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

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illegal; elsewhere, another commander prohibited farnlers from grazing horses within two
kilometres of the border. 31
High Command also worried about the movement of staple foodstuffs into
Belgium, especially bread and grain. Gernlan authorities in Belgium did not accept
responsibility for feeding locals, and on occupation of the country made it clear that food
supplies would have to come from abroad. 32 The Committee for the Relief of Belgium, an
American organisation that received much support from other neutrals, shipped food to the
Netherlands, and the Dutch transported it to Belgium. 33 Nevertheless, the supplies were
barely sufficient, and often could not reach Europe due to the war at sea. Consequently,
bread shortages were common and Belgians would pay twice as much for a loaf of bread
than the maximum price set by the government in the Netherlands. 34 For Dutch residents in
the south, taking loaves to nearby Belgian towns was a rewarding enterprise. Despite
requests from municipal councils and commanders, the government did not wish to impose
a general export ban on cereals since bread shortages were, at least in the first year of war,
contained to border regions. 35
Instead, in some "state of siege" areas, commanders imposed their own export
prohibitions on bread and grain often in consultation with the local mayor,36 ensuring that
no bakery products could be taken across the border without pennission. Authority for the
prohibition came from article 11 of the Oorlogswet, which allowed authorities to manage
the well-being and health of the civilian popUlation, including the regulation of its food
31 Commander of the Field Army, "Militair Gezag" poster, 15 June 1916, in SMG/DC, "Handschrift nr: 39" 93/1;
Territorial Commander in Overijssel, "Algemeene Bekendmaking no. 34 voor de Gemeente Gendringen en Herwen
en Aerdt" [General Declaration for the Municipalities of Gendringen, Herwen and Aerdt] 19 December 1915, in
ARA, "Archief van de Afdeling Documentatie van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek" entry no. 2.04.53.14, inventory no. 7.
32 For problems encountered in feeding the Belgian population see: Schaepdrijver, De Groote OOl'log pp. 107 - 116.
33 See: Chapter 1, pp. 52 - 53.
34 Staatsblad. no. 351, 3 August 1914.
35 Commander III Battalion 16 RI to Commander "Division Group Brabant", 18 August 1915; "Staat houdende
opgaaf del' uitgevoerde hoeveelheid wittebrood langs het grenskantoor GOIRLE gedurende de maanden Januat"i tot
en met J uli - en van de eersten tot en met zeventiende Augustus 1915" [Report of amount of white bread exported
past the border post Goirle during the months January up to and including July - and from the first to seventeenth of
August 1915] both in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 168.
36 Commander-in-Chiefto Territorial Commander in Overijssel, 20 October 1914, in ARA, "Archiefvan het
Hoofdkwartier Veldleger" entry no. 2.13.16, inventory no. 150; Commander of the Field Army to Head Librarian of
the Royal Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) in The Hague, 25 April 1915, in ARA, "Archiefvan de Afdeling
Documentatie van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek" entry no. 2.04.53.14, inventory no. 10; Koninklijke Bibliotheek,
DoclImenten voor de Economische Crisis Volume 2, pp. 117 - 118.