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

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the German Krupps factories, the Great War broke out before they could an-ive. Krupps
refused to fill any foreign orders after August 1914. 6
One major change in strategy after 1900 was the move away from static defence.
Here, Snijders was influenced by a European trend that stressed offence as the best means
of defence. 7 Under his leadership, the focus of the anny shifted from concentrating all
troops in a defensive posture within Fortress Holland to creating mobile units of infantry,
cavalry and artillery, responsible for halting and perhaps repelling an invasion before it
reached the fortified heart of the country. The spread and capacity of existing railway lines
made the operation of these mobile forces particularly feasible. 8
In the directives of 1911 and 1913, the scenarios discussed by the General Staff
pitched Germany in a war against Britain or France. In either case, an invasion was possible
from the east (by Germany) or west (by Britain).9 It was also conceivable that annies
retreating out of or marching through Belgium could cross the Netherlands' southern
border. Conventional war scenarios - where one country declares war on another and each
mobilises accordingly - were of little use. Troops had to be prepared to meet every threat
and every breach of territory. In effect, they had to mobilise in three, if not four, directions
and in such a way that they protected all waterways, sea-inlets and land borders. To meet
these various defensive tasks, the Army was divided into units with distinct responsibilities.
The Field Anny's afivachtingsopstelling ("waiting position") saw each of the four divisions
and the Cavalry Brigade mobilise in different directions. Garrisons manned Fortress
Holland and prepared the inundations of the New Holland Waterline, while the rest of the
landweer (reserve force) deployed along the border and coastline. Specialist engineering
troops readied the destruction of major bridges (especially those across the Maas).
Successive Chiefs of Staff and Ministers of War made improvements to the
organisation of the anned forces after 1898 by replacing obsolescent weaponry for modem
equipment, unifying command structures, and putting in place steps to facilitate the
transition from peace to war. 10 They ensured that the size of the anned forces increased
considerably in this period through personal conscription (where individuals were barred
6 Klinkert, Het Vader/and Verdedigd p. 399.
7 Klinkert, "De Nederlandse mobilisatie van 1914" p. 28.
8 Klinkert, Het Vaderland Verdedigd p. 154. For an outline ofthe railway system, see: Map 2, Chapter 1, p. 42.
9 Jbid. p. 400.
10 Jbid. p. 399; Uijterschout, Beknopt Overzicht p. 441.