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136-539: The German domination of the Netherlands began with the German invasion . On the day of the capitulation (15 May 1940), the entire ministerial staff fled to London to form a Dutch government in exile . Queen Wilhelmina had already preceded them the previous day. This had de facto left government authority in the hands of general Henri Winkelman as the senior-most military commander in the Netherlands. On 20 May 1940

272-556: A Greater Germanic one as desired by Adolf Hitler . For these reasons Seyss-Inquart allowed the NSB only limited authority, and was generally unwilling to appoint its members to strategically significant positions. In the early stages of the German occupation, the Nazis planned to support the NSB's rival National Socialist Dutch Workers Party (NSNAP), which openly called for the annexation of

408-442: A military administration was initially implemented, led by Militärsbefehlshaber Alexander Freiherr von Falkenhausen . This was quickly disbanded however to be replaced by a civil administration under the authority of the newly appointed Arthur Seyss-Inquart , who was named Reichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete . The new form of government was therefore not a German military government ( Militärverwaltung ) but

544-495: A Dutch capitulation, because a defeat might well bring less hostile governments to power in Britain and France. A swift defeat would also free troops for other front sectors. Though it was thus on 17 January 1940 decided to conquer the whole of the Netherlands, few units could be made available for this task. The main effort of Fall Gelb would be made in the centre, between Namur and Sedan, France . The attack on central Belgium

680-475: A German advance into Belgium through the southern part of their territory, both possibilities discussed as part of the hypothèse Hollande . The Dutch government never officially formulated a policy on how to act in case of either contingency; the majority of ministers preferred to resist an attack, while a minority and Queen Wilhelmina refused to become a German ally whatever the circumstances. The Dutch tried on several occasions to act as an intermediary to reach

816-655: A German armoured division would try to attack Fortress Holland from North Brabant and that there was a plan to capture the Queen, Dutch defensive strategy was not adapted and it was not understood these were elements of a larger scheme. On 4 May Sas again warned that an attack was imminent; this time it coincided with a warning from Pope Pius XII . When on the evening of 9 May Oster again phoned his friend saying just "Tomorrow, at dawn", Dutch troops were put on alert. Reichskommissar Reichskommissar ( German: [ˈʁaɪçskɔmɪsaːɐ̯] , rendered as "Commissioner of

952-545: A civil government ( Zivilverwaltung ). Hitler chose this option on mainly ideological grounds: the Dutch were considered a "racially related kindred-people" and therefore had to be won over for National Socialism . This move was technically justified on legal grounds according to the provisions of the Hague Conventions on the laws of war. The wholly unconstitutional evacuation of the monarch and her government before

1088-418: A concrete plan to change the territorial composition of Reichskommissariat Niederlande . Its then-eleven provinces were to be replaced by five new gewesten (historical Dutch term for a sub-national state polity ) and Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart appointed as Reichsstatthalter und Gauleiter for the entire country as the first step in this process. This proposal originated from a document created by

1224-477: A few other military advisers. However, Wilhelm's request that the swastika and other Nazi regalia be not displayed at his funeral was ignored, and they are featured in the photographs of the event taken by a Dutch photographer. Wilhelm was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds of Huis Doorn , which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists. The Nationaal Socialistische Beweging , or in English

1360-403: A fleet of 155 aircraft: 28 Fokker G.1 twin-engine destroyers; 31 Fokker D.XXI and seven Fokker D.XVII fighters; ten twin-engined Fokker T.V , fifteen Fokker C.X and 35 Fokker C.V light bombers, twelve Douglas DB-8 dive bombers (used as fighters) and seventeen Koolhoven FK-51 reconnaissance aircraft—thus 74 of the 155 aircraft were biplanes. Of these aircraft 125 were operational. Of

1496-625: A funeral would demonstrate to the Germans the direct descent of the Third Reich from the old German Empire. However, Wilhelm's wishes never to return to Germany until the restoration of the monarchy were respected, and the German occupation authorities granted him a small military funeral, with a few hundred people present. The mourners included August von Mackensen , fully dressed in his old imperial Life Hussars uniform, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris , and Reichskommissar Arthur Seyss-Inquart , along with

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1632-581: A future " re-claim " of French Flanders in Northern France as a historic part of Germanic Flanders . The Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France had two successive governors: This situation continued until July 1944, when a Reichskommissar für Belgien-Nordfrankreich was appointed: In December 1944, when the Allies had already liberated virtually all of Belgium, its territory

1768-549: A large body of professional military personnel. In 1940, there were only 1206 professional officers present. It had been hoped that when war threatened, these deficiencies could be quickly remedied, but following the mobilisation of all Dutch forces on 28 August 1939 (bringing Army strength to about 280,000 men) readiness only slowly improved: most available time for improving training was spent constructing defences. During this period, munition shortages limited live fire training, while unit cohesion remained low. By its own standards

1904-473: A military governor: The Reichskommissariat Ukraine was established on 20 August 1941, under a Reichskommissar für die Ukraine . The incumbents were: Central Russia was never brought under sufficient German control to permit its transfer to civilian administration, but a designated Reichskommissar für Moskowien was appointed on 17 July 1941: The Caucasus was never brought under sufficient German control to permit its transfer to civilian administration, but

2040-590: A negotiated peace settlement between the Entente and Germany. After the German invasion of Norway and Denmark , followed by a warning by the new Japanese naval attaché Captain Tadashi Maeda that a German attack on the Netherlands was certain, it became clear to the Dutch military that staying out of the conflict might prove impossible. They started to fully prepare for war, both mentally and physically. Dutch border troops were put on greater alert. Reports of

2176-474: A nominal strength of 17,807 men, were fifty percent larger than their Dutch counterparts and possessed twice their effective firepower, but even so the necessary numerical superiority for a successful offensive was simply lacking. To remedy this, assorted odds and ends were used to reinforce 18th Army. The first of these was the only German cavalry division, the aptly named 1st Kavalleriedivision . These mounted troops, accompanied by some infantry, were to occupy

2312-525: A policy of strict budgetary limits with which the conservative Dutch governments tried in vain to fight the Great Depression , which hit Dutch society particularly hard. Hendrikus Colijn , Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1933 and 1939, was personally convinced that Germany would not violate Dutch neutrality; senior officers made no effort to mobilise public opinion in favour of improving military defence. International tensions grew in

