At the start of WW1 the German Reich declared war to Belgium at the beginning of August. The Belgians decided to defend citadel Liege with the various forts around, the Germans easily destroyed them using "Dikke Bertha's" (don't know the English term sorry). After this the Belgians retreated to the national redoubt Antwerp which was again protected by a ring of forts around it but they knew the Germans will once again bombard these forts to dust.
During their stay in Antwerp they decided to help the French and British forces by making 2 attacks on the German lines so they had to put more men in surrounding the city of Antwerp than needed. After the field army rested a bit in Antwerp they decided to fall back to the Yzer river in which they succeeded. when the Germans captured Antwerp they hoped to capture the bulk of the field army with it.
at the Yzer after a few days of fighting the Belgian high command decided to flood the plains of the Yzer thereby allowing down the Germans and forcing them to call off the attack. This led to the standstill which holder for nearly four years.
At least this is what I was thaught and looked up myself in books and the internet.
So how instrumental was the Belgian war effort in the first year of WW1 in delaying the Germans, forcing them to stop turning around to Paris and eventually leading to the trench warfare we know now was WW1.
Also in the next few years the Belgian king Albert declined many "orders" from the French and British high command of attacking since the Belgian army was too ill equipped and without enough manpower to do major offensives. Did the French or British ever hold a grutch for this? Did they forget we were a small little country that was supposed to be neutral and we already did fight heavily for some months?
Thanks!
EDIT: Liege instead of Namur
The Belgian stand on the Yser was very important. What remained of the Belgain Army held a sector of front in a long continuous line held by two badly allied mauled armies which was no small thing. That being said the Belgian Army was tired and demoralized after the fighting retreat and Foch’s plan for the planned October attack was to hold the Belgians in place along the Yser. King Albert personally visited his divisions and told his commanders that if the men retreated he'd sack them from command (59). The Yser itself represented a solid defence and by holding it the Belgian Army prevented the German offensive from reaching Calais or breaking through the line spoiling General Falkenhayn's attempt at forcing a decisive battle. The Germans hit the Belgian line on 17 October and by 25 October, with a German bridgehead across the Yser tenaciously holding out, and having almost run of out munitions and even guns King Albert ordered a retreat to a new line of defence and started the flooding which would by 30 October end the fighting on the Yser front. (64) Elizabeth Greenhalgh makes the point that "The Yser and Ypres battles had a greater significance then their inconclusive fighting might indicate. First of all, the German failure to break through the Allied lines marked the failure of the only strategic plan they had." (71) So, yes, while not the single outstanding factor the Belgian Army contributed greatly to the allied success of 1914- stopping the German advance.
Foch in Command: The Forging of a First World War General, by Elizabeth Greenhalgh. Cambridge University Press, 2011.