1936
On the 1st of January 1936 the Dutch government met in secret session to discuss national security. At the heart of the debate was the firm belief of the Prime minister, Hendricus Colijn, that the German state was embarked on a policy of conquest, and that at some point in the future German eyes would turn the way of Holland. The foreign minister, Andres Dirk did not share the view of his Prime minister, he was renowned as a great compromiser and believed that Hitler would respect the neutrality of Holland. He therefore argued that any moves that appeared to be preparing for war would only serve to antagonise the Germans and threaten the Dutch position of neutrality.
The day opened with a review of the current situation, which did not make good reading. Holland maintained 8 divisions of infantry at home, and 3 divisions were stationed in the Dutch East Indies. The airforce was totally non existent, and the navy consisted of three heavy cruisers, De Ruyter, Java, and Sumatra, plus two destroyer squadrons. The real key to the whole situation however came from the unique make up of the Dutch nation and it's overseas territory. Holland itself was a small developed country with minimal natural resources, however the Dutch East Indies was a complete opposite. The Dutch East Indies sprawled over many islands, in South East Asia, most of it was covered in dense jungle and was mostly under developed. What the Dutch East Indies did have was resources and a lot of them, in particular large quantities of oil and rubber. The East Indies would be a nightmare in the event of war as convoys carrying resources from and supplies to, stretched of many miles of open sea, and Holland did not have the resources to provide escorts for all these convoys.
It was in the East Indies that PM Colijn saw the possible salvation of his nation, and this was the point which he argued to his cabinet. If war was coming, and he was sure it was, the only hope for the long term survival of the Dutch nation lay in preparing to move the government to an exile in the East Indies. However while Colijn didn't want war, he was going to be very sure that he would make his country as ready as possible for it, and damn the Germans if it antagonised them.
The foreign minister continued to argue for appeasement and for doing nothing to appear aggressive in the eyes of the Germans, but Colijn stuck to his points and got his way. A number of resolutions were passed and then put into practice in the following year. Firstly the East Indies was to be developed to a state where by it could support a government in exile and that meant a massive program of industry building, nearly every province in the East Indies was to build more factories. Three militia divisions were to be raised to provide a force on every one of the major islands, while three divisions would remain in Ratavia as a central reserve. Meanwhile back in Holland a huge fortification project was begun. The idea was to build a defensive line through Groningen and Arnhem, bunkers, flooded areas, tank traps and all other manner of defensive structures were ordered. Einhoven lying as it did behind a river line was to receive smaller fortifications. Research was directed towards the long term goal of learning everything about jungle warfare and to good defensive measures.
The resolutions had been passed and the meeting broke up, however the disagreements between PM and Foreign minister would continue to simmer throughout the year. On the 10th of January Belgium made a statement publicly praising the French and wishing for closer ties, Holland continued to stay aloof and maintain strict neutrality. Then in March two events happened which strengthened the argument of Colijn, on the 8th German forces marched into the demilitarised zone of the Rhineland, and on the 30th, Ethiopia surrendered to the fascist government of Italy. Already the fascist military machine seemed to be doing what they wanted. France and Britain stayed mostly silent on these issues, although publicly condemning the actions, and so, Holland stuck to their strict neutrality and said nothing.
On July the 18th Spain erupted in civil war, as elements of the army attempted to seize power. They called themselves Nationalists and the Fascist governments of both Germany and Italy sent much in the way of material aid. The Republican Spain of the loyal government also received aid from the Soviet Union. This fight was perceived as a fascist against communist fight, and so the governments of France and Britain stayed out, and probably delighted at the fact that their two ideological opponents fought each other.
By October it was clear that the Republican government was loosing the war in Spain. The Nationalists, backed with massive support from Germany and Italy, had driven the Republicans back to their last stronghold in Burgos and it only looked a matter of time before that fell. The Germans were eager to support the Nationalists and wanted them recognised as the true government of Spain. To this end a meeting was held between Andries Dirk and a German representative, at this meeting the Germans hinted that they would be more favourable towards Dutch neutrality if Holland were to recognise the Nationalists as the true government of Spain. Dirk agreed, and promised to push it through parliament immediately.
When he found out, Colijn was livid, he immediately rescinded the motion before parliament, and accused Dirk of breaking parliamentary procedures. A massive scandal ensued, and the papers only fanned the flames when they mysteriously obtained some secret documents. The public were very dismayed by the fighting in their government and voices of discontentment were soon heard. The scandal turned into a power struggle between Colijn and Dirk, which ended in a leadership battle which Colijn won. On November the 25th, Colijn asked the country to support his ideas for neutral defensive build up, and the country agreed as Colijn was re-elected. Dirk was magnanimous in defeat and agreed to tow the party line as long as it remained one of neutrality, and to preserve a united front, Colijn kept him on as foreign secretary.