2448-513: A prominent and founding member of the Party, to be Hitler's appointee during the occupational regime. If the German invasion had never occurred, it is undisputed that the NSB would never have managed to take over political power of the Netherlands. The Germans did not allow for an independent Dutch way to National Socialism and only wanted to incorporate Dutch Nazis into the political structure as supporters and executors of German policy, not leaders of

2584-534: A series of unresolved conflicts between party and state organizations, as well as the individuals listed above. Despite his nominal government subordination to Seyss-Inquart, Rauter as an SS officer was actually only responsible to Heinrich Himmler as Reichsführer-SS . His own deputies in turn were the Befehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD (commander of the criminal police and the SD ) Wilhelm Harster ,

2720-553: A small degree of importance during that mid-1930s, and eventually contributing to the German efforts to nazify the occupied Netherlands. The NSB began to admire the "achievements" of the German Reich by 1936 and broadcast their own warnings that "International Jewry" had taken a hold of the Netherlands and would conquer Europe. As the Germans gained power in the Netherlands, the NSB believed it could influence occupation policy and German behavior. The group anticipated Anton Mussert,

2856-432: A smaller and more aged male population, fielded 22 full divisions and the equivalent of 30 divisions when smaller units were included. After September 1939, desperate efforts were made to improve the situation, but with very little result. Germany, for obvious reasons, delayed its deliveries; France was hesitant to equip an army that would not unequivocally take its side. The one abundant source of readily available weaponry,

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2992-604: A state of denial. The Dutch hoped that the restrained policy of the Entente and Central Powers during the First World War might be repeated and tried to avoid the attention of the Great Powers and a war in which they feared a loss of human life comparable to that of the previous conflict. On 10 April, Britain and France repeated their request that the Dutch enter the war on their side, but were again refused. In

3128-412: A swift expansion of Dutch forces. There was just enough artillery to equip the larger units: eight infantry divisions (combined in four Army Corps), one Light (i.e. motorised) Division and two independent brigades (Brigade A and Brigade B), each with the strength of half a division or five battalions. All other infantry combat unit troops were raised as light infantry battalions that were dispersed all over

3264-511: A third of the planned strength; another three hundred antiquated 6 Veld (57 mm) and 8 cm staal (84 mm) field guns performed the same role for the covering forces. Only eight of the 120 modern 105 mm pieces ordered from Germany had been delivered at the time of the invasion . Most artillery was horse-drawn. The Dutch Infantry used about 2,200 7.92 mm Schwarzlose M.08 machine guns, partly licence produced, and eight hundred Vickers machine guns . Many of these were fitted in

3400-551: Is in transitional office, then the same is made the first of two Reichsstatthalter (he until 10 August 1940), equivalent to a Gauleiter in Germany proper. After the Norwegian king and his government fled during the German invasion of the country and the failure of a coup d'état by the fascist politician Vidkun Quisling , Hitler appointed a Reichskommissar für die besetzten Norwegischen Gebiete (Reich Commissioner for

3536-517: The Westwall when the Entente launched its planned 1941 offensive. But he did not dare to stretch his supply lines that far unless the Belgians and Dutch would take the allied side before the German attack. When both nations refused, Gamelin made it clear that he would occupy a connecting position near Breda . The Dutch did not fortify this area. In secret, Winkelman decided on 30 March to abandon

3672-687: The Aussenstelle (deputy) in Amsterdam (headed by Willy Lages ), and the Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Office for Jewish "Emigration") led by Ferdinand aus der Fünten . No new ministers were appointed; the secretaries-general maintained control over their respective departments, but were now operating under the authority of Seyss-Inquart. The existing lower-level governments remained completely intact as well, although these were gradually being replaced by NSB members as

3808-475: The Betuwe , again with pillboxes and lightly occupied by a screen of fourteen "border battalions". Late in 1939 General Van Voorst tot Voorst, reviving plans he had already worked out in 1937, proposed to make use of the excellent defensive opportunities these rivers offered. He proposed a shift to a more mobile strategy by fighting a delaying battle at the plausible crossing sites near Arnhem and Gennep to force

3944-505: The Frisian Islands . Hermann Göring insisted on a full conquest, for he needed the Dutch airfields against Britain; also, he was afraid that the Entente might reinforce Fortress Holland after a partial defeat and use the airfields to bomb German cities and troops. Another rationale for complete conquest was that, as the fall of France itself could hardly be taken for granted, it was for political reasons seen as desirable to obtain

4080-412: The German army and Waffen-SS . All institutions and organizations deemed unacceptable by Nazi Germany were abolished. These measures were opposed especially by Dutch Roman Catholics and socialists . Despite being considered Herrenvolk, Germany's requirements for war production resulted in the introduction of forced labour ( Arbeitseinsatz ) for Dutch men between the ages of 18 and 45, as well as

4216-821: The Grebbelinie ( Grebbe line ), located at the foothills of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug , an Ice Age moraine between Lake IJssel and the Lower Rhine. It was dug on instigation of the commander of the Field Army Lieutenant-General Jan Joseph Godfried baron van Voorst tot Voorst . This line was extended by a southern part: the Peel-Raamstelling (Peel-Raam Position), located between the Maas and

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4352-735: The Hanns Albin Rauter , the Higher SS and Police Leader in the Netherlands , who subsequently submitted it to Nazi Party Secretary Martin Bormann in November 1942. In it he put forward his suggestions on the future political organization of the Netherlands when it would be a component of the Third Reich. It called for its effective division into five new Reichsgaue , preferably to be led by Dutch Waffen-SS veterans from

4488-715: The Reichskommissariat of "Ostland" in the Baltic lands and "Ukraine" in Ukraine, headed by Hinrich Lohse and Erich Koch respectively. These administrators put in practice the intended measures during the whole of their administrative period, until 1943–44, when the Germans after the Battle of Kursk were gradually driven out by force. On 17 July 1941, the Reichskommissariat Ostland ("Eastland")

4624-536: The Soviet Union , was inaccessible because the Dutch, contrary to most other nations, did not recognise the communist regime. An attempt in 1940 to procure Soviet armour captured by Finland failed. On 10 May, the most conspicuous deficiency of the Dutch Army lay in its shortage of armour . Whereas the other major participants all had a considerable armoured force, the Netherlands had not been able to obtain

