Middle East and Burma. In total, the Force Publique comprised approximately 40,000 men and was racially segregated meaning that blacks could not become officers. Throughout the war, therefore, it was commanded by white officers. Twice, in 1941 and 1944, major strikes took place in towns around the country against the extra pressure put on workers by the colonial authorities. The Force Publique garrison in Luluabourg also mutinied in 1944. These were repressed by military force, often violently. The Congo was also a vitally important economic asset to the Allied powers. The Congo's gold alone contributed some $28.5 million to the Allied war effort, while its exports of rubber and uranium provided vital sources of raw materials. Most of the uranium used during the American Manhattan Project – including that used for the nuclear weapons dropped on the Japanese towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – was supplied by the Belgian firm Union Minière du Haut Katanga from Katanga Province in the Belgian Congo. Liberation Belgium was liberated in September 1944 by the Allied forces, including British, Canadian, and American armies, which also included the Brigade Piron. On September 3, 1944, the Welsh Guards liberated Brussels. Just after the liberation, the inhabitants of the Marolles district held a mock funeral for Hitler. The port of Antwerp was an important strategic objective because Allied supply lines were heavily stretched and needed a deep-sea port near the front lines. The British Second Army liberated Antwerp on September 6, with help from the local resistance. Despite taking control of the city, the port was not accessible until the surrounding waters were safe for cargo ships. The Germans successfully denied access to the port until the Battle of the Scheldt completed in November. Leopold III's brother, Charles, the Count of Flanders, was appointed Regent, pending a decision about whether the King would be able to regain his former position on the throne. In February 1945, Achille Van Acker replaced Pierlot as Prime Minister. The resistance was disarmed, and many of its members and other Belgians who had remained in the country during the occupation were mobilised into the regular Belgian army in 57 "Fusilier Battalions". These battalions served in several battles on the western front. 100,000 Belgians were fighting in the Allied armies by VE Day. General Courtney Hodges' U.S. First Army liberated the region south of Brussels and Maastricht in early September 1944. While two