At the beginning of September 1944, as the Allied armies made rapid progress through Belgium, an inspector from the Banque de la Société Générale de Belgique moved up the lines of American tanks aboard a van. His objective: to travel to the liberated areas to communicate instructions drafted by the Belgian government in London. The country’s financial stability was at stake.
Key events timeline
3 septembre
Liberation of Brussels
4 septembre
Announcement by Camille Gutt on the BBC of the first economic measures to be taken for the country
5 septembre
The text of the six legislative decrees is published in the Moniteur, with the first copies being sent to Brussels. The Bank promptly prepares the circular to be distributed to its branches
The chaos of the Allied offensive
These instructionshad to be sent to the branches of the liberated zone, which was being crossed by columns of Allied forces.
A small group of adventurers was formed, led by an inspector from the bank, E. Mahieu. Of course, they needed a vehicle. But the Germans had taken everything with them on their withdrawal, down to the last bicycle! The only vehicle available was a hybrid-engine van powered by petrol or charcoal. It was not in working order since several pieces had been stolen, but it was soon repaired with the resources at hand! The last setback was that the commissary was unable to find a Belgian flag for the vehicle so it would be recognised by the Allied armies. At around 2.30 p.m., the team was ready to leave. They soon obtained a flag – in a convent on the outskirts of Brussels.
On the road littered with wreckage
The journey began, and was soon punctuated by breakdowns. For an unknown reason, the team frequently had to use a tin can to feed the fuel pump. This meant that everything soon smelt of petrol but, wrote Mahieu, “Smelling petrol again gave us a certain sense of well-being”. From Ruysbroeck, the scenery was hellish: the roadsides were full of smashed trucks, disassembled anti-aircraft weapons and burnt-out German tanks. Local residents took anything that could still be used, including the armour plating from Tiger tanks, which they removed with a blowtorch. The authorities turned a blind eye because they were helping to clear the road!
Tribute to the Resistance
In Braine-le-Comte, Mahieu and his team was advised not to continue towards Soignies and La Louvière, where the German rear guard was still fighting and where the bridges were mined. They carried on regardless and luck was on their side: the road was clear. From time to time, they saw partisans cleaning up the last remaining hideouts of enemy resistance. Mahieu was struck by the role the Resistance played in the country’s Liberation:
“The White Brigade members deserve the greatest praise. They were the ones who held up German traffic on the morning of 2 September. They were the ones who, along with American leaders and tanks, overcame the German resistance”.
