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Battle of The Netherlands: Dutch Neutrality Neutral Stance
Battle of The Netherlands: Dutch Neutrality Neutral Stance
TheAirDivision
The Air Force division of the Dutch force was a department of the larger army and it
only had 155 aircrafts. Another forty aircrafts served the naval force. It is argued that
the full
potential
of the Dutch air military power was under-exploited due to budget
limitations.
Some historical accounts claim that the Dutch defense force was not only
underequipped but also undertrained. Individual soldiers lacked many of the
necessary war skills. By 1940 only 1,206 professional military officers were present in
the army.
It is said that Hitler and his tacticians had a low
opinion
of the Netherlands military
and expected to take over the core areas of the country in no more than 5 days.
TheBattle
The battle
started
on the early hours of May
10, 1940 when the Germans commenced
operation Fall Gelb taking the Lower Countries
by surprise. German military choppers made
their way into the Dutch airspace engaging in
numerous bombardments before landing in
various airfields. A scheduled attack of The
Hague at first seemed to end in
failure
when
the forces failed to capture strategic areas of
the city. Meanwhile, by the evening of the
same day, the French forces had started
arriving
on the Dutch border in readiness for
battle.
Days after the invasion of the Netherlands by the Germans, the Dutch forces
surrendered
, leaving the Germans with control of all the key areas of the country.
Defeated
The Battle
ended
soon after devastating
bombings
by the German Luftwaffe
in
Rotterdam
,
paralyzing all military and economic reins held by the Dutch
Government. Subsequent threats to bomb more cities in the Netherlands might have
led to the surrender of the Dutch forces. Following this invasion, the Dutch
government established a government-in-exile in Britain.