but was later surpassed by the battles of

3649-404: The Dutch border were the targets. Failure to capture the bridges would leave Walter von Reichenau 's German 6th Army , the southernmost army of Group B, trapped in the Maastricht-Albert Canal enclave and subject to the fire of Eben-Emael. The fort had to be captured or destroyed. Adolf Hitler summoned Lieutenant-General Kurt Student of the 7. Flieger-Division (7th Air Division) to discuss

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3738-406: The Fiats, Hurricanes, and Battles had been delivered. The shortage of modern types meant single-seat versions of the Fairey Fox light bomber were being used as fighters. The AéMI possessed 250 combat aircraft. At least 90 were fighters, 12 were bombers and 12 were reconnaissance aircraft. Only 50 were of reasonably modern standard. When liaison and transport aircraft from all services are included,

3827-492: The French and British of their concerns. They feared that the Dyle plan would put not just the Belgian strategic position in danger, but also the entire left wing of the Allied front. King Leopold and General Raoul Van Overstraeten , the King's aide de camp , warned Gamelin and the French Army command of their concerns on 8 March and 14 April. They were ignored. The Belgian plan, in the event of German aggression [italics in original] provided for: (a) A delaying position along

3916-445: The French frontier defences; while for the British, with their communications located at the channel ports, would be parallel to their front. Despite the risk of committing forces to central Belgium and an advance to the Scheldt or Dyle lines, which would be vulnerable to an outflanking move, Maurice Gamelin , the French commander, approved the plan and it remained the Allied strategy at the outbreak of war. The British, with no army in

4005-463: The German lines of communication and to prevent an Allied breakout. This plan would still fail if sufficient ground could not be quickly taken in Belgium to squeeze the allies against two fronts. Preventing this from happening were the defences of Fort Eben-Emael and the Albert Canal. The three bridges over the canal were the key to allowing Army Group B to move at high speed. The bridges at Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Kanne in Belgium, and Maastricht on

4094-486: The Germans would not commence the invasion with this plan. It suggested that the Germans would try an attack through the Belgian Ardennes and advance to Calais to encircle the Allied armies in Belgium. The Belgians correctly predicted that the Germans would attempt a Kesselschlacht (literally "cauldron battle", meaning encirclement ), to destroy its enemies. The Belgians had predicted the exact German plan as offered by Erich von Manstein . The Belgian high command warned

4183-483: The Habsburg monarchy. Hence, the Habsburg monarchy (of the Austrian branch) is often called "Austria" by metonymy . Around 1700, the Latin term monarchia austriaca came into use as a term of convenience. Within the empire alone, the vast possessions included the original Hereditary Lands, the Erblande , from before 1526; the Lands of the Bohemian Crown ; the formerly Spanish Austrian Netherlands from 1714 until 1794; and some fiefs in Imperial Italy . Outside

4272-413: The Imperial crown to Ferdinand (as decided at the Imperial election, 1531 ), and the Spanish Empire to his son Philip . The Spanish branch (which also held the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Portugal between 1580 and 1640, and the Mezzogiorno of Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which also ruled the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary and Bohemia) was itself divided between different branches of

4361-412: The Landesbank in Sarajevo. Following the German invasion of Yugoslavia , the AJB was divided into two separate institutions: Both banks' assets were confiscated by the newly established Communist authorities in October 1944, and they were subsequently liquidated. From its foundation in 1869, the Wiener Bankverein's head office was at Herrengasse 6-8, later extended to what was then Herrengasse 10, in

4450-416: The Low Countries, to govern his various realms. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Emperor Charles V came to terms with his younger brother Ferdinand . According to the Habsburg compact of Worms (1521), confirmed a year later in Brussels , Ferdinand was made Archduke , as a regent of Charles V in the Austrian hereditary lands. Following the death of Louis II of Hungary in the Battle of Mohács against

4539-503: The Mad of Spain (daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ). Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , the son of Philip and Joanna, inherited the Habsburg Netherlands in 1506, Habsburg Spain and its territories in 1516, and Habsburg Austria in 1519. At this point, the Habsburg possessions were so vast that Charles V was constantly travelling throughout his dominions and therefore needed deputies and regents, such as Isabella of Portugal in Spain and Margaret of Austria in

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4628-401: The WBV, the Société Générale de Belgique and Banque Belge pour l'Étranger created new domestic banks in the Empire's successor states, in which they initially had joint controlling ownership together with their partner the Basler Handelsbank : The AJB gained prominence in Yugoslavia during the 1930s, when it was the largest bank to avoid falling under a "moratorium" on its liabilities following

