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

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could not be used in an offensive manner. The Dutch replied that a gun remained a military
weapon, and was, by definition, not allowed to enter the country.
Dutch military personnel applied the rule rigorously. In March 1917, at the height
of Gennany' s unrestricted U-boat campaign, a British anned merchant ship, the Princess
Melita, tried to enter the Netherlands on three occasions. The Dutch refused entry, firstly
because the gun was mounted and secondly, after the captain dismantled it, because it
remained aboard, although he was allowed to drop off sick passengers. Only when the crew
completely removed the gun from the vessel (presumably overboard) would the Dutch
allow the Princess Melita to come into port. III When Britain organised convoys of
merchant ships, those equipped with annament had to remain outside Dutch territorial
waters. France was so disgruntled with the policy that it refused to let its merchants trade
with the Dutch. 112
PROTECTING TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY IN THE AIR
The decision to close off Dutch territorial airspace to all belligerent aeroplanes
placed added pressure on the armed forces to keep foreign aircraft out of the skies. As the
aeroplane became a central pati of military operations, it would prove extremely difficult
task to fulfil. Hundreds of aeroplanes and dozens of airships flew across the Netherlands
during the war.113 Britain was most prolific in its transgressions, often flying across the
south of the country to Belgium or Gennany, although Gennan airships had little
compunction in ignoring Dutch aerial sovereignty on their way to bomb British cities either.
If discovered, it was all too easy to claim that the crossing was accidental, since from the air
it was hard to distinguish the Dutch land border - despite attempts at flying flags from
steeples and rooftops in border towns _114 and at sea it proved even more demanding. Often,
111 Ibid. p. 114; Tuinen, "De militaire handhaving van neutraliteit" p. 86; Wim van Kamperdijk, "Kroniek Rotterdam
1917" [Chronicle Rotterdam 1917] De Groote Oorlog. 2, no. 2, October 1996, p. 6.
112 Vandenbosch, The Neutrality oJthe Netherlands p. 120.
113 ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 37 and 176 are two of many folders at
the Algemeen RijksarchieJfilled with reports of aeroplanes trangressing Dutch airspace.
114 Commander-in-Chiefto Provincial Governors in Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Gelderland, Limburg, North
Brabant and Zeeland, 2 August 1914, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 37;
Territorial Commander of Zeeland to Commander-in-Chief, 11 May 1915, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale
Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 176.