Stamps of occupied Belgium: German stamps overprinted in black with 'Belgien' and denominations in centimes: 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 25, and 75.
'Belgien' and denominations in centimes: 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 25, and 75.
"Whatever procedure may be adopted for the reply to the German notes, we cannot identify our reply with that of the Great Powers. The Belgian point of view is not the same. Our country is almost entirely overrun. On the other hand, the experience of recent offensives shows that the conquest of Belgium by the Allied armies would expose her to total destruction. What judgement would history pronounce on a policy which had been unable to conceive any other means of liberating the country than a war of attrition, bringing in its wake the ruin and depopulation of our finest provinces?"
Excerpt from a speech by Albert, King of the Belgians, to his ministers on December 19, 1916, in a meeting to discuss their country's response to the German peace proposal of December 12, 1916. Nearly all of Belgium was occupied by German forces. 'Recent offensives' included the German offensive of Verdun and the Anglo-French Battle of the Somme, both of which caused vast destruction for little gain.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 135, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
1916-12-19, 1916, December, Albert, Belgium, peace, peace proposal
