Raoul François Casimir Van Overstraeten (

Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houta ...

, 29 January 1885—

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, 30 January 1977) was a Belgian general who fought during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and, from 1938 to 1940, military adviser of king

Leopold III of Belgium Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invas ...

Early life

Van Overstraeten spoke Dutch and French fluently, since his father was a Fleming and his mother a

Wallonian Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak ''langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Walloo ...

. Furthermore, he spoke English and German. His father was an officer at the infantry and ended his career as a general.

First World War

During the German invasion of Belgium, Van Overstraeten was a part of the first line in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fr ...

. He participated in the

Battle of Halen The Battle of Halen, also known as the Battle of the Silver Helmets ( nl, Slag der Zilveren Helmen, french: Bataille des casques d'argent) because of the many cavalry helmets left behind on the battlefield by the German cuirassiers, took place on ...

, the siege of Antwerp, and the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by th ...

. In 1916, he went to the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

as a volunteer and participated in the Battle of Tabora under general

Charles Tombeur Lieutenant General Charles Tombeur, 1st Baron of Tabora (4 May 1867 – 2 December 1947) was a Belgian military officer and colonial civil servant. As well as holding several major administrative positions in the Belgian Congo, he is particularl ...

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

Second World War

From 1938 to 1940, Raoul Van Overstraeten was the military adviser of King Leopold III. He refused the function of chief of staff. Minister

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the i ...

characterised him as "by far the most intelligent of all military personnel. The drawback is that he knows it himself." After the German invasion of Belgium in 1940, he remained in the country, living in Brussels, and was not interned by the occupying forces. On 19 November 1940, Leopold III met

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; t ...

. Van Overstraeten organised the meeting. In 1944, Van Overstraeten, mistrusted by the Allies, was passed over for a leading role in the reconstituted Belgian armed forces. Two years later, he retired, and subsequently wrote four books based on his archives.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Overstraeten, Raoul 1885 births 1977 deaths Belgian Army generals of World War II Belgian Army personnel of World War I Officers of the Force Publique Historians of Belgium