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Sack Of Louvain
The Burning of Louvain was the German assault on the Belgian town of Louvain, part of the events collectively known as the Rape of Belgium, taking place during the First World War. Over the course of several days of pillaging and brutality 248 people were killed and 1,500 were deported to Germany where they were held at the Munster camp until January 1915. The Library of the Catholic University of Leuven was completely destroyed after it was set on fire by the occupying German soldiers and 1,120 of the 8,928 homes in Louvain were similarly destroyed. Prelude German forces had committed atrocities after invading Belgium since 4 August 1914, including mass killings of hundreds of civilians in Liege, Aarschot, and Andenne. On Tuesday, 18 August, the Belgian Army withdrew from the university town of Louvain; in the morning of the next day, Wednesday, 19 August, German forces—including infantry, artillery, uhlans, and cavalry—entered the town, encountering no resistance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rape Of Belgium
The Rape of Belgium was a series of systematic war crimes, especially mass murder and deportation and enslavement, by German troops against Belgian civilians during the invasion and occupation of Belgium in World War I. The neutrality of Belgium had been guaranteed by the Treaty of London (1839), which had been signed by Prussia. However, the German Schlieffen Plan required that German armed forces pass through Belgium (thus violating Belgium's neutrality) in order to outflank the French Army, concentrated in eastern France. The German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg dismissed the treaty of 1839 as a "scrap of paper". Throughout the war, the German army systematically engaged in numerous atrocities against the civilian population of Belgium, including the intentional destruction of civilian property; German soldiers murdered over 6,000 Belgian civilians, and 17,700 died during expulsion, deportation, imprisonment, or death sentence by court. The Wire of Death, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bayonet
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustrated History'', Iola, WI: Krause Publications, , (2004), pp. 9–10, 83–85. From the 17th century to World War I, it was a weapon for infantry attacks. Today it is considered an ancillary weapon or a weapon of last resort. History The term ''bayonette'' itself dates back to the mid-to-late 16th century, but it is not clear whether bayonets at the time were knives that could be fitted to the ends of firearms, or simply a type of knife. For example, Cotgrave's 1611 ''Dictionarie'' describes the bayonet as "a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives; or a great knife to hang at the girdle". Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a ''bayonette'' was made in Bayonne but does not give any ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albrecht Von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). His successful martial career made him one of the richest and most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire by the time of his death. Wallenstein became the supreme commander of the armies of the Imperial Army of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and was a major figure of the Thirty Years' War. Wallenstein was born in the Kingdom of Bohemia into a poor Protestant noble family. He acquired a multilingual university education across Europe and converted to Catholicism in 1606. A marriage in 1609 to the wealthy widow of a Bohemian landowner gave him access to considerable estates and wealth after her death at an early age in 1614. Three years later, Wallenstein embarked on a career as a mercenary by raising ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Tserclaes, Count Of Tilly
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's forces in the Thirty Years' War. From 1620–31, he had an unmatched and demoralizing string of important victories against the Protestants, including White Mountain, Wimpfen, Höchst, Stadtlohn and the Conquest of the Palatinate. He destroyed a Danish army at Lutter and sacked the Protestant city of Magdeburg, which caused the death of some 20,000 of the city's inhabitants, both defenders and non-combatants, out of a total population of 25,000. Tilly was then crushed at Breitenfeld in 1631 by the Swedish army of King Gustavus Adolphus. A Swedish arquebus bullet wounded him severely at the Battle of Rain, and he died two weeks later in Ingolstadt. Along with Duke Albrecht von Wallenstein of Friedland and Mecklenburg, he was one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ..., lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, and the Portuguese Restoration War. Until the 20th century, historians generally viewed it as a continuation of the religious struggle initiated by the 16th-century Reformation within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutral Country
A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war. Different countries interpret their neutrality differently: some, such as Costa Rica, have demilitarized, while Switzerland holds to "armed neutrality", to deter aggression with a sizeable military, while barring itself from foreign deployment. Not all neutral countries avoid any foreign deployment or alliances, as Austria and Ireland have active UN peacekeeping forces and a political alliance within the European Union. Sweden's traditional policy was not to participate in military alliances, with the intention of staying neutral in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leuven Town Hall
