In 1905 the Belgians celebrated splendidly the seventy-fifth anniversary of Belgian independence. The King went all over the country, encouraging the feeling of patriotism which was then manifest and taking advantage of that spirit for urging the enlargement of the works of the port of Antwerp and the construction of a circle of outer forts, which should defend the city. After a great fight, he obtained the vote from Parliament, although the proposed system of fortification was not entirely accepted by the politicians. His last victory was the reinforcement of the Belgian army, the suppression of the old Napoleonic system, called “le tirage au sort,” and the establishment of personal service. The bill of the new law was brought to him to be signed on his deathbed. Before leaving this world, he confirmed with his royal signature the law which he had finally obtained from his all-too-pacifist subjects. With a sigh of supreme satisfaction, the great King died in December, 1909. During his life he had many enemies. A constitutional king, he sometimes went farther than the limits of his power, but he did it with the greatness and the security of his country always in his mind. Politicians more than once attacked him violently, but history will avenge him, saying: “He made it possible for his country to defend itself in the hour of great trial.” CHAPTER XIV THE GREAT TRIAL When the nephew of King Leopold, Prince Albert, became king of the Belgians under the name of Albert I, he certainly never imagined that a day would come when the very existence of his country would be put at stake by the felony of one of the powers which were pledged to defend Belgian neutrality. The first years of the new reign went on peacefully. Albert I devoted his attention particularly to social and economic affairs, but he did not forget the problems of Belgian’s defense. In 1912, thanks to the efforts and the help of the Belgian Premier, Baron Charles de Brogueville, he obtained a new army bill, which considerably reinforced the strength of the Belgian army. Two years had hardly elapsed when the Great Trial came! On August 2, 1914, the German Minister to Brussels appeared at the Belgian Foreign Office, and presented on behalf of his government a “very confidential” note, asking passage through Belgium for the German troops on their way to France. Twelve hours were granted to the Belgian government for a reply. The night of August 2, 1914, was a terrible night for the King and his ministers. They had to decide upon the future, on the existence of their country. None wavered; they decided to remain loyal to their pledge and to oppose to the German invaders “the force of arms.” The Belgian army then hardly counted 115,000 men; they had no big guns, hardly any machine guns and, as a consequence of the army bill of 1912, everything was in full process of reorganization. Nevertheless, the Belgian government did not hesitate.