...Leuven. Only the appearance of a French…

...Leuven.

Only the appearance of a French army under Marshal Gérard (and with British approval) causes the Dutch to stop their advance.

While the victorious initial campaign gives the Dutch an advantageous position in subsequent negotiations, the Dutch are compelled to agree to an indefinite armistice.

The European Powers are divided over the Belgian cry for independence.

The Napoleonic Wars are still fresh in the memories of Europeans, so when the French, under the recently installed July Monarchy, support Belgian independence, the other powers unsurprisingly support the continued union of the Provinces of the Netherlands.

Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain all support the somewhat authoritarian Dutch king, many, particularly the British, fearing the French would annex an independent Belgium.

In the end, however, none of the European powers have sent troops to aid the Dutch government, partly because of rebellions within some of their own borders (the Russians are occupied with the November Uprising in Poland and Prussia is saddled with war debt.)