Founding the Free Belgian Forces

After the capitulation, a few thousand Belgian servicemen and volunteers reached Great Britain, by way of France, Spain or the sea. There, in camps (notably in Wales), the question of organisation arises: what to do with these scattered men, in a country preparing to face Germany alone?

For these servicemen, the issue is to reconstitute a Belgian fighting force. To organise into autonomous Belgian units, under the authority of the London government, in order to continue the war under their own colours. To integrate directly into the British forces (RAF, Royal Navy), which is quicker but at the cost of national identity. Or to wait for sufficient manpower and resources before forming a genuine army.

The challenge is real: limited numbers, equipment to be found, a status to be negotiated with the British, and a Belgian government in exile whose authority is contested by the "Royal Question". But the symbolic stakes are major: to show that Belgium continues the fight, and to prepare the Belgian contribution to the liberation.