36
THE YPRES TIMES
Belgian frontier, where he had already led his army to carry on the fight, side by
side with the French, with the same undaunted bravery as he displayed on the
Belgian plains. With him were 120,000 Belgian soldiers. By its gallant defiance
and defence the Belgian Army had secured the safety of the Channel ports, had
enabled the British Expeditionary Force to land in France and saved civilization.
The March to Victory.
During four weary years King Albert remained on the coastal frontier, with his
headquarters on the last few miles of Belgian soil. It was in this area that trench
warfare lasted longest; but in September, 1918 he began the recovery of his
country with French, British and Belgian soldiers under his command. So rapid
was the offensive that by mid-October British troops had entered Armentières,
Douai, Lille, Roubaix and Tourcomg; whilst on 11th of November British Divisions
were in Grammont, Lessines and Athtowns that they had never known before
and in Mons
Peace Hath its Victories no Less Than Those of War."
It was inevitable, I suppose, that war memories of King Albert should almost
monopolise the columns in the British Press of his tragic deathbut it was through
the wisdom of his leadership in peace no less than by the courage of his leadership
in war that he earned the love of his own people and the respect of the whole world.
The Armistice found Belgium ripe for complete social disruption. Its
factories had been destroyed by the Germans; its farms denuded of stock and
implements; its people, after four years of blind, helpless suffering behind the
enemy's lines in an acutely sensitive and psychopathic state. That all these prob
lems and perils were so bravely and quickly surmounted was one of those fine post
war achievements which in our post-1929 pessimism we are apt to forget.
To whom was it due? To many party leaders, no doubtto Catholics, like
M. Jaspar and M. Renkin, to Socialists like M. Vandervelde, to Liberals like M.
Hymans, and above all to a fund of sturdy capacity in the Belgian people. But
the keystone in the whole arch was the King. Without him it would constantly
have fallen to the ground. Time and again, indeed, it almost did so; but always
he contrived to save the situation.
Again, his late Majesty's handling of the Flemish question was masterly in
its caution. He never forfeited the confidence of either side; and only a short
while ago, after everybody else had failed, he was able to bring the parties safely
round one of the most dangerous corners.
Yes, King Albert was a greater man than most of us realised during the War
even greater than the measure taken by his eulogists at the time of his death. With
the sole possible exception of his own grandfather, Leopold I., he was the best
Constitutional Monarch who ever reigned on the Continent of Europe. Soldier
and Statesmen, keenly interested in science, engineering, technology and sociology,
he was at the same time an intelligent patron of art, literature and music and an
enthusiastic devotee of manly sports.-
Above all else he set the example of using his talents as a national trust. While
he occupied the throne, every Belgian citizen knew that there was one man of
extreme ability in public affairs living wholly for the nation's interests. Faction
and corruption, lethargy and irresponsibility, shrank ashamed before his noble and
unselfish example.
Requiescat in -pace
H. B.
