Evening star., 1951-04-08
Belgium Has Joined the Team
After Trying Neutrality Twice


hard, not only in the air force but
also in the army.
They have just upped their
term of military service from one
year to two years-longest of any
continental nation of the North
Atlantic Alliance. They have one
complete infantry division in
Germany, an armored division in
course of formation in Belgium.
and another infantry division
which will be rs per cent complete
by the end of this year.
Next year they will add two
more infantry divisions and an
other in 1858, giving them total
of six divisions-one armored and
five infantry. 1t is possible that a
second armored division may be-
formed in 1858 also, but the six
division total represents Belgium's S
present commitment to NATO.
"And that commitment will be
met" Col. Harteon. the secretary
of Belgium's Joint Chiefs of STAFF, :,
told me with considerable en-
phasis. Six divisions plus the air
groups already mentioned and a
mine-sWeeping f1otilla off the
coast represents a considerable ef-
fort for a nation of only 8 Million
people-but, as I said. the Belgians
are going at this very seriously
and they are working at it with
purposeful vigor.
Lancers Ride Shermans.
When visited the camp at
Bourg Leopold. I found two of the
new armored regiments-the I'd
and Sd Lancers, whose lances and
horses have long since been laid
aside-out in the biting wind with
their Sherman tanks, conducting a
field exercise.
The I'd Lancers has old-style
Shermans rescued from a wartime
Junk-pile as an enterprising dealer
was about to sell them to Argen-
tina. The Sd Lancers has newer
Shermans with the 76-mm. HV
gun, furnished by MDAP. But the
I'd Lancers aren't too unhappy, for
they have an idea that they'll be
the first to get still newer American.
tanks when the first Pattons with
9O-mm. guns become available.
Belgium has still another mill
tary asset besides it's air force and
army-a considerable arms pro-
duction capacity. The Belgian
army is being rearmed with the
Belgian automatic rifle, which will
carry United States 30-caliber
ammunition. (Old Man Standard
ization again) The artillery is a
mixture of United States loss and
155s and British 25-pounders,
which occasions some difficulties
both in ammunition supply and
fire control, but an ingenious plan
for bringing both types into the
United States e-direction system
has been worked out Jointly with
the Dutch army.
More use of Belgium's arms
manufacturing capacity and the
ingenuity of Belgian designers
could be made if the powers that
be in NATO would just come upI
with decisions as to types and
quantities required and some
firm basis for placing orders could
be established. Doubtless this
will come in time.
Rifle Grenade Is Tops.
But it's interesting to note that
the Belgian "Energa" anti-tank
rifle grenade was discovered al
couple of years ago by the United
States Marine Corps and was used
in Korea. When the United States
Army discovered that the Marines
had a rifle grenade which would
knock out T-34 tank at 100
meters they got all excited and
demanded, to know where the
Marines got it. Belgium" said
the Marines-and over came an
Army Ordnance team with a con-
tract authorization clutched in
their hot little hands. Things like
that ought not to be left to chance
discovery in a great military
alliance. But that is just one of
the kinks that it's going to take
lot of time and patience to iron
out.
Meanwhile, Belgians are plug
|ging away in their serious, undra-
matte fashion, trying to get ready
if the enemy comes, hoping
against hope that-as heard M.
Paul-Henri Spaak say at luncheon
today-they can win security
without having to fight another
war, but determined that if they
do have to fight, they'll fight as
part of team this time and not
alone. For an army and an air.
force which has started virtually
from scratch and most of whose
officers spent four years as priS-
oners of war from 1910 to 1914,
I'd say the Belgian forces have
made notable progress to get as
far as they have at this writing.
Copyright 1851. General Features Corp)