4760-691: The Thames estuary, so their capture would pose a special menace to the safety of England. Rapid forces, whether for an offensive or defensive purpose, were needed to deny vital locations to the enemy. Long before the Germans did, the French had contemplated using airborne troops to achieve speedy attacks. As early as 1936 the French had commissioned the design of light airborne tanks, but these plans had been abandoned in 1940, as they possessed no cargo planes large enough to carry them. A naval division and an infantry division were earmarked to depart for Zealand to block

4896-678: The Western Scheldt against a German crossing. These would send forward forces over the Scheldt estuary into the Isles, supplied by overseas shipping. French Commander in Chief General Maurice Gamelin feared the Dutch would be tempted into a quick capitulation or even an acceptance of German protection. He therefore reassigned the former French strategic reserve, the 7th Army, to operate in front of Antwerp to cover

5032-510: The eastern front . These Gaue were entirely coterminous with the five police and judicial districts that the Germans had established earlier, based on the regional "standards" of the Dutch SS . Fearing the resulting further Nazification of the Netherlands the key Dutch government officials strongly advised Seyss-Inquart not to carry out these steps on account of the administrative chaos that it would inevitably cause, causing them to be shelved for

5168-689: The 17th century, the Dutch Republic had devised a defensive system called the Hollandic Water Line , which during the Franco-Dutch War protected all major cities in the west, by flooding part of the countryside. In the early 19th century this line was shifted somewhat to the east, beyond Utrecht , and later modernised with fortresses. This new position was called the New Hollandic Water Line . The line

5304-642: The 21st Infantry Division. This army was later reinforced by the 1st Mechanised Light Division, an armoured division of the French Cavalry and a first-class powerful unit. Together with the two divisions in Zealand, seven French divisions were dedicated to the operation. Although the French troops would have a higher proportion of motorised units than their German adversaries, in view of the respective distances to be covered, they could not hope to reach their assigned sector advancing in battle deployment before

5440-491: The 24 operational armoured cars. These specially directed measures were accompanied by more general ones: the Dutch had posted no less than 32 hospital ships throughout the country and fifteen trains to help make troop movements easier. In addition to the Dutch Army and the German 18th Army , a third force, not all that much smaller than either, would operate on Dutch soil: the French 7th Army . It had its own objectives within

5576-560: The 24th, the Communist Party of the Netherlands (made illegal by the Nazis) called for the people of Amsterdam to go on strike. Afterwards, tram drivers, schools, and some companies joined the strike. After three days, German police put down the strike. As German authorities took hold of the Netherlands, they hoped to find substantial groups among the Dutch who were prepared to accept National Socialism and collaboration. Accommodation

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5712-947: The Belgian border along the Peel Marshes and the Raam River , as ordered by the Dutch Commander in Chief, General Izaak H. Reijnders . In the south the intention was to delay the Germans as much as possible to cover a French advance. Fourth and Second Army Corps were positioned at the Grebbe Line; Third Army Corps were stationed at the Peel-Raam Position with the Light Division behind it to cover its southern flank. Brigade A and B were positioned between

5848-577: The Belgians decided to withdraw, in the event of an invasion, all their troops to their main defence line, the Albert Canal . This created a dangerous gap forty kilometres wide. The French were invited to fill it. The French Commander in Chief General Maurice Gamelin was more than interested in including the Dutch in his continuous front as—like Major-General Bernard Montgomery four years later—he hoped to circle around

5984-526: The Berlin government to restore the German monarchy . All requests were denied. Wilhelm died in the Netherlands on June 4, 1941. Despite Hitler's personal animosity toward Wilhelm, whom among many he blamed for Germany's defeat in World War I , he wanted to bring Wilhelm's body back to Berlin for a state funeral, as Wilhelm was a symbol of Germany and Germans during the previous World War. Hitler felt that such

6120-449: The Dutch Army in May 1940 was unfit for battle. It was incapable of staging an offensive, even at division level, while executing manoeuvre warfare was far beyond its capacities. German generals and tacticians (along with Hitler himself) had an equally low opinion of the Dutch military and expected that the core region of Holland proper could be conquered in about three to five days. In

6256-476: The Dutch High Command and Queen Wilhelmina. German officers actually took lessons on how to address royalty on such occasions. The plan, Fall Festung , had been developed by Hitler personally, embellishing an earlier idea to let an envoy offer "armed protection of the Dutch neutrality", that is, to become a German protectorate . In the event this did not bring forth the desired immediate collapse,

6392-491: The Dutch administrative assistants and the authorities as a whole. The Dutch civil service, also, in general, adopted an accommodating attitude to the Germans. In 1937, special Aanwijzingen (instructions) were formulated for the Dutch government employees and other public servants on cooperating with occupying forces. Public servants were to stay on the job and carry out their duties to the best of their ability, so those who remained at their post had to judge for themselves whether

6528-403: The Dutch fortified positions. Still this added only 1 1 ⁄ 3 division to the equation. To ensure a victory the Germans resorted to unconventional means. The Germans had trained two airborne/airlanding assault divisions. The first of these, the 7. Flieger-Division , consisted of paratroopers; the second, the 22nd Luftlande-Infanteriedivision , of airborne infantry. Initially the plan

6664-410: The Dutch had begun to re-arm, but more slowly than France or Belgium; only in 1936 did the defence budget start to be gradually increased. Successive Dutch governments tended to avoid openly identifying Germany as an acute military threat. Partly this was caused by a wish not to antagonise a vital trade partner, even to the point of repressing criticism of Nazi policies; partly it was made inevitable by

6800-533: The Dutch had ordered some of their new equipment from Germany, which deliberately delayed deliveries. Moreover, a considerable part of the funds were intended for the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia ), much of it related to a plan to build three battlecruisers . The strategic position of the Low Countries, located between France and Germany on the flanks of their fortification lines, made

6936-489: The Dutch military attaché in Paris, Lieutenant-Colonel David van Voorst Evekink to co-ordinate a common defence to a German invasion. This failed because of insurmountable differences of opinion about the question of which strategy to follow. Given its obvious strategic importance, Belgium, though in principle neutral, had already made quite detailed arrangements for co-ordination with Entente troops. This made it difficult for

