MeuseThe Meuse (mjuːz , mɜːz, USalsomɜːrz,_mʌz , møz; Moûze muːs) or Maas (mɑːs , maːs; Maos mɔːs or Maas maːs) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . From 1301 the upper Meuse roughly marked the western border of the Holy Roman Empire with the Kingdom of France, after Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the western part of the County of Bar (Barrois mouvant) as a French fief from the hands of King Philip IV.
AachenAachen ('ɑːxən , ˈaːxn̩; Oche ˈɔːxə; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle) is the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 249,000 inhabitants. It is the westernmost city in Germany, and borders Belgium and the Netherlands to the west, the triborder area. It is located between Maastricht (NL) and Liège (BE) in the west, and Bonn and Cologne in the east. The Wurm River flows through the city, and together with Mönchengladbach, Aachen is the only larger German city in the drainage basin of the Meuse.
NetherlandsThe Netherlands (Nederland ˈneːdərlɑnt), informally Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east, and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium in the North Sea.
LiègeLiège (liˈɛʒ,_liˈeɪʒ , ljɛʒ, li.eːʃ; Lîdje liːtʃ; Luik lœyk; Lüttich ˈlʏtɪç) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from borders with the Netherlands (Maastricht is about to the north) and with Germany (Aachen is about north-east). In Liège, the Meuse meets the river Ourthe. The city is part of the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia.
WalloniaWallonia (wɒˈloʊniə; Wallonie walɔni), officially the Walloon Region (Région wallonne), is one of the three regions of Belgium—along with Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily French-speaking. It accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory, but only a third of its population. The Walloon Region and the French Community of Belgium, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, are independent concepts, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.
RotterdamRotterdam (ˈrɒtərdæm , UKalsoˌrɒtərˈdæm , ˌrɔtərˈdɑm; lit. "The Dam on the River Rotte") is the second-largest city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the "New Meuse" inland shipping channel, dug to connect to the Meuse at first and now to the Rhine. Rotterdam's history goes back to 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte. In 1340, Rotterdam was granted city rights by William IV, Count of Holland.
LimburgishLimburgish (Limburgs ˈlɪm˦bʏʀ(ə)çs or Lèmburgs ˈlɛm˦-; Limburgs ˈlɪmbʏr(ə)xs; Limburgisch ˈlɪmbʊʁɡɪʃ; Limbourgeois lɛ̃buʁʒwa), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg and in the neighbouring regions of Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia). Although frequently misunderstood as such, Limburgish as a linguistic term does not refer to the regional variety of Dutch spoken in Dutch Limburg and Belgian Limburg.
Duchy of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1482, until it was partitioned after the Dutch revolt. Present-day North Brabant (Noord-Brabant) was ceded to the Generality Lands of the Dutch Republic according to the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, while the reduced duchy remained part of the Habsburg Netherlands until it was conquered by French Revolutionary forces in 1794, which was recognized by treaty in 1797.
HasseltHasselt (ˈɦɑsəlt, ˈɦɑsəlt, asɛlt; Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its local distilleries of Hasselt jenever (gin), the Hasselt Jenever Festivities, Limburgish pie and the Hasselt speculaas. The municipality includes the original city of Hasselt, plus the boroughs of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst, as well as the hamlets and parishes of Kiewit, Godsheide and Rapertingen.
Battle of FranceThe Battle of France (bataille de France; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (German: Westfeldzug), the French Campaign (Frankreichfeldzug, campagne de France) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World War. France and the Low Countries were conquered, ending land operations on the Western Front until the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944. On 3 September 1939, France declared war on Germany following the German invasion of Poland.
