The Belgian-Dutch Border During the First World War. A Second Belgian Front?

The German occupier could not tolerate between 1914 and 1918 any form of exfiltration of Belgians to the Netherlands, be they civilian refugees, army volunteers, letter, message or common smugglers, or deserters. However, it is assumed that at least 100.000 Belgians stayed in the Netherlands during the course of the war. In the spring of 1915 the Germans decided to completely fence the border with electric wire: a triple fence of which the middle one carried a deadly charge of 2,000 volts.