WW1 Hero ID Card

In my collection there aren’t only German Soldbucher from WW2, I also have an interest in other conflicts, nations and objects.
One of the more difficult subjects to collect are items related to those that were awarded the highest bravery medals of their nation and being a Belgian, of course something of a Belgian soldier that was awarded the Belgian highest award for bravery: the Order of Leopold, has been something I was looking for.
What made the task of finding something extra difficult in this case is the way the Belgian government has organized its medal award system, there are no medals awarded only or specifically for acts of bravery in face of the enemy, the most common military medal awarded during both WW1 & 2 is the “Croix de Guerre” but this medal can be awarded for bravery in face of the enemy but also for long or meritorious service, one needs the citation that comes with the medal to determine why it was awarded.
The “Order of Leopold” is even more difficult because it isn’t only the highest award possible for bravery in the Belgian army it is besides a long service medal for officers also a civilian and diplomatic award and is awarded to judges, both domestic and foreign politicians,...etc, also for example every officer that was KIA is automatically awarded one.
Despite these rather liberal award criteria, to say the least, it nevertheless is a rare bravery award, only 251 Belgian enlisted men were awarded it for an act of bravery in WW1, to put this in perspective, the Belgian army was at its largest just before the liberation offensive of 1918, it then had +/- 142.000 on the front line, these figures proof that the award criteria for EM weren’t liberal at all.

In my collection I have an ID card of one of these 251 heroes, a young man that was awarded the Leopold Order posthumously in January 1921.
His ID card has been in my collection for several years now, his story wasn’t a secret either because he and the action in which he got KIA has a chapter in the book “Our Heroes” of 1931, a book that honors those members of the Belgian army that lost their life in WW1; what I didn’t know was if his Order of Leopold was one of those automatically awarded to KIA officers or was one for a specific act of bravery.
With the help of a recently published book which lists the 251 bravery citations for EM, I was able to determine that he was indeed awarded it for an act of bravery, this being his citation:
“A NCO with exemplary bravery, who was KIA gloriously leading his platoon during a brilliant charge on a strongly defended enemy position.”
This is the story behind this sentence:

Guy Vandercruycen (°1897 + 1918) entered the Belgian army in July 1915 as a war volunteer, he initially served with the 5th Lancers but transferred to the 1st Guide Regiment (a cavalry regiment with a long tradition), in December 1916 he became a NCO and in February 1917 he joined a training course for deputy officers, he graduated in June 1917 and rejoined his unit as a senior NCO and platoon commander in the company of Captain de Meeus.
When on October 19 1918 his CO is KIA, Guy takes control of his unit and keeps the attack going against the MG’s of the German Marine Infantry; the attack is a success but Guy also is killed.
Afterwards he receives full honors and commendation for saving the day by his Regimental commander and two Generals but somehow the paperwork for his medal gets lost and it is his father that kick starts the procedure again, which will result in him being nominated a knight of the Leopold Order in January 1921.

This is how the charge of Burkel is written down in the unit history:
The last cavalry charge in Western Europe, sabre in hand, was carried on by the 1st Regiment of the Guides at Burkel, near Maldeghem, on 19th October 1918.

On 19th October 1918, the Cavalry division of the Belgian Army was fighting around Oedelem, 5 miles south of Bruges. Like during the trench warfare, our cavalrymen were fighting on foot; however, the landscape was open, and the horses weren’t far away…how great would it be to charge!

The sun was setting, our infantry had repelled the German rear-guards, but the enemy, concealed in Kattine forest, looked determined to defend this position. Several defence lines with machine guns forced our men to go to ground.

At 4.30pm, Major Van Strydonck, commanding the 2nd squadron of the 1st Regiment of the Guides, receives an order from the headquarters: “Cross the enemy lines by surprise. Once arrived at Burkel, attack the enemy from behind. Two armoured cars will precede your column”

A charge: the dream of every cavalryman. The order is spreading among the soldiers, who are clenching their sabres. Their eyes are shining with joy. Among them, a young adjutant who can’t control his impatience: he walks to and fro, inspects his men and his horse, starring at the road on which he is going to leap.

Heavy gunfire is underway in front of Kattine. Our infantrymen are trying to draw the enemy fire while our artillery is bombing them with a deadly rain of shells.

