"Keizer, wat malheur..." are the first words of the war song with which the Geluwe soldier Jules Decuypere, grandfather of the author, tried to whip up his audience countless times. A piece of that "war malheur" also hit his village of Geluwe, which until the Third Battle of Ypres was the last municipality for the Germans on the infamous Menin Road, the Menin-Ypres road, where daily life still smelled a bit of peace.From the Geluwse Koelenberg, war volunteer Adolf Hitler left with his regiment at the end of October 1914 for the tragic stampede on Geluveld, which immediately became his baptism of fire. And at the beginning of 1915, the brand new 'Pionierkommando Peterson' was trained in Geluwe, which made the German gas attack of April 22, 1915 possible.This book primarily describes the fortunes, especially of the civilians but also of the military, in a village that constantly heard the cannons of the Ypres Salient front rumbling and occupied by masses of troops. Many families fled in October 1914 and ended up in France and England. During the Third Battle of Ypres, the village emptied completely and shelling almost completely destroyed it.The author began his first interviews more than a quarter of a century ago. In the meantime, most witnesses only live on in this book. Their stories are corroborated and complemented by, and richly illustrated with material that grew from years of research in local, domestic and foreign archives.Extensive photos and maps are included. Book is in Dutch. Title: Het Malheur Van De Keizer: Geluwe 1914-1918 Author Name: Decuypere, Dirk Edition: Dutch language Location Published: Privately Published: 1998 Binding: hardcover Book Condition: Excellent Inscription: signed by the author Pages: 598 Categories: Western Front 1914-1918, French & Belgian, Signed Books, Foreign Language Books Seller ID: 2104