4717-399: The assault. It was first suggested that a conventional parachute drop be made by airborne forces to seize and destroy the forts' guns before the land units approached. Such a suggestion was rejected as the Junkers Ju 52 transports were too slow and were likely to be vulnerable to Dutch and Belgian anti-aircraft guns. Other factors for its refusal were the weather conditions, which might blow

4806-442: The border fortifications along the Albert Canal and the Meuse, without withdrawing, until the French Army arrived to support them. Gamelin was not keen on pushing his Dyle plan that far. He was concerned that the Belgians would be driven out of their defences and would retreat to Antwerp, as in 1914. In fact, the Belgian divisions protecting the border were to withdraw and retreat southward to link up with French forces. This information

4895-430: The city's northern flank, the tank country lying in the strategic depths of the Belgian forces occupying the city and the axis of advance into the west of the country. Further lines of defence ran south-west, covering the Liège–Namur axis. The Belgian Army also had the added benefit of the French 1st Army , advancing toward Gembloux and Hannut , on the southern flank of the BEF covering the Sambre sector. This covered

4984-406: The complete re-militarisation of Italy and Russia had caused most other states, even pacifists like Switzerland and the Netherlands, to take exceptional precautions. b) Vast changes in military methods, particularly in aviation and mechanization, meant that initial operations could now be of alarming force, speed and magnitude. c) The lightning reoccupation of the Rhineland came with bases for

5073-454: The course of its history, other lands were, at times, under Austrian Habsburg rule (some of these territories were secundogenitures , i.e. ruled by other lines of Habsburg dynasty): The boundaries of some of these territories varied over the period indicated, and others were ruled by a subordinate (secundogeniture) Habsburg line. The Habsburgs also held the title of Holy Roman Emperor between 1438 and 1740, and again from 1745 to 1806. Within

5162-414: The creation of the Landesbank für Bosnien und Herzegowina in Sarajevo . In 1906, it returned to Constantinople and opened a branch office there, soon followed by the construction of a prominent branch building inaugurated in 1912. It opened a branch in Zagreb in 1908. By 1912, it had the largest network of all Austrian joint-stock banks, with 49 branches in comparison to 31 for the Länderbank and 21 for

5251-570: The early 1860s, the famous Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was arrived at, by which the so-called dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was set up. In this system, the Kingdom of Hungary ("Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen.") was an equal sovereign with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. Although the non-Hungarian Habsburg lands were referred to as "Austria", received their own central parliament (the Reichsrat , or Imperial Council ) and ministries, as their official name –

5340-417: The early modern Habsburg monarchy, each entity was governed according to its own particular customs. Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same person—junior members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. Serious attempts at centralization began under Maria Theresa and especially her son Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in

5429-410: The eastern industrial regions. It also had the advantage of absorbing Dutch and Belgian Army formations (including some 20 Belgian divisions). Gamelin justified the Dyle Plan after the defeat using these arguments. On 10 January 1940, in an episode known as the Mechelen Incident , German Army major, Hellmuth Reinberger , crash-landed in a Messerschmitt Bf 108 near Mechelen-aan-de-Maas . Reinberger

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5518-411: The elected king of Hungary , Croatia and Bohemia . The Spanish branch (which held all of Iberia , the Netherlands , and lands in Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which ruled the Holy Roman Empire , Hungary, Bohemia and various other lands) was itself split into different branches in 1564 but reunited 101 years later. It became extinct in the male line in 1740, but continued through

5607-410: The empire, they encompassed all the Kingdom of Hungary as well as conquests made at the expense of the Ottoman Empire . The dynastic capital was Vienna , except from 1583 to 1611, when it was in Prague . The first Habsburg who can be reliably traced was Radbot of Klettgau , who was born in the late 10th century; the family name originated with Habsburg Castle , in present-day Switzerland , which

5696-455: The event of German aggression toward Poland, while the British and French maintained their military obligations to Belgium. Militarily, the Belgians considered the Wehrmacht stronger than the Allies, and that engaging in overtures to the Allies would make Belgium a battleground without adequate allies. The Belgians and French remained confused about what was expected of whom if or when hostilities commenced. The Belgians were determined to hold

