"Give The Belgians Enough Rope, And They'll Hang Themselves"
The Coronation of Queen Victoria
William IV, King of Great Britain & Ireland died on the 20th of June, 1837. His successor would be his niece, Victoria who would be coronated eight days later. Among those monarchs in attendance was Europe's "rising stars" King Frederik of The Netherlands and King Leopold of Belgium.
Queen Victoria's coronation, the main event of Europe's social calendar.
As soon as news of William's death reached Frederik, he had been exited on what this meant for the future of The Netherlands. William had been known as the "Guardian of Belgium" in Europe and was a close friend of Leopold I, and it was primarily through William's influence that Leopold became King of Belgium in the first place. He knew that as long as William was alive any chance of avenging those lost in the Rebellion of 1830 would mean a war with Great Britain, something that he wouldn't dare risk. He also knew that William's niece Victoria shared no such love for her family, including her uncle Leopold. This was something Frederik was betting on.
Spain, which in terms of prestige had suffered greatly during the ongoing Carlist War attempted to hitch on to the Low Countries bandwagon by awarding both monarchs The Order of the Golden Fleece. The Spanish Ambassador hosted a dinner shortly after the coronation in honour of Queen Victoria, attended by all the monarchs, lords and ladies who had attended Victoria's coronation. Leopold accepted the award whereas Frederik refused, stating that as the King was currently busy fighting the Liberals in Spain, he could not accept the award unless he conferred it personally.
Such a public act of defiance was a great blow to Spanish prestige, and failure from Spain to retaliate revealed it as a Paper Tiger. Many of those in the know believed it would be only a matter of time before Belgium supplanted Spain as a Great Power. Victoria was quite amused.
The Antwerp Incident of '38
Throughout 1837 and 1838, Leopold had been greatly asserting his might in European affairs. He engaged in alliances with Denmark and Spain, and oversaw the reconstruction of the Royal Belgian Navy, under the supervision of Danish and Spanish naval advisors.
In order to provide rigging for the new ships, Leopold needed rope. There were plenty of factories in Belgium that could provide the rope he needed, but Leopold turned to one particular factory in Antwerp to do the job, one that was run by Dutchmen and owned by Dutch Capitalists who repatriated to Holland after 1831. Leopold launched an official demand to the Dutch King for Belgium to nationalise the factory, a demand to which Frederik acceded, partially to win support with the growing Dutch liberal movement who supported the acquisition.
Liberalism was growing in The Netherlands
When his Chief of the Army, Ruben van Wassenaer asked him why he agreed to Leopold demands, the king tactfully replied:
"Give The Belgians enough rope, and they'll hang themselves"
Hang themselves they did
The Glorious War of Unification
On the 13th of June, 1839 The Kingdom of Belgium formally announced it's position as a Great Power of Europe and the expulsion of all Concessions to Great Britain that Belgium had conceded as part of it's Sphere of Influence, though the two countries remained allies, it would now be on equal terms. Exactly thirty-five minutes after the proclamation Frederik I declared war on Belgium, with the goal of uniting it with Holland. None in Europe were surprised, and thus there was no negative reaction to Frederik's war, apart from two of his allies: Denmark and Spain, the latter saw this as a chance to get even over Frederik's comments two years earlier. Belgium's third ally however, Great Britain, stayed Neutral. For Queen Victoria it was an easy decision, she could either join Belgium and plunge her country into a war that had no gain, or she could remain allied with The Netherlands and remain at peace. (OOC: I didn't call my allies into the war)
Queen Victoria was still upset over Leopold's decision to leave her Sphere of Influence. She wisely kept Britain neutral.
Leopold, Commander in Chief of the Belgian forces was furious. He personally commanded the Royal Army stationed in Bruges and went to attack the entire Dutch army stationed in Middelburg while the Second Army stationed in Hasselt was commanded by Frederic Malou, who was ordered to attack Maastrict.
Frederik and Ruben jointly commanded the Royal Dutch Army stationed in Middelburg. Emulating his strategy for the Aceh invasion, Frederik had his army retreat to Rotterdam, enticing Leopold to siege Middelburg allowing his forces to go on the offensive and fight in Dutch Territory.
Belgian and Dutch war plans on the outbreak of war
The two monarchs clashed at the Battle of Middelburg, leading to a victory for Frederik and the Dutch.
Leopold and The Belgians retreated to Bruges with the Dutch in hot pursuit, Frederik won splendid victories against Leopold at the battles of Bruges, Tournai and Charleroi, where Leopold was captured and the Royal Belgian Army obliterated. Frederik then marched his army out of Belgium and through Dutch territory to relieve Maastrict from the Second Army.
The Second Army retreated to Liege, where they were routed by the pursuing Dutch Army. Frederik then ordered the entire Royal Dutch Army to fan out and besiege all Belgian provinces simultaneously, Frederik led the Siege of Brussels personally.
Dutch armies laying siege to Belgium
King Frederik leading the breakthrough during the Siege of Brussles
With the war against Belgium in Europe nearly over, their Danish allies launched a daring invasion of Aceh. The sheer logistical challenge of reaching Aceh from Denmark without stopping was extraordinary and would go down in Danish folklore as "the Danish Expedition".
despite being completely unexpected, the Danish Expedition was easily routed by the veteran Dutch Colonial Army at the Battle of Banda Aceh. This marked the first time Muzzle-loaded Rifles were used by a Dutch Army
In retaliation, the Royal Dutch Navy blockaded Danish ports. The Belgian Navy launched a joint relief force with the Royal Spanish Navy (their only military action of the war) but were defeated at the Battle of Hegoland Bight.
On the 21st of May 1840, The Kingdom of Belgium was annexed, a truce was signed with Denmark and Spain and the Kingdom of The Netherlands was disbanded with The United Kingdom of The Netherlands formed to replace it. A general amnesty was proclaimed to any soldiers who fought for Belgium during the War of Unification, only the Ringleaders of the Revolution, high-ranked officers and King Leopold were put on trial. The Officers were imprisoned, while the ringleaders and "King" Leopold were charged with orchestrating the Assassination of Willem, Prince of Orange (VI) and hanged. Frederik ordered Leopold be given a proper burial in an unmarked grave, the others were cremated.
Leopold I, the first, last and only King of Belgium
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