Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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Germany.89 As of 5 August, the Dutch closed the liver to all traffic except for merchant
ships, and they could only traverse in daylight. Belgian lightships could no longer operate
on the waterway, and all ships entered and left accompanied by Dutch pilot boats. 9o
The Navy monitored ship movements on the Schelde, checking their cargo and
eligibility to use the river. 91 Based on Article 10 of the Dutch neutrality declaration, prizes
(merchant ships captured by the enemy) could not use the Schelde.92 When in September
1914, Belgium requested that the 50 Austro-Hungarian and German ships it had seized in
Antwerp be allowed to leave the city, the Dutch refused to let them through. On capturing
Antwerp, Gennany requisitioned these vessels and also asked that they exit Belgium via the
Schelde. Again, the Netherlands denied the request. 93 Subsequent attempts by the Germans
to smuggle some of the ships through the river mouth were unsuccessful. The Dutch Navy
caught and interned them. 94 The Netherlands argued that even though the ships had returned
to their original owners, they still remained prizes of war, since they were sequestered by
militaty means. Likewise, a number of Belgian armed vessels tried to flee Antwerp before
the German siege in October 1914. On reaching the Dutch section of the Schelde, the Dutch
militaty authorities interned and disarmed the ships as well. 95
The Dutch had to be stlict with regard to the neutrality of the Schelde, because
interest in the river mouth was so great. The historian, Amry Vandenbosch, went so far as
to proclaim that the issue of the Schelde was one of the major controversies of the Great
War, because some belligerents believed that whoever controlled the river controlled the
89 Minister President to Commander-in-Chief, 5 August 1914, in Ibid. pp. 19 - 20.
90 Belgian Minister at The Hague, A. A. F. 1. G. Fallon, to Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, P. Berryer, 4 August
1914, in Collected Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War. London: His Majesty's
Stationery Office, Harrison and Sons, 1915, p. 315; Minister President to Commander-in-Chief, 5 August 1914, in
ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 1.
91 Commander-in-Chief, "Instructie voor de Commandanten van Marinevaartuigen of van landweerdetachementen,
belast met het toezicht op den uitvoer van stoomschepen en stoom- of motorvaartuigen, in verb and met de
afkondiging van den staat van beleg in verschillende aan zee of aan de rivieren gelegen gemeenten" [Instruction for
commanders of naval vessels or of landweer detachments, responsible for exit of steamships or steam and motor
vessels, in relation to the declaration of the "state of siege" in several municipalities bordering the sea or rivers] 7
September 1914, Article 2, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 34.
92 Commander-in-Chief to Commander of Hellevoetsluis and Vlissingen, 20 October 1914, in ARA, "Archief van de
Chef van de Marinestafte 's-Gravenhage 1886 - 1942" [Archive of the Chief of Naval Staff in The Hague 1886-
1942] entry no. 2.12.18, inventory no. 197. See also: Appendix 5, p. 455.
93 Snijders described these events in his "Mobilisatie-Herimleringen 1914 - 1918 no. 16" in SMG/DC,
"Mobilisatieverslag" 91A/3. See also: Vandenbosch, The Neutrality of the Netherlands p. 48.
94 Snijders, "Mobilisatie-Herinneringen 1914 - 1918 no. 17" in SMG/DC, "Mobilisatieverslag" 91A/3.
95 Admiral Colenbrander to Chief of Navy Staff, 9 October 1914, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry
no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 39.