Скачать или смотреть 30 Secret Photos of Dutch Military That Will Blow Your Mind

When World War II erupted in September 1939, most in the Netherlands believed that the country could remain neutral, as it had in World War I. The months of "Phoney War" following the German invasion of Poland seemed to justify this attitude. The Dutch army did immediately mobilize in 1939, but not in full strength until April 1940.

Signs to the contrary went unheeded. Among them were some incidents, most notably the Venlo incident in which members of the German Abwehr operating in the Netherlands abducted two members of the British SIS and killed one Dutch intelligence officer. More direct were worrying signals from Berlin received by the government beginning in the first months of 1940. The Dutch military attaché there, Major Bert Sas, had established good relations with Colonel Hans Oster, who occupied a high position in the Abwehr. Oster warned Sas about German plans for an offensive against the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and Sas passed the warnings on. The government in the Netherlands, however, did not take them seriously, as the offensive was postponed several times, even though Oster did eventually offer the correct date of May 10, 1940.