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Belgian Army penal military unit of World War I
The Special Forestry Platoon in 1918
The Special Forestry Platoon (Peloton Spécial Forestier ), nicknamed the woodchoppers of the Orne (
Dutch : houthakkers van de Orne ), was a
non-combat
penal military unit of the
Belgian Army during
World War I . As its name suggests, the unit specialized in
forestry , specifically
woodchopping , conducted as a form of
penal labour .
The unit, stationed in
Orne ,
Normandy ,
France , consisted of 10
Flemish soldiers who were placed in the unit in 1918 as punishment for their active or passive involvement in the
Flemish Movement . Fearing that the soldiers would desert to the
Central Powers if they were sent to the
front line , they were instead kept in France to work as woodchoppers.
[1] The soldiers worked for 12 hours a day in harsh living conditions.
[1]
[2]
[3] They were paid 1
Belgian franc per day.
[4]
The 10 soldiers were Paul Davidts (oldest of the 10
[3]
[5]
[6] and spokesperson of the group,
[7] lawyer and later acquitted by
court-martial ,
[8] Lode Beets, Pol Bogaert (from
Mechelen ),
[7] Alfons De Schepper,
[2] Karel-Lodewijk De Schepper,
[7]
Pieter Dox (from
Lier ),
[6]
[9]
Ward Hermans (writer, from
Turnhout ),
[7]
[10]
[11] Maurits Geerardyn,
[1] Clement Ledegen, and Frans Vannyvel.
[12] The attitude of the 10 soldiers was described as one of
defeatism .
See also
References
^
a
b
c NWS, VRT (2018-07-15).
"Omstreden 11 juli-vieringen in bezet België" . vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-05-21 .
^
a
b
"Dr. J. Goossenaertskring reikt voor het eerst Alfons De Schepperprijs uit" . Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2023-05-21 .
^
a
b Tom Simoens, CHTP-BEG - n° 23 / 2011, article in Dutch
Van arrangeren tot renseigneren. Smaad en geweld Van militairen Tegen hun oversten tijdens de eerste wereldoorlog
^ Vandeweyer, Luc (1 January 1998).
"De houthakkers van de Orne: Douteux au point de vue patriotique ?" . WT. Tijdschrift over de Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Beweging . 57 (4): 237–254.
doi :
10.21825/wt.v57i4.13040 .
^
"Davidts, Paul - NEVB Online" . nevb.be . Retrieved 2023-05-21 .
^
a
b
Krant 't Pallieterke, 18 juli 1986, article in Dutch
^
a
b
c
d Didden, Kris (1 January 1997).
"De Houthakkers van de Orne" . WT. Tijdschrift over de Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Beweging . 56 (4): 195–219.
doi :
10.21825/wt.v56i4.13075 .
^ DBNL.
"Hoofdstuk VII. De tweede Raad van Vlaanderen, De Vlaamsche Beweging van 1905 tot 1930, Maurits Basse" . DBNL (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-05-21 .
^ De Zaeger, Piet (1995). Lira Elegans 5 . Liers genootschap voor geschiedenis. pp. 22–23.
^ DBNL.
"4 Het Vlaams Nationaal Verbond (VNV), België in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deel 5, Maurice de Wilde" . DBNL (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-05-21 .
^
"Hermans, Ward – Schrijversgewijs" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-05-21 .
^
"Fout" . anet.be . Retrieved 2023-05-21 .