Table Of ContentSmall Powers in the Age of Total War,
1900–1940
History of Warfare
Editors
Kelly DeVries
Loyola College Maryland
John France
University of Wales
Michael S. Neiberg
University of Southern Mississippi
Frederick Schneid
High Point University North Carolina
VOLUME 65
Small Powers in the Age of
Total War, 1900–1940
Edited by
Herman Amersfoort
Wim Klinkert
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2011
Cover illustration: “In de Verdrukking. Holland: “De heeren oorlogvoerenden laten me niet
veel ruimte om m'n boodschappen te doen.”
by Albert Pieter Hahn (Groningen, 1877–1918).
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Small powers in the age of total war, 1900-1940 / edited by Herman Amersfoort, Wim
Klinkert.
p. cm. -- (History of warfare, ISSN 1385-7827 ; v. 65)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-20321-1 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Europe--History, Military--20th century.
2. Neutrality--Europe--History--20th century. 3. Neutrality, Armed--Europe--History--
20th century. 4. World War, 1914-1918--Europe. 5. World War, 1914-1918--Infl uence. 6.
Netherlands--Military policy--History--20th century. 7. Belgium--Military policy--History--
20th century. 8. Denmark--Military policy--History--20th century. 9. Norway--Military
policy--History--20th century. 10. Switzerland--Military policy--History--20th century.
I. Amersfoort, H. (Hermanus), 1951- II. Klinkert, W. III. Title. IV. Series.
D431.S65 2011
355'.033549--dc22
2011002720
ISSN 1385-7827
ISBN 978 90 04 20321 1
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
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CONTENTS
List of Contributors ...................................................................................vii
Preface ..........................................................................................................xi
Chapter One Introduction. Small States in a Big World ....................1
H. Amersfoort and W. Klinkert
Chapter Two ‘Too Good to Be True?’ European Hopes
for Neutrality before 1914 ...................................................................27
M. M. Abbenhuis
Chapter Th ree Neutral Tones. Th e Netherlands and
Switzerland and Th eir Interpretations of Neutrality
1914–1918 .............................................................................................57
P. Moeyes
Chapter Four Fall K. German Off ensive Plans Against
the Netherlands 1916–1918 ................................................................85
W. Klinkert
Chapter Five German War Plans Against Denmark
1916–1918 ...........................................................................................119
C. Paulin
Chapter Six Th e Development of the Air Defence of
Copenhagen ........................................................................................135
M. H. Clemmesen
Chapter Seven Th e Debate on Denmark’s Defence
1900–1940 ...........................................................................................153
K. Galster
Chapter Eight Small Nations under the Gun. Europe
1914–1940 ...........................................................................................183
W. Murray
vi contents
Chapter Nine Th e German Army in the Interwar Years ................201
M. Strohn
Chapter Ten Between Passéisme and Modernisation?
Th e Case of the Belgian Fortifi cation System
1926–1940 ...........................................................................................221
J. Vaesen
Chapter Eleven Give us Back our Field Army! Th e Dutch
Army Leadership and the Operational Planning During
the Interwar Years ..............................................................................251
H. Amersfoort
Chapter Twelve Neutrality Guard or Preparations for War?
Th e Norwegian Armed Forces and the Coming of the
Second World War .............................................................................281
T. Kristiansen
Chapter Th irteen Th e Development of the Swiss Army’s
Combat Methods aft er the First World War ...................................307
M. M. Olsansky
Chapter Fourteen Strategic Dilemmas of a Small Power
with Colonial Empire. Th e Netherlands East Indies
1936–1941 ...........................................................................................321
A. C. Tjepkema
Bibliography .............................................................................................351
Name Index ..............................................................................................363
Geographical Index .................................................................................369
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Maartje Abbenhuis is a Senior Lecturer of Modern European
History at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research
interests lay in the fi eld of neutrality studies, particularly relating to
Europe. In 2001 she received her Ph.D. on Dutch neutrality during the
First World War at the University of Canterbury. In 2006 she published
Th e Art of Staying Neutral. Th e Netherlands in the First World War:
1914–1918. She is now working on a monograph regarding the history
of neutrality in Europe in the period 1815–1914.
Professor Herman Amersfoort is working since 2006 at the
Netherlands Defence Academy as head of section Military History and
Strategy. He studied history at the University of Leiden and received
his Ph.D. in 1988 on the last Swiss regiments in Dutch service, 1814–
1829. Most of his publications discusses the history of the Dutch draft
system and subjects concerning the Second World War. His current
research focuses on Dutch military history in the Interwar years.
Previous to the appointment at the Defence Academy, Amersfoort was
researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Military History in Th e
Hague. Since 1994 he also holds a chair as professor of Military History
at the University of Amsterdam.
Michael Hesselholt Clemmesen, MA (hist.) Brigadier General (ret.
