German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I

From August 1914 until the end of World War I on 11 November 1918, Luxembourg was under full occupation by the German Empire. The German government justified the occupation by citing the need to support their armies in neighbouring France. The occupation was the first of two military occupations of the Grand duchy of Luxembourg by Germany in the 20th century. The second was the occupation of Luxembourg in 1918.

About German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I in brief

From August 1914 until the end of World War I on 11 November 1918, Luxembourg was under full occupation by the German Empire. The German government justified the occupation by citing the need to support their armies in neighbouring France. Since the 1867 Treaty of London, Luxembourg had been an explicitly neutral state. The Luxembourg Crisis had seen Prussia thwart France’s attempt to purchase the Grand Duchy from the Netherlands. Luxembourg’s neutrality was accepted by Prussia’s then-Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who boasted, ‘In exchange for the fortress of Luxembourg, we have been compensated by the neutrality of the country, and a guarantee that it shall be maintained in perpetuity.’ In 1911, Prime Minister Paul Eyschen commissioned an engineer to evaluate Germany’s western railroad network, particularly the likelihood that Germany would occupy Luxembourg to suit its logistical needs for a campaign in France. It was feared that Germany might seek to annex Luxembourg into its empire, and the government of Luxembourg aimed to avoid this by re-affirming the country’s neutrality. On the outbreak of war with its eastern neighbour, Germany put the Schlieffen Plan into action, and Luxembourg’s government’s fears were realised. On 2 August 1914, Germany launched a full invasion of Luxembourg. Tens of thousands of German soldiers had been deployed to Luxembourg in 24 hours. Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïe ordered that her small army, which numbered under 400, not to resist.

The French minister dismissed this argument, arguing that France was ready to invade itself. They protested, claiming that it would not have done so unless Germany had done so first. They accepted German military rule as inevitable, but both the young Grand Duchess and her aging statesman accepted it as inevitable. The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Karl von Tessmarmar met the German commander Karl von Bethweg on August 2, 1914, and accepted his military rule. On August 3, Luxembourg City’s Adolmar Bridge, the symbol of Luxembourg’s modernisation, was taken over by German soldiers. The next day, while French troops were still at a distance from the German frontier, Germany launch a full attack on Luxembourg. The following day, German soldiers began moving through south-eastern Luxembourg, crossing the Moselle River at Remich and Wasserbillig, and headed towards the capital, Luxemburg City. They occupied Luxembourg City on August 4, 1914. They took control of Troisvierges, a railway station in the far north of the city, and used it as a transit point for Albrecht von Württemberg’s Fourth Army. They also took over Luxembourg City in August 1915, and on August 5, 1915, the Grand Duchess accepted German rule. In August 1916, they took over the city of Luxembourg City. The occupation was the first of two military occupations of the Grand duchy of Luxembourg by Germany in the 20th century. The second was the occupation of Luxembourg in 1918.

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