A Visit To The Camp Of Beverloo
Publisher: Kessinger Publishing; Kessinger Publishing, LLC
Published: 2008
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 44
First sentence: A word of thanks by Major Harvey (fMilitary Secretary to Lieut-Gen.  the Right Hon. Lord Frederick Fitz Clarence). for the invitation to assist to the yearly military manoeuvres at the Camp of Beverloo, under the command of Lieut.-General L'Olivier and in the presence of King Leopold 1 of Belgium.
Description: This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because the publisher believes this work is culturally important, he has made it available as part of his commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
Notes: This book adds to our understanding of military culture and military life in peacetime in the nineteenth century.
The practice of travelling to observe foreign armies, the exchange of military knowledge and experience, and military men’s practice of reporting on ‘foreign’ exercises were commonly  to lead and teach but also to learn.
About the Camp::                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        First and sole permanent military camp in Europe, built in brick, where the different branches of the armed forces can manoeuvre together, First to construct a narrow  railway closed  circuit throughout the camp (115km long, 600mm gauge (1879)), First to build a modern  military hospital consisting of separate  pavillons (1848), First to equip the  site with electricity, central heating(1913).                                                             
A brief history:                                                                                                     The French general Hurel –who played a significant role     in the organization  of the Belgian army after the creation  in 1830 of Belgium as an independent Nation-  was charged, with identifying a suitable area for a permanent site for the joint manoeuvres of the country’s
 armed forces.  Together with his colleague general Magnan, he recommended King Leopold 1 to choose  an  area of empty land and sand dunes in the Campine region, North-East of the country. In October 1834, the King visited the region and immediately decided, not at least for strategic reasons, for the place called Beverloo, near the Dutch border, the construction and extensive use of a central training camp for all Belgian recruits.  He had to create and develop  a spirit of national unity (“L’union fait la force”), of patriotism, of pride among the Belgians. As a former lieutenant-general of the Russian Imperial Army, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who, with the backing of Great-Britain, had been offered the throne of Belgium, knew that he had to build an efficient and modern army superior in quality to compensate for the inferiority in numbers of soldiers by comparison  to the experienced, standing armies of the larger Continental Powers. One important pillar of his strategy was the construction of the first permanent military camp in Europe.  It was built in brick, which signaled its permanent character.
Command over the manoeuvring troops was in the hands of numerous French and to a lesser extend of Polish officers, the practice of annual manoeuvres at a fixed and permanent place where recruits throughout the armed forces could come together was increasingly presented as a particularly Belgian stroke of genius, and Beverloo was favorably compared to the areas used by other nations for military exercises.
Gradually an infantry, a cavalry and an artillery camp grew, as well as an ambulance and engineer park. There was accommodation for 20,000 soldiers. A "palace" for the king and the Minister of War and pavilions for the generals were also essential. The camp was ready at the end of July 1835 and in August the first 20,000 soldiers came to practice, in the presence of King Leopold 1.                                          
 
Old lithography of the “carrés” (“squares”) from 1837
In 1846, Pierre Emmanuel Chazal, then Minister of War, sent the company 'sans floche', a disciplinary company, to the camp to scoop the sand from the heath to the peat layer. A royal park of 40 hectares was created and was lined with tree-lined avenue
Construction of the definitive camp began around 1850. In the infantry camp there were eight sections, each of which could accommodate 2,500 soldiers. Important logistics facilities were also built: a bakery with a capacity of 6,000 loaves per day, a slaughterhouse, a butcher shop and showers with a capacity of 6,500 baths per day.      
The most modern military hospital of its time                                          The military hospital, built around 1848, consisted of separate pavilions. This hospital was then the first and the most modern of its kind in Europe
The first Decauville military  Camp  railway                                                                       A military narrow gauge network with 115 km of track was even built through the camp. This allowed the soldiers and equipment to be easily transported. The railway stock and trainsets came from the workshops of the French engineer Paul Decauville. It was operated from 1879 to 1940.
Modernization culminated in 1913 with the construction of several large messes, equipped for the first time with electricity and central heating. At the outbreak of the First World War, people were fully engaged in the installation of electricity throughout the camp.Just before the First World War, Beverlo Camp had grown into the largest and most modern military camp in Europe. It had barracks for 40,000 soldiers and 4,000 horses, very large mess complexes, spacious training fields and shooting ranges.
Bourg Leopold                                                                                                 The camp became attractive to citizens with a pioneering spirit and soon a new district was created with mainly cafes, mansions and small folk theaters to soften the life of soldiers. V. Bourg, member of a famous French industrial family, who had already designed the first squares as a residential area in Belgium in 1836 (being a working-class area with perpendicularly intersecting streets and sloping corner houses, consisting of 166 houses with cold and warm running water, very modern and hygienic for that time). was also asked in 1841 by the Ministry of War to design the plan for a new city center, fixed against the camp of Beverlo. The subdivision constructed for this purpose was soon given the name 'Bourg' in popular speech. In 1850, this district would be included by royal decree on the list of Belgian municipalities as Bourg  Léopold (with reference to the first Belgian king and renamed Leopoldsburg in the 1830s ).