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7072-524: The Dutch to have these plans changed again to suit their wishes. The Dutch desired the Belgians to connect their defences to the Peel-Raam Position, that Reijnders refused to abandon without a fight. He did not approve of a plan by Van Voorst tot Voorst to occupy a so-called "Orange Position" on the much shorter line 's-Hertogenbosch– Tilburg , to form a continuous front with the Belgian lines near Turnhout as proposed by Belgian General Raoul Van Overstraeten . When Winkelman took over command, he intensified

7208-621: The Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history , was an official governatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany . In the unified German Empire (after 1871), Reichskommissars were appointed to oversee special tasks. For instance, there was a Reichskommissar for emigration ( Reichskommissar für das Auswanderungswesen ) in Hamburg . Presumably

7344-629: The Flemish People ( Dutch : Landsleider van het Vlaamsche Volk ) as well as "Head of the Flemish Liberation Committee" ( Hoofd van het Vlaamsche Bevrijdingscomité ): Gauleiter of Reichsgau Wallonien ( Wallonia , and Leader of the Walloon People ( French : Chef du Peuple Wallon ): Before the beginning of Operation Barbarossa (the eastern front campaign against the Soviet Union ) on 22 June 1941,

7480-555: The French government in Vichy. The nature of the civilian, rather than a military, administration was a major contributing factor to the ease that Nazi-sponsored policies against the Jews were carried out. A general absence of any Wehrmacht control over the running of the country allowed civilians and the agencies operated by Himmler's SS more freedom. In January 1941, civil servants, administrators, and elected representatives were ordered by

7616-570: The German divisions to spend much of their offensive power before they had reached the MDL, and ideally even defeat them. This was deemed too risky by the Dutch government and General Reijnders. The latter wanted the army to first offer heavy resistance at the Grebbe Line and Peel-Raam Position, and then fall back to the Fortress Holland. This also was considered too dangerous by the government, especially in light of German air supremacy, and had

7752-473: The Germans other than " nach Kriegsende ", meaning after the war's conclusion), the German authorities anticipated the direct integration of the Netherlands into the expanding Third Reich. Since abdicating the Imperial throne in 1918, former German Kaiser Wilhelm II had been living in the Netherlands. Since the invasion, Wehrmacht soldiers guarded his house. Wilhelm hoped he could persuade Hitler or

7888-405: The Germans to register the whole Dutch population by name and address, Jews were to be registered separately. These extensive and detailed population registers made it easy for the Germans to target Jews, eventually allowing for the process of registration to be replaced by segregation, spoliation, and eventually deportation. However, the bureaucracy in the Netherlands was not a model of efficiency,

8024-481: The Germans used large numbers of airborne troops , the Dutch command became worried about the possibility they too could become the victim of such a strategic assault. To repulse an attack, five infantry battalions were positioned at the main ports and airbases, such as The Hague airfield of Ypenburg and the Rotterdam airfield of Waalhaven . These were reinforced by additional AA-guns, two tankettes and twelve of

8160-515: The Instructions), the guidelines of how public servants were expected to behave, stating that they were not to cooperate with the occupying force in any way, especially in the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Although the Germans did appoint a number of NSB members and other Germanophiles to senior posts like secretaries-general and mayors, their numbers or ideological influence on the administration

8296-527: The Lower Rhine and the Maas. First Army Corps was a strategic reserve in the Fortress Holland, the southern perimeter of which was manned by another ten battalions and the eastern by six battalions. All these lines were reinforced by pillboxes. In front of this Main Defence Line was the IJssel-Maaslinie , a covering line along the rivers IJssel and Meuse ( Maas ), connected by positions in

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8432-406: The National Socialist Movement (NSB), had existed for years before the Germans arrived in the Low Countries. Between World War I and World War II, Dutch society experienced a crisis in its sociopolitical system. The National Socialist movement offered a solution to Netherlands' instability and gained some influence without endangering the existing political order, a system that was already frail during

8568-612: The Nazi ideologist Alfred Rosenberg suggested the administrative division of conquered Soviet territory in the following Reichskommissariats , only the first two of which would become reality through military success: This suggested an intention to destroy Russia as a political entity, as the Nazis organised the areas adjacent to Greater Germany 's eastern provinces in accordance with the geopolitical Lebensraum idea ( Drang nach Osten ), to benefit future " Aryan " generations. When German forces entered Soviet territory, they immediately implemented this administrative plan instating

8704-411: The Netherlands ( Dutch : Duitse aanval op Nederland ), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( Dutch : Slag om Nederland ), was a military campaign, part of Case Yellow ( German : Fall Gelb ), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries ( Belgium , Luxembourg , and the Netherlands ) and France during World War II . The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until the surrender of

8840-545: The Netherlands by the Allies was during Operation Market Garden in 1944, involving the use of paratrooper divisions to take over key bridges in the Netherlands to allow Allied tanks positioned in Belgium to quickly go through the Netherlands and reach Arnhem , which held a bridge over the river Rhine . This would put the Allies in a strategic advantage to invade Germany and quickly end the war. Eindhoven and Nijmegen were liberated. However Allied intelligence failures and poor organization resulted in an Allied failure to cross

8976-418: The Netherlands into Nazi Germany. The party received extensive coverage in Nazi newspapers and the organization was expanded with the establishment of the Dutch Hitlerjugend . However, the NSNAP was a fringe party, having received less than a thousand votes in the 1937 Dutch general election , and was ultimately deemed to be politically useless by the Germans. Mussert tried to convince Hitler that he should be

9112-399: The Netherlands were liberated in 1945. The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany in 1939, following the German invasion of Poland , but no major land operations occurred in Western Europe during the period known as the Phoney War in the winter of 1939–1940. During this time, the British and French built up their forces in expectation of a long war, and the Germans together with

9248-426: The Netherlands, all the objective conditions were present for a successful defence: a dense population, wealthy, young, disciplined and well-educated; a geography favouring the defender; and a strong technological and industrial base including an armaments industry. However, these had not been exploited: while the Wehrmacht at the time still had many shortcomings in equipment and training, the Dutch army, by comparison,

9384-411: The Peel-Raam Position immediately at the onset of a German attack and withdraw his Third Army Corps to the Linge to cover the southern flank of the Grebbe Line, leaving only a covering force behind. This Waal-Linge Position was to be reinforced with pillboxes; the budget for such structures was increased with a hundred million guilders. After the German attack on Denmark and Norway in April 1940, when