Bridle down, a cavalrymen rushes towards the officers: “It’s time, sir!”. It was Count F. de Meuus, Captain-Commandant in the 1st Regiment of the Guides, bringing the order of attack.
Major Van Strydonck stands up on his stirrups, drawing his sabre.
__________________________________________________ ________________________

The column of horses slowly moves off and disappears in the greyness of the evening. Between the gunfire, you could hear the horses walking and breathing loudly. Erected ears, open nostrils, they feel that the battle is coming. The eyes of the cavalrymen are starring at the horizon, towards the enemy, towards the battle.

The open landscape is crossed, the horses are trotting now. The noise of their hoofs striking the ground gets mixed up with the jingle of the sabres.

Suddenly, in the evening’s mist, they discern the edges of Kattine’s forest. Abruptly, the major draws his sabre: “Charge, my fellows, for the King!”. In the plain, a huge clamour is rising: “Hourra! Long live the King!”.

The charge! Trumpets are calling! The two armoured cars, protected by their steel shell, are speeding along the column of cavalrymen, now at full gallop.

Soon, the first line of enemy machine-gunners is crossed by the Guides brandishing their sabres. The charge goes on towards the wood around Burkel. There, the panic-stricken German soldiers watch the roaring stream leaping towards them…”take aim!”

The two leaders, laying on their horses, speed up again. Suddenly, hundreds of glowing flashes lighten Burkel’s wood. The vanguard’s horses collapse, de Meuus is instantly killed and disappears in the dreadful whirlwind. His 20-years old adjutant replaces him on the spot, sabre aimed at the Germans.

A new volley of shots rattles from Burkel, the horses rear up, leap above the trenches, run over the Germans…the armoured cars are stuck. “On foot!”. The cavalrymen drop their sabres and draw their rifles. They spread in the wood and harry the enemy, who is disconcerted by the sudden arrival of troops while they believed they were protected by their defence lines.

5pm, the fire ceases…the Germans are fleeing.

In the wood, the units are gathering, and a roll call is carried out. “Adjutant Vander Cruysen?”
A deep voice answers: “Killed in action”




Some images I found online of the memorial in Burkel.

Three more ID Cards from my collection of men of the 1 Guides Regiment that were KIA in the charge at Burkel in 1918.

Many thanks for a remarkable retelling of a unit’s heroism. Perhaps your finest contribution to date!

Excellent ID cards and research Peter! It’s sad to see the photographs of these brave men, the last reminders of their existence and deeds. I think that the research and connection of their IDs and relics to these men is important to preserving their sacrifices. Compare these men to the politicians and “protesters” that we are plagued with today. Well done.

Thanks CLG & Hambone.

Since the Corona crisis started and the MSM has been bombarding me with bs war rhetoric when it comes to Covid19, even going as far as declaring those that just do their job as heroes, I have been looking more in to the stories behind the highest bravery awards like the CmoH, Hero of the Soviet Union, VC, Legion D’honneur, Order of Leopold,...etc.
In Belgium their is a remarkable change in attitude to define what is a hero or an heroic act, it used to involve risking your life, even sacrificing it, doing something beyond the call of duty and not being financially rewarded for it; now just punching in in a hospital or super market, doing your job, going home at the end of the day and collecting your pay check is good enough.
The Belgian government jumped on the MSM band wagon and even awarded hero medals for this in July 2020.
This makes me sad.
These 2020 awards didn’t only devalue the term “hero”, it also feels like they are spitting in the face of the real heroes we had, those men and women that really put their life on the line and went way beyond the call of duty.

Here in Nuevo Obamaville (the former United States of America), we give medals for valor and heroism to drooling moron ghetto-thug ball-schleppers who are brave enough to come out and admit they like slobbering on schlong while getting banged up the backside.

Years ago my wife bought me Plaster's SOG: A Photo History of the Secret Wars and Greco's Running Recon. The bravery that some of those boys displayed just boggles the imagination. Many Bronze Star and Medal of Honor recipients, some being decorated with those awards multiple times. And if it weren't for books like that, probably no one would've ever known about those guys. After all, most cross-border ops run out of RVN were supposed to remain classified forever.