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

- 348-
In fact, instead of keeping all fortifications fully operational, when landweer troops
went on leave in 1915 and 1916, High Command placed a skeleton land storm staff in most
ofthe fortified positions, except the most important ones along the New Holland Waterline.
Even in the Waterline, garrison numbers were cut: the focus had to be on the Field Army
and the borders. If a second mobilisation occurred, soldiers would move back into the
fortifications. In the meantime, the defences were left virtually unprotected. During periods
of crisis, such as the Easter scare of 1916, more troops occupied the fortified positions, but
never enough to make them secure. 56 Of course, decreasing troop strength in the fortified
positions made sense, as the Army did not have heavy artillery to adequately protect them.
There was another major problem with replacing soldiers going on leave with
younger land storm conscripts, namely if the war lasted long enough, there would be no
younger replacements available. By the end of 1917, in fact, landstorm substitutes were
older than troops going on leave. For example, military intake year 1909 (men born in
1889) went on leave in November 1916. 57 Four months later, the first intake of 27-year old
landstormers (LS 1909) began their military training. When the 19081andstorm intake was
called up later in 1917, its soldiers were older (29 years old in 1917) than the four military
intakes that went on leave that year (1911 (26 years old), 1912 (25 years old), 1913 (24
years.old), and 1914 (23 years old)). The 30-year threshold for land storm duty had nearly
been reached. If High Command was to allow more troops to go on leave, other sources had
to be found. Throughout 1918, instead of calling up older landstorm conscripts, the
government recalled to military inspections, those men freed in the first land storm call_up.58
Snijders also suggested calling up the military intake year 1919 six months early (in the
middle of 1918); as a result, the first half of the 1919 intake took up posts in training
barracks in August of that year. 59 He floated the idea to recall intake year 1914 from
indefinite leave as well. 60
56 For fluctuations of troops in the New Holland Waterline during the war see: Koen, Utrecht Verdedigd pp. 38 - 40.
See also: Hoogterp, "De geschiedenis van Fort Spijkerboor" p. 28.
57 See: Appendix 10, p. 463.
58 Staatsblad. no. 257, 20 April 1918.
59 Commander-in-Chiefto military authorities, 21 February 1918, in SMGIDC, "Mobilisatieverslag" 91A13.
60 Commander-in-Chiefto Minister of War, 23 October 1918, in SMG/DC, "Mobilisatieverslag" 91A13.