World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1914, at the onset of WW1, Belgian Army officer Jules A. G. Bastin was captured by the Germans. He made repeated attempts to escape, finally succeeding on the tenth try. When WW2 began for Belgium, he was at the rank of colonel and served as the chief of staff of the Belgian Cavalry Corps. He fled to France and then became a leader in the Belgian underground resistance movement. On 30 Dec 1942, he was named the commanding officer of the Belgian Legion by the Belgian government-in-exile in London, England in the United Kingdom. In 1943, he was made the commanding officer of the Armée Secrète. In Apr 1943 and then again in Nov 1943, he was arrested by the German occupation administration. After the latter arrest, he was sent to the Groß-Rosen Concentration Camp, where he died in late 1944. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of major general in Aug 1946.

Jules Bastin Timeline