page_title: Belgium in World War II
section_title: Belgian government and army in exile
hierarchical_section_title: Belgium in World War II / Belgian government and army in exile
caption_attribution_description: English: Allied Forces in the United Kingdom 1939-45 Belgian soldiers fire a 2-inch mortar during training at Tenby in Wales, 10 February 1941.
context_page_description: Despite being neutral at the start of World War II, Belgium and its colonial possessions found themselves at war after the country was invaded by German forces on 10 May 1940. After 18 days of fighting in which Belgian forces were pushed back into a small pocket in the north-east of the country, the Belgian military surrendered to the Germans, beginning an occupation that would endure until 1944. The surrender of 28 May was ordered by King Leopold III without the consultation of his government and sparked a political crisis after the war. Despite the capitulation, many Belgians managed to escape to the United Kingdom where they formed a government and army-in-exile on the Allied side.
  The Belgian Congo remained loyal to the Belgian government in London and contributed significant material and human resources to the Allied cause. Many Belgians were involved in both armed and passive resistance to German forces, although some chose to collaborate with the German forces.
context_section_description: After the defeat in 1940, significant numbers of Belgian soldiers and civilians escaped to Britain who, along with Belgian pre-war émigrés in Britain and Canada, formed the Belgian forces in exile. The Belgian government, including ministers from Catholic, Socialist and Liberal parties under Hubert Pierlot, evacuated to London alongside other governments from occupied countries (including the Netherlands and Luxembourg) where it remained until the liberation of Belgium in 1944.
  The government in exile claimed the authority to speak for the whole of Belgium, leading the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paul-Henri Spaak, to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London". A Belgian politician, Victor de Laveleye, is also credited with inspiring the Allied "V for Victory" propaganda campaign in 1941.
  In a broadcast on French Radio, Pierlot called for the creation of an army in exile to continue the fight:
  With the same youthful courage that responded to the government's call, reunited with the elements of the Belgian military in France and Great Britain, a new army will be levied and organized. It will go into the line alongside those of our allies ... all the forces we have will be put at the service of the cause which has become ours ... It is important to assure immediately and in a tangible way, the solidarity which continues to unite the powers which have given us their support ...
  — Pierlot, Speech on French Radio, 28 May 1940
  By 1944, the Free Belgian forces in the United Kingdom numbered some 4,500 men. Belgian soldiers formed the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade (which also included an artillery battery of soldiers from Luxembourg) more often known as the Brigade Piron after its commanding officer, Jean-Baptiste Piron. The Brigade Piron was involved in the Normandy Invasion and the battles in France and the Netherlands until liberation.
  Belgians also served in British special forces units during the war, forming a troop of No.10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, which was involved in the Italian Campaign and the Landings on Walcheren. The 5th Special Air Service (part of the élite SAS) was made up entirely of Belgians and was the first Allied unit to enter Belgium in September 1944.
  400 Belgian pilots served in the Royal Air Force. Two all-Belgian fighter units, Nos. 349 and 350 Squadrons, served in the European theatre. No. 350 Squadron alone claimed 51 "kills" between its formation in November 1941 and the end of the war. In total, 1,200 Belgians served in the RAF, mainly in British or Free Dutch squadrons.
  Two corvettes and a group of minesweepers were also operated by the Belgians during the Battle of the Atlantic. By 1943, 350 Belgians were serving as sailors on these vessels.
caption: Free Belgian soldiers fire a mortar during a training exercise in Wales, 1941.
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