Including rare photographs and first-hand accounts, this book sheds light on the true cost of war and Belgium?s profound resilience in the face of unimaginable hardship. This book by Commandant Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery, translated into English by Bernard Miall, presents a vivid and detailed account of Belgium during the First World War, especially under German occupation. It covers the German ultimatum to Belgium, the invasion, the war?s impact on the Belgian soldier and civilian, the destruction of towns, the refugee problem, requisitions, forced labour, devastation of infrastructure, and the moral and physical resistance of the Belgian people. It is richly illustrated with photographs, maps and facsimiles showing bomb-damage, military operations, civilian suffering, and the country?s determination not to yield. The book thus offers both a historical narrative and a personal testimony of wartime Belgium, at once a witness and a participant account of the Belgian struggle for survival and dignity. Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (born 2 August 1866 in Hasselt, Belgium; died 4 December 1934 in Brussels) was a Belgian naval officer and explorer who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-99 aboard the Belgica. During the First World War he served in coastal defence and also undertook missions abroad to raise awareness of Belgian suffering; he wrote on the condition of Belgium under occupation.