	


This book adds to our understanding of military culture and military life in peacetime in the nineteenth century.
The practice of travelling to observe foreign armies, the exchange of military knowledge and experience, and military men’s practice of reporting on ‘foreign’ exercises were commonly  to lead and teach but also to learn.
About the Camp::                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        First and sole permanent military camp in Europe, built in brick, where the different branches of the armed forces can manoeuvre together, First to construct a narrow  railway closed  circuit throughout the camp (115km long, 600mm gauge (1879)), First to build a modern  military hospital consisting of separate  pavillons (1848), First to equip the  site with electricity, central heating(1913).                                                             
A brief history:                                                                                                     The French general Hurel –who played a significant role     in the organization  of the Belgian army after the creation  in 1830 of Belgium as an independent Nation-  was charged, with identifying a suitable area for a permanent site for the joint manoeuvres of the country’s
 armed forces.  Together with his colleague general Magnan, he recommended King Leopold 1 to choose  an  area of empty land and sand dunes in the Campine region, North-East of the country. In October 1834, the King visited the region and immediately decided, not at least for strategic reasons, for the place called Beverloo, near the Dutch border, the construction and extensive use of a central training camp for all Belgian recruits.  He had to create and develop  a spirit of national unity (“L’union fait la force”), of patriotism, of pride among the Belgians. As a former lieutenant-general of the Russian Imperial Army, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who, with the backing of Great-Britain, had been offered the throne of Belgium, knew that he had to build an efficient and modern army superior in quality to compensate for the inferiority in numbers of soldiers by comparison  to the experienced, standing armies of the larger Continental Powers. One important pillar of his strategy was the construction of the first permanent military camp in Europe.  It was built in brick, which signaled its permanent character.
Command over the manoeuvring troops was in the hands of numerous French and to a lesser extend of Polish officers, the practice of annual manoeuvres at a fixed and permanent place where recruits throughout the armed forces could come together was increasingly presented as a particularly Belgian stroke of genius, and Beverloo was favorably compared to the areas used by other nations for military exercises.
Gradually an infantry, a cavalry and an artillery camp grew, as well as an ambulance and engineer park. There was accommodation for 20,000 soldiers. A "palace" for the king and the Minister of War and pavilions for the generals were also essential. The camp was ready at the end of July 1835 and in August the first 20,000 soldiers came to practice, in the presence of King Leopold 1.                                          
 
Old lithography of the “carrés” (“squares”) from 1837
In 1846, Pierre Emmanuel Chazal, then Minister of War, sent the company 'sans floche', a disciplinary company, to the camp to scoop the sand from the heath to the peat layer. A royal park of 40 hectares was created and was lined with tree-lined avenue
Construction of the definitive camp began around 1850. In the infantry camp there were eight sections, each of which could accommodate 2,500 soldiers. Important logistics facilities were also built: a bakery with a capacity of 6,000 loaves per day, a slaughterhouse, a butcher shop and showers with a capacity of 6,500 baths per day.      
The most modern military hospital of its time                                          The military hospital, built around 1848, consisted of separate pavilions. This hospital was then the first and the most modern of its kind in Europe
The first Decauville military  Camp  railway                                                                       A military narrow gauge network with 115 km of track was even built through the camp. This allowed the soldiers and equipment to be easily transported. The railway stock and trainsets came from the workshops of the French engineer Paul Decauville. It was operated from 1879 to 1940.
Modernization culminated in 1913 with the construction of several large messes, equipped for the first time with electricity and central heating. At the outbreak of the First World War, people were fully engaged in the installation of electricity throughout the camp.Just before the First World War, Beverlo Camp had grown into the largest and most modern military camp in Europe. It had barracks for 40,000 soldiers and 4,000 horses, very large mess complexes, spacious training fields and shooting ranges.
Bourg Leopold                                                                                                 The camp became attractive to citizens with a pioneering spirit and soon a new district was created with mainly cafes, mansions and small folk theaters to soften the life of soldiers. V. Bourg, member of a famous French industrial family, who had already designed the first squares as a residential area in Belgium in 1836 (being a working-class area with perpendicularly intersecting streets and sloping corner houses, consisting of 166 houses with cold and warm running water, very modern and hygienic for that time). was also asked in 1841 by the Ministry of War to design the plan for a new city center, fixed against the camp of Beverlo. The subdivision constructed for this purpose was soon given the name 'Bourg' in popular speech. In 1850, this district would be included by royal decree on the list of Belgian municipalities as Bourg  Léopold (with reference to the first Belgian king and renamed Leopoldsburg in the 1830s ).
