Bruges 1914: a medium-sized Flemish city with a medieval core and a brand-new modern harbor is turned into a base for imperial Germany's naval and submarine war. Though close to the Western Front, Bruges saw another face of war: that of military occupation, of being made into a bastion for its conqueror's war, and of being bombed from the air as a result. The story of Bruges in the First World War is the story of a city that escaped destruction but faced violence. It is the story of its wartime rulers and how they saw their war effort. And it is the story of civilians who, even under military domination, made choices of their own. Contents: Introduction 1. Before the War; 2. From Menace to Invasion - 28 June- 14 October 1914; 3. The Taking of Bruges; 4. New Rulers: the 'Marinekorps'; 5. 1914-1915 - Construction: November 1914 - June 1915; Base or Bastion?; A Lasting Bastion; Orderly Exploitation; Living in a Bastion; The Enemy inside the Bastion 6. 1916 - Naval Claims; (Counter-)Espionage; The Regime Hardens; Blond Idyll; Wonder Weapon 7. 1917 - The Underseas War; Violence from the Air (1917-1918); Alienation; Using Up the Las Card; Misery, Crime, Profiteering; An Adulterated Economy; Quertreiberei 8. 1918 - The Very Last Chance: The Spring Offensive; The Zeebrugge Raid; 'Poor Little Children'; Meanwhile: Flemish Policies; Expectations; Exploitation and Exhaustion; Retreat; Liberation Epilogue; Notes; Bibliography