HO COUNTRY FOR LIGHTNING WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 264, 8 November 1939, Page 8

HO COUNTRY FOR LIGHTNING WAR.

HOLLAND READY.

Fortification During Recent

Months.

600.000 MEN UNDER ARMS.

Germany has 18 divisions on the southern frontier of Holland. Hordes of 'planes stand ready—for what. Holland does not know.

Behind the fortified frontiers 8,500,000' Dutchmen wait well prepared to see whether Hitler will try to occupy their country, establish 'plane bases, and use their harbours and naval bases against Britain.

Although Hitler guaranteed neutrality of Holland through his ambassador in Holland on August 20, Hitler's guarantees have lost much of their value, says Dr. Emmery Bares in tho Sydney "Daily Telegraph/'

Two days after Hitler assured Queen Wllhclinina of Holland of his peaceful intentions, the Dutch Government ordered general ittobillsfttioli. Mere than (100,00(1 men are under arms to defend Holland, if .necessary. - -

This defence is considerable even taking'into consideration the essential difference between the forces of the attacker and the defender. In two years Holland has prepared at extraordinary speed and worked day and night fortifying her frontiers.

• This speed was very important, for in the 15 years following the Great War the Dutch nation was not merely pacifist, .but virtually anti-militarist.

Tile frontiers of the country were free and open, the equipment of the army not virjr good, ana only a small peryouth had to. do military service. Policy FohakM. The rapid armament of Hitler's Germany, incident*.on the German frontier, and the continual claims of the semiofficial German ge'opolitieians that Holland belonged organically to German economic territory, gradually made It clear to Holland tliat she must forsake her peaceful policy. Yet it was the middle of 1937 beforo the Government took u decisive step. The period of military service was doubled. That not only made military training more effective, but increased the number of the permanent army, which, until 1937 r was only 19,500 to 32,000. But this was not enough, and reservists have been called up «*everal times lately. In tiie crisis preceding the Munich Conference, and after Hitler had marched to Prague, the Dutch Government borrowed about £300,000,000 to organise her frontier defence. A year and a half ago no motorised army could have been stopped even temporarily on the southern frontier of Holland. To-day any motorised army would find it ■ hard to cross the new fortified lines. All along the Dutch frontier thousand* of concrete shelters for machine guns and cannon have been built. They are skilfully. dieguised. Boada and bridges are full of great I block* of concrete, leaving apace only for on* motor car. These blocks are built deep into the ground, and are 6ft or 7ft high. At the first rumours of war the spaces left open until then were closed, and now there are only two or three routes by which people can go by car from Germany to Holland. Wide Ring of Water. In addition/' the roads and bridges are mined, and can be blown up nt a moment's notice. Theso fortifications, of course, are not as strong as the or the Siegfried Lines, but, aided by the difficult Dutch terrain, they would be a great obstacle te ygj attacker. Swamps and

innumerable channels make it impossible for motor vehicles to leave the road and advance in the open fields. Germany would find it hard to repeat the lightning war that succeeded in Poland.

Besides the fortified lines, Holland has a rather strong artificial net of fortifications in the middle of the country. This, too, has been built ill the last few months.

Their purpose is to protect the most important and densely populated towns —Amsterdam, Haarlen, Leyden, The Hague, Rotterdam and Dordrecht —from an attack. For centuries Holland has had her most important strategic line here, for whoever aims to occupy the Netherlands must take these towns. They are protected by a water line consisting of hundreds of canals. Even in modern warfare, they have lost of their significance. Much of Holland is below sea level, be kept dry only by constant pumping. If Holland were attacked, the territory between the Zuider Zee and the mouth of the Rhine could be surrounded by a ring of water half a mile wide. Army Well Xqnipped. The draining of the Zuider Zee has, in a way, spoiled Holland's possibilities of natural defence, for a hostile army could penetrate the country through the dam between Friesland and North Holland.

The drained Zuider Zee increased the fertile land-of the country by 10 per cent. Now 300,000 farmers make their living in this area. The drainage cost £150,000,000.

If Germany attacked through Friesland, Groningcn or Drente, the dam— which is mined—-would have'to be blown up. With this the work of decades would be ruined.

Besides using these natural weapons, the Dutch are well prepared with technical defences. Their anti-air-raid service is first rate.

The Dutch Air Forces consist of between (150 and 700 first-line 'planes, and tho Fokker 'plane factory is working day and night for a further increase.

The fleet is comparatively small — ■three ironclads, three cruisers of 6000 tonr, each, 10 destroyers, 30 submarines, and 54 smaller unite—but the coast defences are excellent.

The Dutch Army has been organised for defence and not for aggression. And for this purpose the Army is very well equipped.