Greetings,
Belgium was - according to sources- the 5th or 6th industrial power of the world before the outbreak of the war. Although the Germans did not rape the amount of benefits from the occupation of Belgium they had hoped for (and they did their best!), the country only slowly recovered and never regained its position in the world ranking after the war. Okay, others catched up, it was a matter of time, but Belgium’s economy was ruined after 4 years of harsh and brutal occupation.
Furthermore, in the early months of the war, the Belgian resistance around the fortresses of Liège ( The big Bertha’s had to be brought in), the continuing threat from the Belgian army to the German flank from Antwerp ( till they had enough of it and took the town ) and finally the heroic resistance behind the tiny Yser river (helped by some floodings), bought time for the allies and saved the westfront from an early collapse. The German lost due to the Belgians!
The first world war was a big gamble for Germany and they probably had lost it anyway (however, consider Paris fallen?) In the game Belgium, its economy and therefore strength is underrated. Belgium was no walk-over for the Germans (as in WW2). As in the Franco- Prussian war it would have stayed neutral. The British had even plans to occupy Belgium.
Al the economic strengths and the armies are adapted to allow a more balanced play (AH!), i understand but a meagre 2? (Spain 4, Sweden 4 , Norway FOUR!, …) It hurts , it hurts. Maybe Belgium can be made more important for the Western front without altering the whole game.
note : Played it only a few times but i think AA1914 is one of the best. And i played them all, a lot. It is not without flaws but wich version isn’t?
Greetings
El Stef
