Military History of Luxembourg
Tiny Duchy was the First Country Invaded by Germany in World War One
Obstensively neutral, the small grand duchy of Luxembourg was actually drawn into the Great War due to location.
The tiny country of Luxembourg has a significant military history. From the earliest of times Frank and Germanic warrior bands criss-crossed what is now the Luxembourg region, training and employing fierce soldiers on both sides. Their descendants are the current residents of the Duchy. The modern military history begins shortly after the Napoleonic wars when in 1817 Grand Duke Guillaume I instituted the Luxembourg Militia. Composed of some 1600 part time men in two battalions of jager light infantry, the Duchy was part of the Germanic Confederation during the brief 1866 Austro-Prussian War. Luxembourg was garrisoned by Prussian infantry until the Treaty of London in 1867 removed the Duchy from German influence and declared the country free and neutral.
In February 16, 1881 the 64-year old militia organization was disbanded and a full time company each of Gendarmes and Volunteers, the basis of the modern Luxembourg Army, was formed. This force amounted to some 265 men total in both units. It was this force that the Duchy took into World War One.
Luxemburg was in important railroad stop on the way to Northern France and Paris for the German Army. The modified Schlieffen Plan called for the first operation to in fact to be the seizure of the Troisvierges rail station in neutral Luxemburg to protect this route. On August 2nd, 1914- the second day of the war- German troops invaded Luxemburg very early after midnight. These men were of the 180,000 man strong German 4th Army under the Grand-duke Albrecht von Wurttemberg. The Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxemburg (the first sovereign of Luxembourg since 1296 to have actually been born within the country) immediately telegraphed Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany to protest this event and he promised full compensation for any damages. The German Foreign Ministry asserted that this had been done to prevent French occupation. The Grand Duchess ordered the tiny army, outnumbered over 600: 1, not to resist and submitted to occupation. The Duchy expelled their ambassador from France and became a defacto German state with local autonomy.
Luxembourgers overseas however did not take German occupation lying down. It is believed that more than 3200 Luxembourg expatriates served in the French Army, and no less than 80% of those died fighting Germany during the war. This was a huge number compared to the Duchy’s small population.
The Luxembourg army and gendarme were allowed to remain at their posts during the occupation but did not take place in the war. On July 8, 1918 a British Royal Air Force bombing mission hit the capitol of Luxembourg City, killing ten. With the cease fire on November 11, 1918, American troops soon entered the country, forcing the Germans out in a bloodless liberation. By November 22nd the Germans had withdrawn and were replaced by the US Third Army. Inspired by the communist revolts in Russia and Germany a company of the Luxembourg army revolted against their own government on January 9, 1919 but was quickly put down by French troops.
The government of Luxembourg begged President Wilson to protect their rights and as such was remembered in the Versailles Peace of 1919. The Luxembourg war volunteers who fought with the French army and preserved their countries pride were commemorated by the Gëlle Fra war memorial statue in the capitol in 1923.
The military history of Luxembourg in World War Two and the Cold War are separate chapters.
Sources
Ministère de la Défence de Luxembourg - Lëtzebuerger Arméi
National Military Museum of the Duchy of Luxumbourg.
Reid, Andrew Luxembourg: A History from the Celts to the Present Day. AutherHouse UK 2005
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