9520-565: The Rhine at Arnhem . After Market Garden, the Canadian Army was given the initiative to liberate the Netherlands, the Canadian armed forces managed to push the German forces to the upper part of the Netherlands by 1945 in which Germany surrendered, abdicating its claim to the Netherlands and all other occupied territories. Battle of the Netherlands German victory Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The German invasion of

9656-490: The SS/SD personnel were no more ruthless or efficient than elsewhere in Europe, but there were a greater number of German police, around 5,000, compared to that of France where it never went above 3,000. The dominance of the SS in the Netherlands has been cited as one of the fundamental differences between the Netherlands and other Western European occupied by the Germans. From 1944 to 1945, the Reichskommissariat came under attack from Allied forces. The first attempt to liberate

9792-584: The Soviets completed their conquest of Poland. On 9 October, Adolf Hitler ordered plans to be made for an invasion of the Low Countries, to use them as a base against Great Britain and to pre-empt a similar attack by the Allied forces , which could threaten the vital Ruhr Area . A joint Dutch-Belgian peace offer between the two sides was rejected on 7 November. The Netherlands Armed Forces were ill-prepared to resist such an invasion. When Hitler came to power,

9928-576: The WA were injured, the collaborationists then called in the support of the German Army which assisted in turning the neighbourhood into a ghetto surrounded by barbed wire and armed positions, non-Jews were not allowed to enter the area. Days later German Ordnungspolizei entered the neighbourhood but a number of police were injured, the Germans then responded by raiding the neighbourhood and capturing 425 Jews who were then deported to concentration camps. On

10064-432: The advancing German forces meant that there was no longer any functioning civil authority left in the area. Article 43 of The Laws and Customs of War on Land stipulates that in this scenario, the occupying power is accorded responsibility for maintaining order in the territories that it has occupied in lieu of the native government exercising this authority. On the longer term ("longer term" not being defined any further by

10200-663: The area a logical route for an offensive by either side. In a 20 January 1940 radio speech, Winston Churchill tried to convince them not to wait for an inevitable German attack, but to join the Anglo-French Entente. Both the Belgians and Dutch refused, even though the German attack plans had fallen into Belgian hands after a German aircraft crash in January 1940, in what became known as the Mechelen Incident . The French supreme command considered violating

10336-408: The attack date of Fall Gelb . Sas informed the Allies via other military attachés. However, several postponements while the Germans waited for favourable weather conditions led to a series of false alarms, which left the Dutch government and others somewhat sceptical of the information. Sas' correct prediction of the date of the attack on Denmark and Norway went largely unheeded. Though he indicated

10472-403: The bridges at Rotterdam , Dordrecht and Moerdijk would simultaneously be secured to allow a mechanised force to relieve the airborne troops from the south. This force was to be the German 9th Panzer Division . This was the only German armoured division having just two tank battalions, one understrength, in its single tank regiment; the total number of tanks in the unit was 141. The intention

10608-599: The command structure was that the airborne attack was solely a Luftwaffe operation; the airborne forces would initially not be under operational command of the German Army. The attack on Rotterdam was ultimately to be an Army operation and considered by it as the Schwerpunkt (focal point) of the campaign in the Netherlands; 18th Army saw the air landings as primarily subservient to the XXVI. Armeekorps advance. Of all operations of Fall Gelb this one most strongly embodied

10744-413: The concept of a Blitzkrieg as the term was then understood: a Strategischer Überfall or strategic assault. Also, like Fall Gelb as a whole, it involved a high risk strategy. The German population and troops generally disliked the idea of violating Dutch neutrality. German propaganda therefore justified the invasion as a reaction to a supposed Entente attempt to occupy the Low Countries, similar to

10880-438: The contents of each order they were given were substantively and procedurally legitimate. Under these rules the traditional Dutch civil service were, therefore, expected to be loyal to the principles of administrative and public order above all other considerations. Prime Minister Gerbrandy, exiled to London along with members of his cabinet and the royal family, announced in his speech, Commentaar op de Aanwijzingen (Comments on

11016-511: The country in its entirety. The German government in the Netherlands was headed by Seyss-Inquart as Reichskommissar . Beneath him were four Generalkommissare . These were: The Wehrmacht troops stationed in the Netherlands were commanded by Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden Friedrich Christiansen (28 May 1940 - 7 April 1945). There was a constant conflict between Seyss-Inquart, Hitler's personally appointed Reich Commissioner who relied directly on Hitler's support, and Rauter, who

11152-420: The disadvantage of having to fully prepare two lines. Reijnders had already been denied full military authority in the defence zones; the conflict about strategy further undermined his political position. On 5 February 1940 he was forced to offer his resignation because of these disagreements with his superiors. He was replaced by General Henry G. Winkelman who decided that in the north the Grebbe Line would be

11288-505: The eastern flank of which was also covered by Lake IJssel and the southern flank protected by the lower course of three broad parallel rivers: the Meuse ( Maas ) and two branches of the Rhine . It functioned as a National Redoubt , which was expected to hold out a prolonged period of time, in the most optimistic predictions as much as three months without any allied assistance, even though

11424-424: The enemy did. Their only prospect of beating the Germans to it lay in employing rail transport. This implied they would be vulnerable in the concentration phase, building up their forces near Breda. They needed the Dutch troops in the Peel-Raam Position to delay the Germans for a few extra days to allow a French deployment and entrenchment, but French rapid forces also would provide a security screen. These consisted of

11560-498: The extraction of Dutch natural resources for the use in Germany's war machine. After its invasion , the Netherlands was temporarily placed under the authority of a German civilian governor (a Reichskommissar ) until a final decision would be made on the next form of government to "facilitate" the Dutch nation for its intended assimilation into Germany. However, on several occasions, the German regime seriously considered implementing

11696-522: The fighting performance of the Dutch infantry. Despite the Netherlands being the seat of Philips , one of Europe's largest producers of radio equipment, the Dutch army mostly used telephone connections; only the Artillery had been equipped with the modest number of 225 radio sets. The Dutch air force , which was not an independent arm of the Dutch armed forces, but part of the Army, on 10 May operated

11832-496: The fighting. Six of these divisions were "Third Wave" units only raised in August 1939 from territorial Landwehr units. They had few professional officers and little fighting experience apart from those who were World War I veterans. Like the Dutch Army, most soldiers (88%) were insufficiently trained. The seventh division was the 526th Infantry Division, a pure security unit without serious combat training. The German divisions, with

