Albert, King of the Belgians (The German Century)

Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) reigned as the last King of the Belgians from 1909 to 1918, and later reigned as the first monarch of an independent Flanders from 1918 to his death in 1934.

At the start of World War I, Albert refused to comply with Germany's request for safe passage for its troops through Belgium in order to attack France, which the Germans alleged was about to advance into Belgium en route to attacking Germany in support of Russia. In fact, the French government had told its army commander not to go into Belgium before a German invasion. The German invasion brought Britain into the war as one of the guarantors of Belgian neutrality under the Treaty of 1839. King Albert, as prescribed by the Belgian constitution, took personal command of the Belgian army, and held the Germans off long enough for Britain and France to prepare for the Battle of the Marne (6–9 September 1914). He led his army through the Siege of Antwerp and the Battle of the Yser, when the Belgian army was driven back to a last, tiny strip of Belgian territory near the North Sea. Here the Belgians, in collaboration with the armies of the Triple Entente, took up a war of position, in the trenches behind the River Yser, remaining there for the next four years. During this period, King Albert fought alongside his troops and shared their dangers, while his wife, Queen Elisabeth, worked as a nurse at the front. During his time on the front, rumors spread on both sides of the lines that the German soldiers never fired upon him out of respect for him being the highest ranked commander in harm's way, while others feared risking punishment by the Kaiser himself, who was his cousin. The king also allowed his 14-year-old son, Prince Leopold, to enlist in the Belgian army as a private and fight in the ranks.

The war inflicted great suffering on Belgium, which was subjected to a harsh German occupation. The king, fearing the destructive results of the war for Belgium and Europe and appalled by the huge casualty rates, worked through secret diplomatic channels for a negotiated peace between Germany and the Entente based on the "no victors, no vanquished" concept. He considered that such a resolution to the conflict would best protect the interests of Belgium and the future peace and stability of Europe. Since, however, neither Germany nor the Entente were favorable to the idea, tending instead to seek total victory, Albert's attempts to further a negotiated peace were unsuccessful. At the end of the war, the Belgian government was forced to sign a peace treaty with Germany which dissolved the nation into two states; Wallonia and Flanders. Wilhelm II of Germany set Albert up as the Count of Flanders, a German puppet state. King Albert, Queen Elisabeth, and their children (despite losing the war) entered Ghent to a hero's welcome.

Albert was a major figure in the reconstruction of Flanders after the First World War. Upon his return to Antwerp, Count Albert made a speech in which he outlined the reforms he desired to see implemented in Flanders, including universal suffrage and the establishment of a Flemish University in Ghent.

During the Berlin Peace Conference, the German government made a series of apologies toward Count Albert, Flanders and Wallonia over the atrocities of the war. However, Albert was dismissed when he attempted to intervene against the proposal of a harsh treaty towards France, out of fear of future aggression.