Danish Army), was Director Strategy Department and Course Director
of the Danish Joint Senior Command and Staff Course at the Royal
Danish Defence College from 1991 untill 1994 and creator and fi rst
Commandant of the Baltic Defence College from 1998 untill 2004. He
has since the late 1980’s been lecturing military history, strategic theo-
ries and the realities of doctrinal development at staff and war college
levels. Clemmesen is currently a senior research fellow at the Royal
Danish Defence College Center of Military History. He has published
numerous books and articles. His latest publication (2010) is – with the
title translated from Danish-: Th e Long Approach to 9. April. Th e History
about the Forty Years prior to the German Operation against Denmark
and Norway.
viii list of contributors
Kjeld Hald Galster, Ph.D., M.A., is a senior researcher at the Royal
Danish Defence College in Copenhagen and a visiting lecturer at the
University of Copenhagen. Moreover, he works as an external examiner
of graduate and undergraduate history students at Danish universities.
He served as an offi cer with the Royal Danish Life Guards and was a
military advisor for the UN in Georgia from 1993 to 1994. 1996–99 he
spent in the diplomatic service working on the staff of the Danish
Delegation to the OSCE in Vienna. He published a wide range publica-
tions, articles and reviews regarding military history. His latest book
is For King and Coff ers: Danish Troops with the Williamite Colours,
1689–9, to appear April 2011. Kjeld Galster is presently researching the
intricacies of coalition warfare.
Professor Wim Klinkert studied history at the University of Leiden.
Since his military service he is attached to the Royal Military Academy
(present day Netherlands Defence Academy), since 1992 as associate
professor. In 1992 he received his Ph.D. at the University of Leiden on
Dutch defence strategy 1874–1914. His publications focus on Dutch
military history between 1870–1945, the military history of Brabant
and the history of military education. He co-edited and contributed
to Militaire strategie (2002) and Studeren in uniform. 175 jaar KMA
(2003). His current research focuses on the Dutch army 1900–1925.
Since 2007 he is attached to the University of Amsterdam as professor
of Military History.
Dr. Tom Kristiansen is a Senior Research Associate at the Norwegian
Institute for Defence Studies. He is also responsible for the teaching
programme on military theory and history at the Norwegian Command
and Staff College. He is a graduate of the University of Oslo and earned
his doctorate at the University of Bergen. Kristiansen has written exten-
sively on Scandinavian diplomatic, naval and military history in the
late 19th and fi rst half of the 20th centuries. Tom Kristiansen is now in
the process of fi nishing a book on Norwegian security policy, strategy
and eff orts to re-arm from the mid-1930s to the German attack in April
1940. During the recent years his focus has been on maritime issues
and the defence traditions of small states. His latest books include
Great Powers and the Scandinavian crisis 1905–07 (Stormaktene,
Sverige og Norge 1905–1907 (2006) ) and the history of the Oslo Class
frigates (Fregatter i Storm og Stille, (2007) ).
list of contributors ix
Dr. Paul Moeyes works since 2001 as a teacher at the section Inter-
national Degree in English and Education at the School of Education
of Amsterdam. He is a module leader in Literature and History.
He received his Ph.D. in 1993 with his thesis Siegfried Sassoon: Scorched
Glory, published in 1997. His most well known publications are:
Buiten Schot: Nederland tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog 1914–1918
(2001) and De Sterke Arm, de Zachte Hand: het Nederlandse leger en
de Neutraliteitspolitiek 1839–1939 (2006), both dealing with Dutch
neutrality.
Professor Williamson Murray graduated from Yale University in 1963
with honours in history. He then served fi ve years as an offi cer in the
United States Air Force before returning to Yale University where he
received his Ph.D. in military-diplomatic history. He taught two years
in the Yale history department before moving on to Ohio State
University in fall 1977 as a military and diplomatic historian. Professor
Murray has taught at a great number of prestigious other institutions.
Among his many important publications are: Military Eff ectiveness,
three volumes (1988) with Allen Millet; Calculations, Net Assessment
and the Coming of World War II (1992) and Military Innovations in
the Interwar Period (1996). Professor Murray has also edited with
MacGregor Knox, Th e Making of Strategy, Rulers, States, and War
(1994) and Th e Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300–2050 (2001). In
2000 Professors Murray and Millett have published an operational his-
tory of World War II, A War To Be Won, Fighting the Second World
War. Presently he is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence Analysis
and a member of the National Strategic Studies Group.
Dr. Michael Olsansky is assistant professor in military history at the
Militärakademie an der ETH Zürich (MILAK). His recent publications
include: “Die “Südumfassung”. Zur Rolle der Schweiz im Schlieff en-
und im Moltkeplan”, in: Der Schlieff enplan. Analysen und Dokumente
edited by Hans Ehlert, Michael Epkenhans und Gerhard P. Gross
(2006) and “Die deutschen Beteiligten und das frühzeitige Kriegsende
in Italien 1945”, in: Militärgeschichtliche Studien II/Schrift enreihe:
MILAK Schrift , Nr. 7 (2006).
Christian Paulin, MA is attached to the University of Copenhagen
as a MA student and he is currently working on his Ph.D. thesis
