In the first weeks of the outbreak of the First World War, the outdated Schlieffen Plan required the German Army to rapidly cross Belgium to attack northern France. Instead of the anticipated 6-8,000 troops, the Belgians fielded 32,000 men and defended the fortress town of Liege vigorously. German atrocities in Liege afterwards were the product of an imagined belief in guerrilla fighters amongst the civilian population.

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