In 1916, cinema operator Willy Mullens from The Hague was commissioned by the Ministry of War to make a film to prove that the Dutch armed forces were ready to defend the neutrality of the country. The film also had to promote the appreciation of the population for the armed forces. Mullens and his cameramen depicted the most diverse activities of the army and navy. After WW-I, during the Interbellum, he became well known as ‘filmer of the fatherland”, but his popularity deminished with the rise of competitor Polygoon, who provided film reels to nearly all the Dutch cinemas from 1924 onwards.
The Leger en Vloot film was commissioned by the Dutch government to make it clear to other countries that Dutch neutrality was not to be trifled with. In that respect it is important to note that this film should be viewed from a historic perspective and not judged through todays eyes.
What can be concluded is that the weapons and other equipment that were at the disposal of the Dutch army were very basic during WW-1.
For example machine guns were transported by dog drawn carts and huge numbers of soldiers used bikes as their means of transportation.
Besides rudimentary early radio equipment, carrier pidgeons were still being used to send messages.
In 1917 this film attracted a lot of attention. Queen Wilhelmina and her husband Prince Hendrik were present at its première on the 9th of January 1917. The Queen also makes an appearance in this film as she inspects an army excersize riding side saddle on her horse. Plenty of dogs and horses play a role in this scene.
Outside of Holland this “Leger en Vloot” film was shown among other to British and German viewers under the title “Holland Neutral”.
The film, of course, contained only those activities of the Army and Navy which the High Command was willing to show, and to do so in the most favorable manner possible. So no numb conscripts in the mud. At the end of the film there is a scene in which soldiers were pulled along the steel wire across a river at a rather perilous speed. It has an element of ludacrouscy, even when not viewed from a modern point of view. It also shows how a tree is felled by means of a machine gun.
While watching this film, here is some more information about the Netherlands during WW-I:
On July 31, 1914, general mobilization was decided. The Netherlands was the first non-belligerent country to take this measure and would be the only neutral state to remain fully mobilized throughout the war. In total, about 200,000, rising to almost 400,000 men in the age groups of 20 to 29 years were called up. Many were married and were running their business before being conscripted.
At the beginning of August 1914, the battle broke out. The Germans invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. Leuven was set on fire and on 10 October 1914 Antwerp also fell into German hands.
Of a total population of six million, one million Belgian civilians and soldiers fled to the Netherlands. The reception of the huge refugee flow went well. Local committees and individuals spontaneously offered accommodation and assistance.
During the war years, the army was involved in border control, the reception of refugees and interned soldiers and the fight against smuggling and espionage.
The Navy focused on the defense of the Dutch East Indies, patrols the Dutch coast and the clearing of mines at sea. But in the absence of real acts of war, boredom frequently set inamong the troops. Boredom was prevented by sports competitions and education. As the war progressed, the soldiers also received more leave to visit their wives and
to visit relatives and return to their farms and fields.
This is the first part of a three part series in which we focus on the Dutch army. In parts 2 and 3 special attention will be give to the Dutch Navy as well as its airforce, which at the time was still part of the army.
NOTE: This film shows NO actual combat footage! The Netherlands remained neutral during WW-1, thus this film only contains harmless, but nevertheless highly interesting footage of basic military exercizes. Also please note that the source footage has been substantially editted, shortened and also expanded with other WW-I footage about the Dutch Army!
Part-2 about the Dutch Navy during WW-I is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdkzCcw_fvo
Source: Beeld En Geluid and NIMH
Music: Johannes Bornlof a.o.
This originally silent film has an experimental nature considering that we have sporadically added sound effects to enhance the viewing pleasure.