Table of contents: title: This book adds to our understanding of military culture and military life in peacetime in the nineteenth century.; title: The practice of travelling to observe foreign armies, the exchange of military knowledge and experience, and military men’s practice of reporting on ‘foreign’ exercises were commonly  to lead and teach but also to learn.; title: About the Camp::                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        First and sole permanent military camp in Europe, built in brick, where the different branches of the armed forces can manoeuvre together, First to construct a narrow  railway closed  circuit throughout the camp (115km long, 600mm gauge (1879)), First to build a modern  military hospital consisting of separate  pavillons (1848), First to equip the  site with electricity, central heating(1913).; title: A brief history:                                                                                                     The French general Hurel –who played a significant role     in the organization  of the Belgian army after the creation  in 1830 of Belgium as an independent Nation-  was charged, with identifying a suitable area for a permanent site for the joint manoeuvres of the country’s; title: armed forces.  Together with his colleague general Magnan, he recommended King Leopold 1 to choose  an  area of empty land and sand dunes in the Campine region, North-East of the country. In October 1834, the King visited the region and immediately decided, not at least for strategic reasons, for the place called Beverloo, near the Dutch border, the construction and extensive use of a central training camp for all Belgian recruits.  He had to create and develop  a spirit of national unity (“L’union fait la force”), of patriotism, of pride among the Belgians. As a former lieutenant-general of the Russian Imperial Army, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who, with the backing of Great-Britain, had been offered the throne of Belgium, knew that he had to build an efficient and modern army superior in quality to compensate for the inferiority in numbers of soldiers by comparison  to the experienced, standing armies of the larger Continental Powers. One important pillar of his strategy was the construction of the first permanent military camp in Europe.  It was built in brick, which signaled its permanent character.; title: Command over the manoeuvring troops was in the hands of numerous French and to a lesser extend of Polish officers. (See the notes of Comte de Montalembert :"Colonel Kruszewski, former aide-de-camp of General Szkrynczki  --the Generalissimo of the Polish forces during the insurrection of 1830 and who then, at the suggestion of Charles de Montalembert, offered his sword to the young country of  Belgium to defend its threatened independence" -https://gallica.bnf.fr/http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb36567231t- )  The practice of annual manoeuvres at a fixed and permanent place where recruits throughout the armed forces could come together was increasingly presented as a particularly Belgian stroke of genius, and Beverloo was favorably compared to the areas used by other nations for military exercises.; title: Gradually an infantry, a cavalry and an artillery camp grew, as well as an ambulance and engineer park. There was accommodation for 20,000 soldiers. A "palace" for the king and the Minister of War and pavilions for the generals were also essential. The camp was ready at the end of July 1835 and in August the first 20,000 soldiers came to practice, in the presence of King Leopold 1.; title: Old lithography of the “carrés” (“squares”) from 1837; title: In 1846, Pierre Emmanuel Chazal, then Minister of War, sent the company 'sans floche', a disciplinary company, to the camp to scoop the sand from the heath to the peat layer. A royal park of 40 hectares was created and was lined with tree-lined avenue; title: Construction of the definitive camp began around 1850. In the infantry camp there were eight sections, each of which could accommodate 2,500 soldiers. Important logistics facilities were also built: a bakery with a capacity of 6,000 loaves per day, a slaughterhouse, a butcher shop and showers with a capacity of 6,500 baths per day.; title: The most modern military hospital of its time                                          The military hospital, built around 1848, consisted of separate pavilions. This hospital was then the first and the most modern of its kind in Europe; title: The first Decauville military  Camp  railway                                                                       A military narrow gauge network with 115 km of track was even built through the camp. This allowed the soldiers and equipment to be easily transported. The railway stock and trainsets came from the workshops of the French engineer Paul Decauville. It was operated from 1879 to 1940.; title: Modernization culminated in 1913 with the construction of several large messes, equipped for the first time with electricity and central heating. At the outbreak of the First World War, people were fully engaged in the installation of electricity throughout the camp.Just before the First World War, Beverlo Camp had grown into the largest and most modern military camp in Europe. It had barracks for 40,000 soldiers and 4,000 horses, very large mess complexes, spacious training fields and shooting ranges.; title: Bourg Leopold                                                                                                 The camp became attractive to citizens with a pioneering spirit and soon a new district was created with mainly cafes, mansions and small folk theaters to soften the life of soldiers. Victorien Bourg, member of a famous French industrial family, who had already designed the first squares as a residential area in Belgium in 1836 (being a working-class area with perpendicularly intersecting streets and sloping corner houses, consisting of 166 houses with cold and warm running water, very modern and hygienic for that time). was also asked in 1841 by the Ministry of War to design the plan for a new city center, fixed against the camp of Beverlo. The subdivision constructed for this purpose was soon given the name 'Bourg' in popular speech. In 1850, this district would be included by royal decree on the list of Belgian municipalities as Bourg  Léopold (with reference to the first Belgian king and renamed Leopoldsburg in the 1830s ).