of the secret “Belgian Legion”), François De Kinder Operation TROJAN HORSE was set up in cooperation with of intelligence network “Zéro” (and brother in law of SOE to prepare for military activities following D-Day. the Prime Minister ). During the meeting To implement the operation several agents were dropped they prepared a plan to strengthen resistance activities in into occupied . Between March and June 1944, Belgium. François De Kinder secretly left Belgium and 769 containers were dropped for the Army of Belgium presented the plan to Hubert Pierlot in London. and several sabotage instructors, organizers and wireless/ telegraph operators were sent to coordinate the activities The Belgian government-in-exile decided to begin with SHAEF. The strength of the Army of Belgium was military resistance in their homeland. Colonel Bastin raised to 50,000 members.7 was assigned to group all existing movements and activities in cooperation with British SOE and the 2nd Jean del Marmol later joined the Group Brumagne of the Direction (Ministry of Defense) and began reorganizing Secret Army and took part in the operations to liberate the Belgian Legion in accordance with orders he received the strategically important port of . Lieutenant from London. del Marmol served as a liaison officer between the headquarters of the “Secret Army” and the local resistance Jean del Marmol became the Chief of Staff of the groups under the command of Lieutenant Urbain Reniers, new Army of Belgium. In 1943 the Army of Belgium who was also awarded the Silver Star for his gallantry increased its resistance activities, cooperating with the at Antwerp. Liberation Army under Pierre Clerdent and the White Brigade under Lieutenant Louette, which was very active Awards presented to Jean del Marmol: in the Antwerp area. Responding to many arrests in the spring of 1943, among them Colonel Bastin, Lieutenant Commander of the Order of Leopold II with Palm General Pire (alias “Pygmalion) was assigned by London Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm to take over command of the organization. Colonel Bastin Armed Resistance Medal was deported to Germany and died in Gross Strehlitz World War II Commemorative Medal camp on December 1, 1944. Silver Star (United States) Military Cross (Great Britain) Jean del Marmol was also involved in financing the Army of Belgium. He was able to contact the Secretary-General Table 2 lists the who received the Silver Silver of Finance and they managed to exploit accounting errors Star for their efforts to the Office of Strategic Services. to free 90 million Belgian Francs for the resistance, which was distributed to the five zone commanders. Table 2: who received the Silver Star for assisting the Office of Strategic Services.

Vol. 66, No. 1 (January-February 2015) 11 for Personnel, G-1, SHAEF. Generals Beernaert and de Burkel were awarded the Legion of Merit, Degree of Commander.

The Silver Star to the Belgians were presented “for gallantry in action while serving with the Office of Strategic Services, as members of a special mission that contributed greatly to its success by their rare courage, initiative and whole-hearted cooperation, thereby reflecting the highest credit upon themselves and the Allied Forces.”12 All of the officers were part of the Sûreté de l’Etat (Belgian State Security) or the 2nd Direction, Belgian Army. The OSS also recommended that the Legion of Merit be awarded to Colonel Paul Bihin (Administrator of Belgian State Security) and Lieutenant Colonel René Mampuys (2nd Direction, Belgian Army), Figure 10: Lieutenant Paul J. L’Hoest. and that the Bronze Star Medal be awarded to 2nd Lieutenant André Bayet, Oscar J.M. Berckmans, 2nd Eighteen Belgian officers, among them Lieutenant Lieutenant F. Cannoot, 2nd Lieutenant P. Carton de General Beernaert, Inspector General of the Troops, and Wiart, Lieutenant Th. d’Oultremont, Lieutenant F. Flour, Lieutenant General Baron Victor J.C. van Strydonck de Lieutenant M.H.M. Goossens and Lieutenant A. Pauly.13 Burkel, Chief of the Belgian Military Mission to SHAEF, received American awards on October 3, 1945 (Figure Emile J.E. Van Dyck 11). Léon Mundeleer (Minister of Defence), Adrien van den Branden de Reeth (Minister of War Victims) Emile Van Dyck joined the Belgian Army, 6th Régiment and Joseph Van de Meulebroeck (Mayor of Brussels), de Ligne, on January 3, 1939 and was promoted Sergeant congratulated the recipients during the ceremony led by on the day that the Germany attacked Belgium. During General Paul Williard Stewart, Deputy Chief of Staff

Figure 11: E. Van Dyck, J. Smets and A. Blontrock receiving their Silver Stars.

12 JOMSA the occupation he decided to leave his country (October Spain) where he met his guides. They started their journey 21, 1941). He tried to escape via the Pyrenees, but was on May 10th, arriving at Ripoll two days later. At Ripoll captured. After being released from imprisonment in Emile was met by the Barcelona British Consul and was Montauban (France), Barcelona, Lérida, Saragossa, and sent to Madrid on May 20th, to Gibraltar on May 22nd, Miranda (a total of 473 days in Spain), he arrived in the and arrived in the United Kingdom on May 25, 1944. United Kingdom on June 6, 1943. In order to prepare for his SOE-related activities he became a member of the He volunteered for a second intelligence mission to Aix- 2nd Direction (Compagnie des Subsistants) on August la-Chapelle, Germany on November 10, 1944. Captain 23, 1943 (Figure 12).14 Van Dyck and agent François Flour were dropped again for a paramilitary intelligence mission for the Counter Agent Emile, SOE agent Henri Neuman (co-founder of Intelligence Corps (mission PAINTER), on the night Group “G”), and a British agent landed successfully in of March 20, 1945, 25km from Trostberg, Bavaria to the area of Basècles, Province of Hainaut, on February collect military intelligence in their region, to organize 8, 1944.15 The purpose of the mission was to make local Belgian worker groups for intelligence purposes, contact with the Belgian National Movement (BNM) to to transmit instructions from SHAEF, and to collect provide the resistance organization with directives from information from “Wehrwolf, the Sicherheitsdienst, the Belgian authorities in London, Political Warfare and NSDAP” which went into secret resistance. They Executive, and to establish a propaganda distribution carried in one container with two wireless/telegraph sets, network in East and West Flanders. He was also asked to one broadcast receiver, two batteries, acids, money, and find suitable landing areas for the propaganda materials. personal belongings. Unfortunately, due to arrests among the BNM, the mission was not successful. Emile left Brussels on April 12, Since moving with the equipment was too difficult, they 1944, crossed the Belgian-French frontier at Menin, took buried it in two different places and continued on by road. the train to Paris via Tourcoing and Lille. He obtained Arriving in Trostberg, they walked to Freiburg for their a French identification card in Paris and was sent to first contact, the Alexian Brothers of Malseneck. The Toulouse on April 28th. He arrived in Carcassonne and brothers gave them some food, but could not help them stayed at Estagel (region Languedoc-Roussillon) until further, because the adjacent house was a Hitler Jugend May 8th. While he was at Estagel, the police raided his Center. They took the train from Kraiberg to Rosenheim house but, fortunately, he escaped via the roof. He left and they arrived in Munich at 9 p.m., Saturday March the next day for Perpignan and then went to Ria (northern 24th where they met their second contact, a Belgian

Figure 12: Emile J. E. Van Dyck’s military identity card.

Vol. 66, No. 1 (January-February 2015) 13