5785-433: The family from 1564 until 1665, but thereafter it remained a single personal union . It became extinct in the male line in 1740, but through the marriage of Queen Maria Theresa with Francis of Lorraine , the dynasty continued as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . Names of some smaller territories: The territories ruled by the Austrian monarchy changed over the centuries, but the core always consisted of four blocs: Over

5874-402: The female line as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . The Habsburg monarchy was a union of crowns, with only partial shared laws and institutions other than the Habsburg court itself; the provinces were divided in three groups: the Archduchy proper, Inner Austria that included Styria and Carniola , and Further Austria with Tyrol and the Swabian lands. The territorial possessions of

5963-532: The field and behind in rearmament, were in no position to challenge French strategy, which had assumed the prominent role of the Western Alliance. Having little ability to overrule the French, the British strategy for military action came in the form of strategic bombing of the Ruhr industry. On the official Belgian withdrawal from the Western Alliance, the Belgians refused to engage in any official staff meetings with French or British military staff for fear of compromising their neutrality. The Belgians did not regard

6052-508: The fore with its defeat in World War I. After its dissolution, the new republics of Austria (the German-Austrian territories of the Hereditary lands) and the First Hungarian Republic were created. In the peace settlement that followed, significant territories were ceded to Romania and Italy and the remainder of the monarchy's territory was shared out among the new states of Poland , the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and Czechoslovakia . A junior line ruled over

6141-489: The former Palais Liechtenstein  [ de ] . In 1912, the WBV moved to a new head office it had built at the corner of Schottenring and Schottengasse , on a design by architects Ernst Gotthilf  [ de ] and Alexander Neumann  [ de ] ; the Palais Liechtenstein was promptly demolished, and replaced in the 1930s by the high-rise building branded Hochhaus Herrengasse  [ de ] . The WBV building on Schottengasse later became

6230-481: The gap in the Belgian defences between the main Belgian positions on the Dyle line and Namur to the south. Further south still, the French 9th Army advanced to the Givet–Dinant axis on the Meuse river. The French 2nd Army was responsible for the last 100 kilometres (62 mi) of front, covering Sedan, the lower Meuse, the Belgian–Luxembourg border and the northern flank of the Maginot line. The German plan of attack required that Army Group B would advance and draw

6319-407: The headquarters of the merged Creditanstalt-Bankverein from 1934, then of Bank Austria from 1997, and of Bank Austria-Creditanstalt from 2002 to 2017. The building was then renovated and converted into a commercial compound branded Haus am Schottentor  [ de ] , including an Interspar hypermarket, and inaugurated in 2021. The Wiener Bankverein also erected a branch office building in

6408-400: The left flank of the Belgian Army forces protecting Antwerp and threaten the German northern flank. Further east, delaying positions were constructed in the immediate tactical zones along the Albert Canal, which joined with the defences of the Meuse west of Maastricht. The line deviated southward, and continued to Liège. The Maastricht–Liège gap was heavily protected. Fort Eben-Emael guarded

6497-573: The main Allied defensive position. In an agreement with the British and French armies, the French 7th Army under the command of Henri Giraud was to advance into Belgium, past the Scheldt Estuary in Zeeland if possible, to Breda , in the Netherlands. The British Army's British Expeditionary Force or BEF, commanded by General John Vereker, Lord Gort , was to occupy the central position in

6586-500: The mid to late 18th century, but many of these were abandoned following large scale resistance to Joseph's more radical reform attempts, although a more cautious policy of centralization continued during the revolutionary period and the Metternichian period that followed. Another attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the various revolutions of 1848 . For the first time, ministers tried to transform

6675-525: The monarchy into a centralized bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary was placed under martial law , being divided into a series of military districts, the centralized neo-absolutism tried to as well to nullify Hungary's constitution and Diet . Following the Habsburg defeats in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859) and Austro-Prussian War (1866), these policies were step by step abandoned. After experimentation in

6764-611: The monarchy were thus united only by virtue of a common monarch. The Habsburg realms were unified in 1804 with the formation of the Austrian Empire and later split in two with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 . The monarchy began to fracture in the face of inevitable defeat during the final years of World War I and ultimately disbanded with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and

6853-412: The newly formed Chasseurs Ardennais ). By 1935, the Belgian defences were completed. Even so, it was felt that the defences were no longer adequate. A significant mobile reserve was needed to guard the rear areas, and as a result it was considered that the protection against a sudden assault by German forces was not sufficient. Significant manpower reserves would also be needed, but the public rejected

