...openly, even in the countrys debating chamber, it was stated that we would be incapable of resisting an invasion. In our time are we now hearing similar unscientific and unpatriotic noises?
[First Lieutenant I.L. Uijterschout in 1935]
The period between the wars (1919-1939)
The Dutch army was reduced in size shortly after the First World War. Indeed, there was no longer any immediate threat to the country. Moreover, the climate following the First World War was strongly pacifist. Diplomacy was regarded as more important than the army when it came to preserving peace. This changed at the end of the 1930s under the influence of events in Germany.
But the army did undergo considerable modernisation between the wars. On a small scale, armoured cars were introduced into the Netherlands and the air force was given its own mature organisation. Motorisation was gradual: cars ad motorbikes made their entry. The Dutch Water Line, at the time still a determinant in strategic thinking, was adjusted to suit the requirements of the period.
General mobilisation was proclaimed after the German invasion of Poland in 1939. A painting by Sluyters gives a fine impression of the Dutch nations confidence in the soldier on the dike.