11968-407: The individual soldier lacked many necessary skills. Before the war only a minority of young men eligible to serve in the military had actually been conscripted. Until 1938, those who were enlisted only served for 24 weeks, just enough to receive basic infantry training. That same year, service time was increased to eleven months. The low quality of conscripts was not compensated for by the presence of

12104-588: The justification used by the German Empire to invade Belgium in World War I. Some German officers were averse to the Nazi regime and were also uneasy about the invasion. One of them, Colonel Hans Oster , an Abwehr (German military intelligence) officer, began in March 1939 to pass along information to his friend, the Dutch military attaché in Berlin, Major Gijsbertus J. Sas . This information included

12240-569: The larger French strategy, and French planning had long considered the possibility of operations in Dutch territory. The coastal regions of Zealand and Holland were difficult to negotiate because of their many waterways. However, both the French and the Germans saw the possibility of a surprise flanking attack in this region. For the Germans this would have the advantage of bypassing the Antwerp- Namur line. The Zealand Isles were considered to be strategically critical, as they are just opposite

12376-567: The late 1930s. Crises were caused by the German occupation of the Rhineland in 1936; the Anschluss and Sudeten crisis of 1938; and the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia and the Italian invasion of Albania in the spring of 1939. These events forced the Dutch government to exercise greater vigilance, but they limited their reaction as much as they could. The most important measure

12512-499: The leader of an independent Dutch state, a request which Hitler denied, leaving Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart as the absolute ruler of the Netherlands. However, he was allowed to take on the title of "Leader of the Dutch People" and the NSB was permitted to continue its political activities. The NSB declared that the monarchy was abolished and that the Netherlands should support Germany in the war. 20,000 to 25,000 Dutchmen served in

12648-572: The local Fascist and Nazi movements in the Netherlands, particularly the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB) led by Anton Mussert were nothing more than minority groups generally despised by the vast majority of the Dutch. Mussert was also an advocate of the creation of Dietsland , a kind of Greater Netherlands to be formed out of the Dutch-speaking Netherlands and Flanders , rather than

12784-470: The main Dutch forces on 14 May. Dutch troops in the province of Zealand continued to resist the Wehrmacht until 17 May, when Germany completed its occupation of the whole country. The invasion of the Netherlands saw some of the earliest mass paratroop drops, to occupy tactical points and assist the advance of ground troops. The German Luftwaffe used paratroopers in the capture of several airfields in

12920-523: The main defence line where the decisive battle was to be waged, partly because it would there be easier to break out with a counteroffensive if the conditions were favourable. However, he took no comparable decision regarding the Peel-Raam Position. During the Phoney War the Netherlands officially adhered to a policy of strict neutrality. In secret, the Dutch military command, partly acting on its own accord, negotiated with both Belgium and France via

13056-445: The minimum of 146 modern tanks (110 light, 36 medium) they had already considered necessary in 1937. A single Renault FT tank, for which just one driver had been trained and which had the sole task of testing antitank obstacles, had remained the only example of its kind and was no longer in service by 1940. There were two squadrons of armoured cars, each with a dozen Landsverk M36 or M38 vehicles. Another dozen DAF M39 cars were in

13192-606: The negotiations, proposing on 21 February that Belgium would man a connecting line with the Peel-Raam Position along the Belgian part of the Zuid-Willemsvaart . The Belgians refused to do this unless the Dutch reinforced their presence in Limburg ; the Dutch had no forces available with which to fulfill this request. Repeated Belgian requests to reconsider the Orange Position were refused by Winkelman. Therefore,

13328-544: The neutrality of the Low Countries if they had not joined the Anglo-French coalition before the planned large Entente offensive in the summer of 1941, but the French Cabinet, fearing a negative public reaction, vetoed the idea. Kept in consideration was a plan to invade if Germany attacked the Netherlands alone, necessitating an Entente advance through Belgium, or if the Netherlands assisted the enemy by tolerating

13464-399: The notion of creating a "new Europe" (meaning one led by Germany), and ultimately assimilation into Greater Germany after its victory in the war. However, he was aware of the limited support that the Netherlands' future as a German province would necessarily receive, and adjusted his style of rule accordingly so as not to cause any unwanted unrest among the Dutch people. He was also aware that

13600-451: The occupied Dutch territories): Belgium was initially placed under a Militärverwaltung , headed by military governors. The country was joined administratively to "North France", i.e. the adjacent French départements Nord and Pas-de-Calais . This was done both for security reasons and geopolitical ideology of expansionism: the area was to be used as a staging ground in an expected invasion of Britain , but also in order to prepare

13736-485: The occupied Norwegian territories) on 24 April 1940. The office had two consecutive Reichskommissars with extensive authority: After the German invasion of the country and the Dutch government and crown's evacuation and exile, the Netherlands was placed under the command of two successive military governors: The governorship was succeeded by a more permanent civil administration led by Reichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete (Reich Commissioner for

13872-534: The period of political democracy. However, this form of democracy was not completely in practice nor uncontested as a principle by the NSB. Leading up to the German invasion, the National Socialist Movement spent much of the 1930s loudly denouncing the government's inability to protect the Dutch people from economic suffering, social chaos, and the expanding influence of Marxism-Bolshevism. The group separated itself as an internal force, gaining

14008-460: The pillboxes; each battalion had a heavy machine gun company of twelve. The Dutch infantry squads were equipped with an organic light machine gun, the M.20 Lewis machine gun , of which about eight thousand were available. Most Dutch infantry were equipped with the Geweer M.95 rifle, adopted in 1895. There were but six 80 mm mortars for each regiment. This lack of firepower seriously impaired

14144-489: The presumed actions of a fifth column in Scandinavia caused widespread fears that the Netherlands too had been infiltrated by German agents assisted by traitors. Countermeasures were taken against a possible assault on airfields and ports. A state of emergency was declared on 19 April. However, most civilians still cherished the illusion that their country might be spared, an attitude that has since been described as

