The role of Belgium in World War I
Par grand fureur le Roi Romain Belgique
Vexer voudra par phalange barbare:
Fureur grinçant, chassera gent Lybique
Depuis Pannons jusques Hercule la Hare.
With great fury the Roman King, in Belgium
Will want to force himself by means of his barbarious phalanx:
Grating fury, will chase those of Lybia
From the Pannons up to Hercule la Hare.
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Par grand fureur le Roi Romain Vexer barbare. phalange
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by great fury. also violence. In quatrain, VI-59, Nostradamus used the word fureur to allude to the fuhrer, Hitler. In german, fuhrer means chief. Here it could be an allusion to another fuhrer, but this time a great fuhrer (grand fureur) the roman king.Here, we the great fuhrer, Guillaume II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and king of Prussia. upset or according to old french, torment. barbarous. Often, Nostradamus associates the word barbarous with the word invader. phalanx. In french, the word means, political military organization, often caracterized by fascism. (Translation F.L. - Dictionnaire encyclopédique de la langue Française) |
Interpretation
The great fuhrer, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire,
Will try to pass through Belgium with his barbarous troops.
History
During the First World War, Germany tried to conquer satellite countries and rebuild, once again, the Holy Roman Empire. The instigator of the conflict was Guillaume II, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia (1859-1941):
...Guillaume II (Par grand fureur le roi Romain), in his ambitious goal of personally guiding the destiny of Germany with a firm grip, got rid of Bismark, but he was weak and easily influenced. His personal initiatives, his violent speeches contributed to increase the political tension that led to the First World War.
(Translation F.L. - Encyclopédie Universelle Française - Georges Pascal)
In the quatrain, Nostradamus tells us,voudra vexer la Belgiquewill want to subdue Belgiumand not vexera la Belgique, will subdue Belgium, which means there was some kind of difficulty in doing so:
As far as the Germans were concerned, Belgium's neutrality necessitated a very complex strategic approach. Thus, August 12, at 19 hours, Germany, by means of an ultimatum, (Belgique voudra vexer par phalange barbare)instructed the government of king Albert to let the imperial troups pass through their territory. Thanks to the decision of the king to move forward the order of mobilization, the Belgian army was ready for action with 340 000 men.
(Référence Internet: http://www.alaintavernese.com/)
Thus, the german troups who thought they would easily reach Paris through Belgium met with a fierce opposition on the part of the Belgium army:
...One must distinguish between the german offensive that consisted in pushing on as far as Paris and the german plan that was to crush us (the Belgians) before falling on Russia. The offensive succeeded, the plan failed... Belgium's resistance slowed down the german offensive... We stand. We resist. And From then on, the german headquarters acknowledges the failure of its plan.
(Référence Internet: http://www.alaintavernese.com/)
If it hadn't been for Belgium, the first World War could have taken a different turn. The fierce resistance of its armies has given France and England a reprieve and thus, they were able to resist the enemy and finally defeat the armies of Guillaume II.