Qualla: 1979 Brussels Bombing https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: 1979 Brussels Bombing https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing 1979 Brussels Bombing: Introduction https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing/ Photo credit Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0. Brussels was celebrating its thousandth anniversary when the bomb exploded. On August 28, 1979, the Grand-Place, the magnificent central square surrounded by gilded guild houses, had been prepared for a concert by the band of the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment. The stage was set, the audience gathering. Beneath the open-air platform, concealed from view, the Provisional Irish Republican Army had planted an explosive device. When it detonated, it injured seven bandsmen and eleven civilians, shattering the festivities and extending the Troubles far beyond the borders of Ireland and Britain.

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Image: Francisco Anzola | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/u151-1979-brussels-bombing-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full 1979 Brussels Bombing: The Target https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing/ Photo credit Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0. The band of the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment was based in Osnabruck, West Germany, part of the British Army of the Rhine stationed across Europe since the end of World War II. Military bands represented a soft target: uniformed soldiers engaged in ceremonial duties, their p...

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Image: Francisco Anzola | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/u151-1979-brussels-bombing-the-target.mp3 0:06 2 full 1979 Brussels Bombing: Luck and Timing https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing/ Photo credit Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0. The casualties could have been far worse. Of the band's thirty members, only some had reached the stage when the bomb detonated. The rest were stuck in Brussels city traffic, their delay saving them from the blast. Even those present escaped death because they were not on stage a...

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Image: Francisco Anzola | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/u151-1979-brussels-bombing-luck-and-timing.mp3 0:06 3 full 1979 Brussels Bombing: A Wider Campaign https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing/ Photo credit Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0. The Brussels bombing was part of a broader IRA strategy to strike British targets across Europe. The same year, 1979, saw the Warrenpoint ambush in Northern Ireland, which killed eighteen British soldiers, and the assassination of Lord Mountbatten in Ireland. The IRA would later ...

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Image: Francisco Anzola | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/u151-1979-brussels-bombing-a-wider-campaign.mp3 0:06 4 full 1979 Brussels Bombing: The Grand-Place https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing/ Photo credit Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0. The setting made the attack particularly jarring. The Grand-Place is one of Europe's most celebrated public squares, surrounded by baroque guild houses with golden facades, dominated by the Gothic tower of the city hall. UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site. It is a pla...

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Image: Francisco Anzola | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/u151-1979-brussels-bombing-the-grand-place.mp3 0:06 5 full 1979 Brussels Bombing: The Claim https://qualla.com/1979-brussels-bombing/ Photo credit Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0. The IRA claimed responsibility in a telephone call to Brussels city hall, according to Mayor Pierre Van Halteren. There was no ambiguity about who had carried out the attack or why. The bombing generated international condemnation but changed little in the broader trajectory of t...

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Image: Francisco Anzola | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/1/1979-brussels-bombing-wp/u151-1979-brussels-bombing-the-claim.mp3 0:06 6 full