14280-699: The process of being taken into service, some still having to be fitted with their main armament. A single platoon of five Carden-Loyd Mark VI tankettes used by the Artillery completed the list of Dutch armour . The Dutch Artillery had available a total of 676 howitzers and field guns : 310 Krupp 75 mm field guns, partly produced in licence; 52 105 mm Bofors howitzers, the only really modern pieces; 144 obsolete Krupp 125 mm guns; 40 150 mm sFH13's; 72 Krupp 150 mm L/24 howitzers and 28 Vickers 152 mm L/15 howitzers. As antitank-guns 386 Böhler 47 mm L/39s were available, which were effective weapons but too few in number, being only at

14416-540: The reconnaissance units of the armoured and motorised divisions, equipped with the relatively well-armed Panhard 178 armoured car. These would be concentrated into two task forces named after their commander: the Groupe Beauchesne and the Groupe Lestoquoi . During the many changes in the operational plans for Fall Gelb the idea of leaving the Fortress Holland alone, just as the Dutch hoped for,

14552-523: The remainder the air force school used three Fokker D.XXI, six Fokker D.XVII, a single Fokker G.I , a single Fokker T.V and seven Fokker C.V, along with several training aeroplanes. Another forty operational aircraft served with the Marineluchtvaartdienst (naval air service) along with about an equal number of reserve and training craft. The production potential of the Dutch military aircraft industry, consisting of Fokker and Koolhoven ,

14688-487: The river's eastern approaches in order to maintain a connection with the Fortress Holland further to the north and preserve an allied left flank beyond the Rhine. The force assigned to this task consisted of the 16th Army Corps, comprising the 9th Motorised Infantry Division (also possessing some tracked armoured vehicles) and the 4th Infantry Division; and the 1st Army Corps, consisting of the 25th Motorised Infantry Division and

14824-699: The same title is rendered as "German Imperial Commissioner" in the case of Heligoland , a strategically located once-Danish island in the North Sea , formally handed over to Germany by the UK on 9 August 1890 (under the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty ) and on 15 December 1890 formally annexed to Germany (after 18 February 1891 part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein ): 9 August 1890 – 1891 Adolf Wermuth (b. 1855 – d. 1927) The title of Reichskommissar

14960-500: The size of the attacking German force was strongly overestimated. Before the war the intention was to fall back to this position almost immediately, after a concentration phase (the so-called Case Blue ) in the Gelderse Valley  [ fy ; li ; nds-nl ; nl ; zea ] , inspired by the hope that Germany would only travel through the southern provinces on its way to Belgium and leave Holland proper untouched. In 1939 it

15096-513: The territory to delay enemy movement. About two thousand pillboxes had been constructed, but in lines without any depth. Modern large fortresses like the Belgian stronghold of Eben Emael were nonexistent; the only modern fortification complex was that at Kornwerderzand , guarding the Afsluitdijk . Total Dutch forces equalled 48 regiments of infantry as well as 22 infantry battalions for strategic border defence. In comparison, Belgium, despite

15232-631: The time being. When Germany was subsequently forced on the defensive after 1942, they were abandoned indefinitely. In February 1941, opposition to the anti-Semitic policies of the German occupiers and the collaborationists caused major strikes to break out across the Netherlands. This started after the NSB and its stormtroopers, the Weerbaarheidsafdeling (Defence Section) or WA began a series of provocations against Jewish neighbourhoods in Amsterdam . Fighting broke out in which members of

15368-560: The vicinity of Rotterdam and The Hague , helping to quickly overrun the country and immobilise Dutch forces. After the devastating Nazi bombing of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on 14 May, the Germans threatened to bomb other Dutch cities if the Dutch forces refused to surrender. The General Staff knew it could not stop the bombers, and ordered the Royal Netherlands Army to cease hostilities. The last occupied parts of

15504-464: The war progressed. Upon the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1940, Nazi Germany's attitude towards the Dutch people initially seemed favourable. Adolf Hitler , Heinrich Himmler , and other senior Nazis regarded the Dutch as part of the Aryan " Herrenvolk " (Master Race). Seyss-Inquart's policy was to gradually prepare the state structure and Dutch population for National Socialist ideology,

15640-705: The weakly defended provinces east of the river IJssel and then try to cross the Afsluitdijk (Enclosure Dike). A simultaneous landing in Holland near Enkhuizen was to be attempted, using barges to be captured in the small port of Stavoren . As both efforts were unlikely to succeed, the mass of regular divisions was reinforced by the SS-Verfügungsdivision (including SS-Standarten Der Führer , Deutschland and Germania ) and Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler , which would serve as assault infantry to breach

15776-677: Was a partial mobilisation of 100,000 men in April 1939. After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the ensuing outbreak of the Second World War, the Netherlands hoped to remain neutral, as it had done during World War I 25 years earlier. To ensure this neutrality, the Dutch army was mobilised from 24 August and entrenched. Large sums (almost 900 million guilders ) were spent on defence. It proved very difficult to obtain new matériel in wartime, however, especially as

15912-479: Was appointed Reichskommissar of the territories on 21 October 1938. On 1 May 1939 a regular 'domestic' Reichsgau , Reichsgau Sudetenland was created; Henlein stayed on as Reichsstatthalter until the region was re-incorporated into Czechoslovakia on 4 May 1945. 1 May 1939 – 1 April 1940 Josef Bürckel (b. 1895 – d. 1944) NSDAP, in fact the maintained last Austrian Premier of 15 October 1938 constituted metropolitan capital city-entity Gross-Wien (Greater Vienna),

16048-485: Was at times considered. The first version of 19 October 1939 suggested the possibility of a full occupation if conditions were favourable. In the version of 29 October it was proposed to limit the transgression to a line south of Venlo . In the Holland-Weisung (Holland Directive) of 15 November it was decided to conquer the entire south, but in the north to advance no further than the Grebbe Line, and to occupy

16184-574: Was established, soon uniting German-occupied Lithuania , Latvia (from 1 September 1941) and Estonia (from 5 December 1941) and Belarus . Ostland was organized into four General Districts ( Generalbezirke ); only the (Latvian) capital city of Riga ( Gebiet Riga Stadt ) was directly administered by the Reichskommissar für das Ostland . The incumbents were: The territory in Ukraine occupied by Germany since 25 June 1941 initially fell under

16320-622: Was far less prepared for war. The myth of the general German equipment advantage over the opposing armies in the Battle of France was in fact a reality in the case of the Battle of the Netherlands. Germany had a modern army with tanks and dive bombers (such as the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka ), while the Netherlands had an army whose armoured forces comprised only 39 armoured cars and five tankettes , and an air force in large part consisting of biplanes . The Dutch government's attitude towards war

