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

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noted that 300 suspected smugglers had been killed in the province. 17 At other times,
smugglers shot back, part of the reason why commanders banned gun ownership in the
"state of siege". 18 Troops also put in place other anti-smuggling measures, including
placing barbed wire obstructions along particular stretches of border, prohibiting people
from walking their dogs after 1 0 pm and enforcing other curfews. They also prohibited
markets and banned the hawking of goods in an attempt to avoid creating an environment
for smugglers to group together and sell their wares. 19
It was not only a question of capturing offenders as they crossed the frontier but
also of preventing supplies from reaching frontier towns. By mid-1915, military authorities
specifically targeted goods coming into their region and the government declared
municipalities further inland in a "state of siege", to stop smugglers establishing their base
of operations there. 20 All cargo entering and leaving "state of siege" municipalities had to
be accompanied by documentation citing origin, destination, and mode of transportation. 21
Troops patrolled roads, canals, and train stations, and seized undocumented cargo.
Occasionally, they even closed down factories suspected of supplying smuggling Iings. 22
The measures were far from flawless: they were hard to police and mayors had real trouble
ascertaining (beyond a very rough estimation) appropriate quantities of bread, potatoes and
petroleum, or verifying that a person (or shop) had stored too much. 23
Of special concern to High Command was the large number of horses that
managed to cross into Gennany. The government imposed an export prohibition on horses
on 3 August 1914, pIincipally because the Cavalty Brigade did not have enough, and also
17 Het Leven. 21 November 1916, as cited in Moeyes, Buitell Schot p. 131.
18 Commander of Division II to Commander-in-Chief, 21 October 1914, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star'
entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 158.
19 Tenitorial Commander in Friesland, "Verslag ingevolge artikel 6 van de wet op den staat van oorlog en van beleg.
(wet van 23 Mei 1899, Stbl. No. 128) van 1 Augustus 1914 tot den datum van opheffing van den staat van beleg"
[Report regarding Article 6 ofthe "state of war" and "siege" law (23 May 1899, Staatsblad. No. 128) from 1 August
1914 until the end of the "state of siege"] 28 May 1920, p. 4, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no.
2.l3.70, inventory no. 708.
20 See: Map 18, p. 233, for the growth of the "state of siege" further inland from the border.
21 For example, see: Commander of the Field Army, "Militair Gezag" poster, 15 June 1916, in SMG/DC,
"Handschrift nr: 39" 93/1; Smidt, "De bestrijding van de smokkelhandel" p. 56.
22 Commander-in-Chiefto Minister of Finance, 7 February 1917, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry
no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 667.
23 Mayor of Ossendrecht to Commander of Division III, 7 August 1915, in ARA, "Archiefvan het Hoofdkwmiier
Veldleger" enttyno. 2.l3.16, inventory no. 183.