The Town Hall (Dutch: ) of Leuven, Belgium, is a landmark building on that city's ''Grote Markt'' (Main Market) square, across from the monumental St. Peter's Church. Built in a Brabantine Late Gothic style between 1448 and 1469, it is famous for its ornate architecture, crafted in lace-like detail. The building The Town Hall has three main stories, lined with pointed Gothic windows on the three sides visible from the Markt. Above is a gallery parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ..., behind which rises a steep roof studded with four tiers of dormers. At the angles of the roof are octagonal Turret (architecture), turrets pierced with slits allowing for the passage of light. Statues in canopied niche (architecture), niches are distributed all over the buildi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pillage
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. The proceeds of all these activities can be described as booty, loot, plunder, spoils, or pillage. During modern-day armed conflicts, looting is prohibited by international law, and constitutes a war crime.Rule 52. Pillage is prohibited. ''Customary IHL Database'', (ICRC)/ |
Incunabula
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were produced before the printing press became widespread on the continent and are distinct from manuscripts, which are documents written by hand. Some authorities include block books from the same time period as incunabula, whereas others limit the term to works printed using movable type. there are about 30,000 distinct incunable editions known. The probable number of surviving individual copies is much higher, estimated at around 125,000 in Germany alone. Through statistical analysis, it is estimated that the number of lost editions is at least 20,000. Around 550,000 copies of around 27,500 different works have been preserved worldwide. Terminology Incunable is the anglicised form of ''incunabulum'', reconstructed singular of Latin ''in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Ambassadors Of The United States To Belgium
In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men and women whose career paths would lead them to become Secretary of States ( Hugh S. Legaré), Secretary of Commerce ( Charles Sawyer) and Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (Joseph E. Davies). Belgian-American Relations were cemented when Brand Whitlock, as representative of the neutral United States, worked during World War I to bring humanitarian aid to help millions of Belgians in danger of starvation caused by the British blockade and the German occupation. Future envoys found themselves working through the Marshall Plan, the foundation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and joint efforts with the European Union. In 1944, when Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Charles W. Sawyer to Ambassador to Belgium he remarked "What c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brand Whitlock
Brand Whitlock (March 4, 1869 – May 24, 1934) was an American journalist, attorney, politician, Georgist, four-time mayor of Toledo, Ohio elected on the Independent ticket; ambassador to Belgium, and author of numerous articles and books, both novels and non-fiction. Journalist Born Joseph Brand Whitlock in Urbana, Ohio, son of the Rev. Elias and Mollie Lavinia (Brand) Whitlock, he was educated in the public schools and by private tutors. Rather than attend college, Whitlock began working as a reporter for several papers in Toledo, Ohio, including ''The Toledo Blade''. In 1891, he moved to Chicago to work for '' The Chicago Herald''. He covered baseball, including longtime Chicago captain-manager Cap Anson, whom he sometimes referred to in print as "Grampa." He also covered the 1892 Republican National Convention and the 1892 Illinois legislative session. Whitlock joined the Whitechapel Club. Springfield, Illinois His political writing attracted attention by Illinois politic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American College Of Louvain
The American College of the Immaculate Conception, or the American College of Louvain is a former Roman Catholic seminary in Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1857, it was operated by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to prepare European priests for service in the United States and to provide a residence for Americans priests studying at the Catholic University of Louvain. The American College closed in June 2011 due to low enrollment and a faculty shortage; its building was turned over to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) for student housing. History 19th century The American College was founded in 1857 by American bishops under the leadership of Bishop Martin J. Spalding of Archdiocese of Louisville and Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere of Archdiocese of Detroit. It was created to train young European men to serve as missionary priests in North America and to give American seminarians the opportunity to study at the Catholic University of Louvain. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