16456-686: Was held in the Territory of the Saar Basin (presently Saarland ) on 13 January 1935: 90.3% of those voting wished to join Germany rather than join France . Josef Bürckel (b. 1895 – d. 1944) was appointed on 1 March 1935 as Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes , then changed his style from 17 June 1936 to Reichskommissar für das Saarland , and from 8 April 1940 to Reichskommissar für die Saarpfalz ; finally from 11 March 1941, he

16592-517: Was made Reichsstatthalter in der " Westmark " (the region's new name, meaning "Western March or Border"), until his death on 28 September 1944 when he was succeeded by Willi Stöhr (b. 1903 also NSDAP), who remained in office until 21 March 1945. After the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany on 1 October 1938, it was under a Military governor ( Wilhelm Keitel ; 1 October 1938 – 20 October 1938), until Konrad Henlein

16728-418: Was not extensive. Dr. Friedrich Wimmer led the internal government and had the power to issue mandatory regulations to Dutch civil servants and under his rule local government was transformed into an instrument by which policy was used to nazify the Netherlands. The civilian administration in the Netherlands enabled the Germans to exert much tighter control over Dutch citizens than military occupied countries like

16864-399: Was not fully exploited due to budget limitations. Not only was the Royal Netherlands Army poorly equipped, it was also poorly trained. A particular problem was the absence of experience gained in the handling of larger units above the battalion level. From 1932 until 1936, the Dutch Army did not hold summer field manoeuvres in order to conserve military funding. Adding to this shortcoming,

17000-617: Was only a feint—and the attack on Fortress Holland only a sideshow of this feint. Although both the 6th and 18th Army were deployed on the Dutch border, the first, much larger, force would move south of Venlo to Belgium, leaving just the 18th Army under General Georg von Küchler to defeat the Dutch main force. Of all German armies to take part in the operation, this was by far the weakest. It contained only four regular infantry divisions (the 207th , 227th, 254th and 256th Infantry Division ), assisted by three reserve divisions ( 208th , 225th, and 526th Infantry Division) that would not take part in

17136-408: Was reflected in the state of the country's armed forces, which had not significantly expanded their equipment since before the First World War, and were inadequately armed even by the standards of 1918. An economic recession lasting from 1920 until 1927 and the general détente in international relations caused a limitation of the defence budget. In that decade, only 1.5 million guilders per annum

17272-556: Was reinforced with new pillboxes in 1940 as the fortifications were outdated. The line was located at the extreme eastern edge of the area lying below sea level. This allowed the ground before the fortifications to be easily inundated with a few feet of water, too shallow for boats, but deep enough to turn the soil into an impassable quagmire. The area west of the New Hollandic Water Line was called Fortress Holland (Dutch: Vesting Holland ; German: Festung Holland ),

17408-502: Was spent on equipment. Both in 1931 and 1933, commissions appointed to economise even further failed, because they concluded that the acceptable minimum had been reached and advised that a spending increase was urgently needed. Only in February 1936 was a bill passed creating a special 53.4 million guilder defence fund. The lack of a trained manpower base, a large professional organisation, or sufficient matériel reserves precluded

17544-844: Was split up into three Gau -type entities as integral ("Germanic") parts of the Reich: the bi-cultural Belgian capital Brussels remained directly under the German Reichskommissar as the District of Brussels , but the bulk of the country was divided ethno-linguistically and placed under collaborating Belgian fascist party leaders (on paper) as Gauleiters and with Führer -imitating titles in their national languages: Gauleiter of Reichsgau Flandern ( Flanders ) supposedly including French Flanders in Allied-liberated North France, and National leader of

17680-556: Was that in spite of the lack of numerical superiority, they would force the Dutch back to the east front of the Fortress Holland or beyond. If the Dutch did not capitulate on the first day, the Eighteenth Army expected to enter the Fortress Holland on the third day from the south over the Moerdijk bridges and thereby ensure victory; there was no strict timetable for the total destruction of the Dutch forces. A peculiar aspect of

17816-543: Was that it should exploit a breach in the Dutch lines created by the 254th and 256th Infantry Division, and join up with them, forming the XXVI. Armeekorps , on the Gennep – 's-Hertogenbosch axis. At the same time an offensive would be staged against the Grebbe Line in the east by the 207th and 227th Infantry Division, united to form X. Armeekorps , to engage the main bulk of the Dutch Field Army. The expectation

17952-509: Was that the main German assault was to take place in Flanders , and it was expected these troops would be used for a crossing attempt over the river Scheldt near Ghent . This operation was cancelled, so it was decided to use them to obtain an easy victory in the Netherlands. The airborne troops would on the first day attempt to secure the airfields around the Dutch seat of government , The Hague, and then capture that government, together with

18088-611: Was the Generalkommissar for security matters and nominally subordinate to Seyss-Inquart, but as Higher SS and Police Leader he took direct orders from Heinrich Himmler. In the period following the February Strike , Seyss-Inquart and Rauter engaged in a political struggle as each competed for control over Jewish affairs in the country. The control which Seyss-Inquart was supposed to have was almost non-existent in practice due to overlapping and contradictory competences and

18224-417: Was the first phase of the occupation and was characterized by a readiness by the majority of the Dutch population to accept political consequences of their defeat. Dutch elites indicated a willingness to reach some understanding with the Germans, either playing an active role in some way in the persecution and deportation of the Jews or failing to put up any kind of resistance at all, this is particularly true of

18360-408: Was understood such an attitude posed an invitation to invade and made it impossible to negotiate with the Entente about a common defence. Proposals by German diplomats that the Dutch government would secretly assent to an advance into the country were rejected. From September 1939 a more easterly Main Defence Line (MDL) was constructed. This second main defensive position had a northern part formed by

18496-677: Was used during the German Empire for the governors of most of the Schutzgebiete (a German term literally meaning protectorate , but also applied to ordinary colonies ). The title of Reichskommissar was given by Adolf Hitler to a number of Nazi governors, mainly in several occupied countries during World War II , but also before the war to reintegrate former Prussian territory regained from France, as well as various other regions inhabited by ethnic Germans . Depending on circumstances they could be severely dictatorial and repressive, most notably Erich Koch in Ukraine . A plebiscite

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