Acknowledgements -- List of Figures -- Introduction -- 1. Belgium and World War I -- The Size of the Army Before World War I -- The Language Issue to World War I -- Deployment Controversies before World War I -- The Belgian Army in World War I -- The German Occupation of Belgium -- Belgium and the Peace Settlement -- 2. Belgium Looks for Allies -- 3. Belgian Defense Policy to the Great Depression -- The Main Actors in Defense Policy -- The Reduction of the Belgian Army -- Plans for Defense Against a Threatening Germany -- General Galet -- The Language Issue between 1918 and 1932 -- The Depression and the Belgian Military -- 4. The Devèze Years -- The Chasseurs ardennais -- The Budget Controversy -- Raoul van Overstraeten -- Devèze v. Nuyten -- Franco-Belgian Staff Talks -- The Motorization of the Cavalry Corps -- The Debates over Coverage and Service Time -- The Reoccupation of the Rhineland -- 5. The 1936 Mixed Commission -- The Language Issue from the Mixed Commission to the War -- Other Commissions -- 6. 'Independence' and its Origins -- 7. The Belgian Army to May 10, 1940 -- The Development and Assessment of the Belgian Military -- Fortifications from 1938 to 1940 -- Defense Against Aircraft -- The Sudeten Crisis and the Pied de Paix Renforcé -- New Mobilization Plans -- 8. Belgium to May 10, 1940 -- Diplomacy -- Belgium and the Netherlands -- Mobilization -- Belgian Military Intelligence and Alerts -- 9. The "Eighteen-Days Campaign" -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.