6942-619: 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. After the French had fully committed the best of the Allied armies to Belgium between 10 and 12 May, the Germans enacted the second phase of their operation, a break-through, or sickle cut, through the Ardennes , and advanced toward the English Channel . The German Army ( Heer ) reached

7031-521: The paratroopers away from the fort and disperse them too widely. A seven-second drop from a Ju 52 at minimum operational height led to a dispersion over 300 metres alone. Hitler had noticed one potential flaw in the defences. The roofs were flat and unprotected; he demanded to know if a glider , such as the DFS 230 , could land on them. Student replied that it could be done, but only by 12 aircraft and in daylight; this would deliver 80–90 paratroopers onto

7120-462: The start of a possible German invasion moving close to the Belgian frontier. On 24 April 1937, the French and British publicly declared that Belgium's security was paramount to the Western Allies and that they would defend their borders against aggression of any sort, whether directed solely at Belgium, or to obtain bases to wage war against "other states". The British and French released Belgium from her Locarno obligations to render mutual assistance in

7209-522: The target. Hitler then revealed the tactical weapon that would make this strategic operation work, introducing the Hohlladungwaffe (hollow-charge) – a 50 kilograms (110 lb) explosive weapon which would destroy the Belgian gun emplacements. This tactical unit spearheaded the first strategic airborne operation in history. The Belgian Army could muster 22 divisions, which contained 1,338 artillery pieces but just 10 AMC 35 tanks. However,

7298-418: The total strength was 377; however only 118 of these were serviceable on 10 May 1940. Of this number around 78 were fighters and 40 were bombers. The AéMI was commanded by Paul Hiernaux, who had received his pilot's license just before the outbreak of World War I , and had risen to the position of commander-in-chief in 1938. Hiernaux organised the service into three Régiments d'Aéronautique (air regiments):

7387-503: Was based at Ostend, while the Second and Third divisions were based at Zeebrugge and Antwerp. The Aéronautique Militaire Belge (Belgian Air Force - AéMI) had barely begun to modernise their aircraft technology. The AéMI had ordered Brewster Buffalo , Fiat CR.42 , and Hawker Hurricane fighters, Koolhoven F.K.56 trainers, Fairey Battle and Caproni Ca.312 light bombers, and Caproni Ca.335 fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, but only

7476-509: Was built by Radbot. After 1279, the Habsburgs came to rule in the Duchy of Austria , which was part of the elective Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire . King Rudolf I of Germany of the Habsburg family assigned the Duchy of Austria to his sons at the Diet of Augsburg (1282), thus establishing the " Austrian hereditary lands ". From that moment, the Habsburg dynasty was also known as

7565-589: Was carrying the first plans for the German invasion of western Europe which, as Gamelin had expected, entailed a repeat of the 1914 Schlieffen Plan and a German thrust through Belgium (which was expanded by the Wehrmacht to include the Netherlands) and into France. The Belgians suspected a ruse, but the plans were taken seriously. Belgian intelligence and the military attaché in Cologne correctly suggested

7654-406: Was designed by Gotthilf and Neumann and completed in 1923; it was renovated in the 2010s and converted into Amadria Park Hotel . This bank and insurance -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Habsburg Monarchy The history of the Habsburg monarchy can be traced back to the election of Rudolf I as King of Germany in 1273 and his acquisition of

7743-691: Was not clear was whether Belgium would have to mobilise in the event of a German invasion of Poland. The Belgians much preferred an alliance with the United Kingdom . The British had entered the First World War in response to the German violation of Belgian neutrality. The Belgian Channel ports had offered the German Imperial Navy valuable bases, and such an attack would offer the German Kriegsmarine and

7832-600: Was not given to Gamelin. As far as the Belgians were concerned, the Dyle Plan had advantages. Instead of the limited Allied advance to the Scheldt, or meeting the Germans on the Franco-Belgian border, the move to the Dyle river would reduce the Allied front in central Belgium by 70 kilometres (43 mi), freeing more forces for use as a strategic reserve. Belgium felt this would save more Belgian territory, in particular

7921-470: Was resurrected in 1939. Most of the Belgian merchant fleet, some 100 ships, evaded capture by the Germans. Under the terms of a Belgian–Royal Navy agreement, these ships and their 3,350 crewmen were placed under British control for the duration of hostilities. The general headquarters of the Belgian Admiralty was at Ostend under the command of Major Henry Decarpentrie. The First Naval Division

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