Battlefield Prowess of Brussels from 1914 to Today

I recently finished reading Barbara Tuchman’s classic history of the First World War, The Guns of August. It contains a passage that reminds me of the state of European military readiness in our day. Regarding Belgium in 1914:

Socialism was the raging issue. Public apathy to what was happening abroad and a Parliament obsessed by economy allowed the army to deteriorate to a condition resembling the Turkish. Troops were ill-disciplined, slack, untidy, avoided saluting, slouched in the ranks, and refused to keep step. The officers’ corps was little better. Because the army was considered superfluous and slightly absurd, it did not attract the best minds or young men of ability and ambition.

Sounds like Europe today, they would like to organize their own defense of Ukraine and deter Russian aggression. If only Brussels had some martial prowess to throw around.

They don’t. Europe, and Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is now the capital of Europe, where both NATO and the European Union are headquartered. Freeriding on American power since 1945, they just don’t have a fighting spirit.

Eric Shierman lives in Salem and is the author of We were winning when I was there.