German Capture of Moresnet

German Capture of Moresnet
Part of Western Front
Date 27 June 1915 Location Neutral Moresnet Status German Victory
Belligerents
Germany	Belgium Neutral Moresnet

The First World War resulted in the end of neutrality. On 4 August 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, initially leaving Neutral Moresnet as "an oasis in a desert of destruction". A total of 147 Neutral Moresnet citizens were killed, though it is unclear whether they were killed inside the territory or in fighting outside its borders.^{[citation needed]} On 27 June 1915, Neutral Moresnet was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, although the annexation never received international recognition.^{[citation needed]}

In 1918, the armistice between France and Germany, signed on 11 November at Compiègne, forced Germany to withdraw from Belgium and also from Moresnet. It also resulted in the ousting of Mayor Wilhelm Kyll, a German national who had been appointed after the German invasion.

On 28 June 1919, the Treaty of Versailles settled the dispute that had created the neutral territory a century earlier by awarding Neutral Moresnet, along with Prussian Moresnet and the German cantons of Eupen and Malmedy, to Belgium. The treaty became effective 10 January 1920, ending the territory's existence and converting it into a municipality in Belgium.

Despite the annexation, Neutral Moresnet Mayor Pierre Grignard effectively stayed in office and became the first mayor of Kelmis. The ten members of Neutral Moresnet's council were confirmed for the Kelmis municipal council after its Prussian members renounced their nationality. They remained in office until the election of a new municipal council on 7 February 1923.