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

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all men aged between 20 and 40 years. 5 I In many respects, the reserves acted as the
defensive safety net and intentionally rendered the recent shortening of service as good as
ineffective. Yet there were restrictions. Most importantly, landstorl11ers could only be called
up if the country was at war, threatened by war, or involved in some other extraordinary
circumstance or crisis. They were to be used solely for emergencies, a reason why
conscription in the landstorl11 was so difficult to evade. 52 An important distinction existed
regarding conscription as well. Men who had served in the military at some stage (as either
conscripts or volunteers) and had not yet reached 40 years of age were liable for "armed"
service. "Unarmed" service applied to all others who had avoided conscription. They were
placed on the books as soon as they were freed from the conscription lottery.53 Unlike their
anned equivalents, it was not intended that unarmed landstorl11 troops would ever fight but
would be used in support of front-line troops in supply, administration, and construction
roles.
N either the amled or unanned landstorl11 were mobilised in August 1914, although
officers did receive summons on 13 August. 54 The government also placed other landstorm
ranles on alert at this time. 55 This caused grave cone em among civilians who did not fully
understand the implications of the recent legislation and feared that all men (regardless of
military experience) would be conscripted. In reality, the declarations only applied to
soldiers who had left the military since the inception of the landstorm legislation a little
over twelve months earlier.
However, the opportunity to expand the landstorm was too appealing for Nicolaas
Bosboom (Minister of War, 1913 - 1917). When it became clear before Christmas 1914 that
the war would last many more months and that, consequently, the army would remain
51 F. E. L. A. Abel (ed.), Landstormwet. Landstorl7l-Beslllit. Landstor171-Instrllctie. Met algemeen overziclzt,
aanteekeningen en alphabetisch register. [Landstorm-Iaw. Landstorll1-decision. Landstorm-instructions. With
general overview, notes and alphabetical register] The Hague: De Gebroeders van Cleef, 1913, pp. 2 - 3.
52 "Landstorm-Keurings-Beschikking" [Landstorm inspection decree] 27 July 1915, inDe Landstorm Uitbreiding.
Wettelijke Bepalingen en Maatregelen tel' Uitvoering. [The landstorm expansion. Legal regulations and measures for
execution] Alphen: N. Samson, 1916, Article 10, p. 63.
53 Staa tsb lad. no. 149,28 April 1913.
54 Minister of War, Nicolaas Bosboom, to Mayor ofDordrecht, 13 August 1914, in SAD, "Stadsarchief 1851 - 1980"
[City archive 1851 - 1980] archive no. 6, inventory no. 5513.
55 Utrecht en de Oorlogstoestand. Overzicht van de Gevolgen del' Mobilisatie ell de Voornaamste Maatregelen, Door
ofVallwege het Gemeente-Bestllllr Genomen. [Utrecht and the war situation. Overview of the consequences of the
mobilisation and the most important measures taken by or because of the municipal-government] Utrecht: publisher
unknown, 1914, pp. 9 - 10.