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

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dispersed the protesters. 16 In Zwolle that same day, a group of drunken soldiers also incited
a rebellion among troops and civilians.17 On 29 October, in Zaltbommel, officers had
problems keeping their men in check as they assembled an artillery munitions train. Yet
again, order was quickly imposed. 18 In Vlasaldcers, near Amersfoort, 50 conscripts
threatened desertion if leave was not reinstated. The authorities again acted without delay
and arrested most of the men. 19 On 30 October, a riot broke out in the Geeliruidenberg
barracks,20 while further complaints about food were heard in The Hague, as well as in
Waalwijk and Deventer. 21 Alongside a spontaneous outburst of violence in Hellevoetsluis
on 31 October when officers refused to let an anarchist socialist speak to troops,22 minor
complaints and unrest occurred before the end of the month in Haarlem, Hardewijk, Laren,
Milligen, Oldebroek, Utrecht, Waalsdorp and Willemstad. 23 On each occasion, decisive
intervention by the military leadership prevented any of the protests getting out of hand.
To civilians looking at these events through a haze of inaccurate and unclear
repOliing, it seemed that Harskamp had ignited a series of mutinies, that the Netherlands'
Army as a whole was no longer trustworthy, and that perhaps it had been infiltrated with
revolutionary ideas. In reality, except for the incident in Hellevoetsluis, itself more a
backlash to the actions of officers than an all-out revolt, none of the incidents described
16 SMG/DC, "VersIag van de Commissie tot onderzoek naar de ontevredenheid in het Leger. AIg. Landsdrukkerij,
1919" p. 12, 91A/-; Commander ofthe Fortified Position of the Mouths of the Maas River and the ScheIde, 6
November 1918; Commander 7-3 Regiment Field Artillery, "Rapport" [Report] 31 October, 7 November 1918, all in
ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 784.
17 SMG/DC, "Verslag van de Commissie tot onderzoek naar de ontevredenheid in het Leger. Alg. Landsdrukkerij,
1919" pp. 9 - 10, 91A1-; Territorial Commander in Overijssel to Commander-in-Chief, 30 October 1918, in ARA,
"Archieven van de GeneraIe Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 784.
18 SMG/DC, "Verslag van de Commissie tot onderzoek naar de ontevredenheid in het Leger. AIg. Landsdrukkerij,
1919" p. 12, 91A1-.
19 Ibid. p. 10; Garrison Commander Amersfoort to Commander of the New Holland Waterline, the Commander-in­
Chief, and Minister of War, 30 October 1918; Garrison Commander Amersfoort to Commander-in-Chief, 31 October
1918, both in ARA, "Archieven van de GeneraIe Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 784; Commander II-5 RI to
Commander 5 RI, 31 October 1918, in ARA, "Archiefvan het Hoofdkwartier VeIdleger" entry no. 2.13.16, inventory
no. 351.
20 SMG/DC, "Verslag van de Commissie tot onderzoek naar de ontevredenheid in het Leger. Alg. Landsdrukkerij,
1919" p. 11, 91A1-; Commander II-5 RI to Commander-in-Chief, 1 November 1918, in ARA, "Archieven van de
Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 784.
21 SMG/DC, "Verslag van de Commissie tot onderzoek naar de ontevredenheid in het Leger. Alg. Landsdrukkerij,
1919" pp. 11 - 12, 91A1-; Commander Regiment Field Artillery, "Rapport" 31 October 1918, in ARA, "Archieven
van de Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13 .70, inventory no. 784; Commander VII IB to Commander Division IV, 1
November 1918, in ARA, "Archiefvan het Hoofdkwartier Veldleger" entry no. 2.13.16, inventory no. 351.
22 SMG/DC, "Verslag van de Commissie tot onderzoek naar de ontevredenheid in het Leger. Alg. Landsdrukkerij,
1919" p. 11, 91A1-.
23 Ibid. p. 12.