Belgium was invaded in both World Wars for one simple reason: geography. Sitting between Germany and France, Belgium was the fastest route for German armies trying to defeat France.
In World War I, Germany faced the possibility of fighting both France and Russia at the same time. To avoid a long two-front war, Germany created the Schlieffen Plan, which called for a rapid invasion of France through neutral Belgium. Germany expected Belgium to offer little resistance, but the Belgians fought much harder than expected. Their resistance delayed the German advance by several weeks, giving France and Britain valuable time to mobilize. Although Germany eventually occupied most of Belgium, the invasion brought Britain into the war because Britain had guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality.
In World War II, Germany repeated the strategy. In 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Belgium as part of his attack on Western Europe. This time, Germany used fast-moving tanks, aircraft, and paratroopers in a new style of warfare known as Blitzkrieg. While the main Allied forces rushed into Belgium expecting the main attack there, Germany’s strongest armored divisions secretly pushed through the Ardennes Forest, bypassing the Allied defenses and trapping large numbers of British and French troops. Belgium surrendered after just 18 days.
So, Belgium was invaded in both world wars not because it was the main enemy, but because its location made it the quickest gateway into France. Its position at the crossroads of Western Europe turned the country into one of history’s most important battlegrounds.