(*Notes* Parliamentary scandal +15% dissidents, followed by keep current gov in election times, -6% dissident)
On the 1st of January 1936 the Dutch government met in secret session to discuss national security. At the heart of the debate was the firm belief of the Prime minister, Hendricus Colijn, that the German state was embarked on a policy of conquest, and that at some point in the future German eyes would turn the way of Holland. The foreign minister, Andres Dirk did not share the view of his Prime minister, he was renowned as a great compromiser and believed that Hitler would respect the neutrality of Holland. He therefore argued that any moves that appeared to be preparing for war would only serve to antagonise the Germans and threaten the Dutch position of neutrality.
The day opened with a review of the current situation, which did not make good reading. Holland maintained 8 divisions of infantry at home, and 3 divisions were stationed in the Dutch East Indies. The airforce was totally non existent, and the navy consisted of three heavy cruisers, De Ruyter, Java, and Sumatra, plus two destroyer squadrons. The real key to the whole situation however came from the unique make up of the Dutch nation and it's overseas territory. Holland itself was a small developed country with minimal natural resources, however the Dutch East Indies was a complete opposite. The Dutch East Indies sprawled over many islands, in South East Asia, most of it was covered in dense jungle and was mostly under developed. What the Dutch East Indies did have was resources and a lot of them, in particular large quantities of oil and rubber. The East Indies would be a nightmare in the event of war as convoys carrying resources from and supplies to, stretched of many miles of open sea, and Holland did not have the resources to provide escorts for all these convoys.
It was in the East Indies that PM Colijn saw the possible salvation of his nation, and this was the point which he argued to his cabinet. If war was coming, and he was sure it was, the only hope for the long term survival of the Dutch nation lay in preparing to move the government to an exile in the East Indies. However while Colijn didn't want war, he was going to be very sure that he would make his country as ready as possible for it, and damn the Germans if it antagonised them.
The foreign minister continued to argue for appeasement and for doing nothing to appear aggressive in the eyes of the Germans, but Colijn stuck to his points and got his way. A number of resolutions were passed and then put into practice in the following year. Firstly the East Indies was to be developed to a state where by it could support a government in exile and that meant a massive program of industry building, nearly every province in the East Indies was to build more factories. Three militia divisions were to be raised to provide a force on every one of the major islands, while three divisions would remain in Ratavia as a central reserve. Meanwhile back in Holland a huge fortification project was begun. The idea was to build a defensive line through Groningen and Arnhem, bunkers, flooded areas, tank traps and all other manner of defensive structures were ordered. Einhoven lying as it did behind a river line was to receive smaller fortifications. Research was directed towards the long term goal of learning everything about jungle warfare and to good defensive measures.
The resolutions had been passed and the meeting broke up, however the disagreements between PM and Foreign minister would continue to simmer throughout the year. On the 10th of January Belgium made a statement publicly praising the French and wishing for closer ties, Holland continued to stay aloof and maintain strict neutrality. Then in March two events happened which strengthened the argument of Colijn, on the 8th German forces marched into the demilitarised zone of the Rhineland, and on the 30th, Ethiopia surrendered to the fascist government of Italy. Already the fascist military machine seemed to be doing what they wanted. France and Britain stayed mostly silent on these issues, although publicly condemning the actions, and so, Holland stuck to their strict neutrality and said nothing.
On July the 18th Spain erupted in civil war, as elements of the army attempted to seize power. They called themselves Nationalists and the Fascist governments of both Germany and Italy sent much in the way of material aid. The Republican Spain of the loyal government also received aid from the Soviet Union. This fight was perceived as a fascist against communist fight, and so the governments of France and Britain stayed out, and probably delighted at the fact that their two ideological opponents fought each other.
By October it was clear that the Republican government was loosing the war in Spain. The Nationalists, backed with massive support from Germany and Italy, had driven the Republicans back to their last stronghold in Burgos and it only looked a matter of time before that fell. The Germans were eager to support the Nationalists and wanted them recognised as the true government of Spain. To this end a meeting was held between Andries Dirk and a German representative, at this meeting the Germans hinted that they would be more favourable towards Dutch neutrality if Holland were to recognise the Nationalists as the true government of Spain. Dirk agreed, and promised to push it through parliament immediately.
When he found out, Colijn was livid, he immediately rescinded the motion before parliament, and accused Dirk of breaking parliamentary procedures. A massive scandal ensued, and the papers only fanned the flames when they mysteriously obtained some secret documents. The public were very dismayed by the fighting in their government and voices of discontentment were soon heard. The scandal turned into a power struggle between Colijn and Dirk, which ended in a leadership battle which Colijn won. On November the 25th, Colijn asked the country to support his ideas for neutral defensive build up, and the country agreed as Colijn was re-elected. Dirk was magnanimous in defeat and agreed to tow the party line as long as it remained one of neutrality, and to preserve a united front, Colijn kept him on as foreign secretary.
(*Notes* Parliamentary scandal +15% dissidents, followed by keep current gov in election times, -6% dissident)
