Onderzeeboot Nekt Navalisme - Or: The Dutch Submarine Service during World War 2

[HJ Tulp]

IV. Decade of the Four Ministries

In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Dutch government, acknowledging that its defence of their premier colony, the East Indies, was lacking a coherent policy, formed two commission to rectify this situation. These two commissions were composed of persons of high military or administrative rank and public office, and in 1892 formed Grondslagen, or Fundamentals, upon which defence policy should be based. It must be concluded however, that this did not in fact happen and the Dutch defence of the East Indies remained incoherent and disjointed.

The incoherency in policy was the most clear in the Dutch navy, which – as an institution - failed to plot a clear course in the period directly after the Fundamentals were formulated. Different factions within the service had different visions on the defence of the Indies, with corresponding differences in what they saw as the most likely scenario for that defence to counter and which kind of ships were needed to do so. The conquest-scenario assumed that a large enemy invasion fleet would launch a deliberate attack with the aim of conquering the whole of the Dutch East Indies. The coup-de-main scenario assumed a lightning fast attack by a comparatively small invasion-force (to keep the element of surprise) on a port on Java, or (and this was another point of contention) somewhere else in the archipelago. Beside these two main scenario’s there was also the neutrality-scenario in which two foreign powers were at war and had to be dissuaded from prosecuting that war inside the territorial waters of the colony, lest the Netherlands got involved in that conflict. The neutrality-scenario was generally accepted but discussion centred on the importance of that scenario for formulating policy.

In the decade that followed the Fundamentals, three different ministers (not including acting ministers or minister Kruys, who became minister in august 1901 and died in December of that year) presided over the Ministry of Navy in four different periods:

1. J.C. Jansen (1891-1894): Naval engineer by trade. Jansen sees the task of the Navy to stop a conquest of Java, but thinks the most likely scenario is a coup-de-main on one of it’s ports. For that reason, and in line with the Fundamentals, he builds a force of three ‘strijders’, basically armoured coastal defence ships. His tenure ends when the cabinet falls over the expansion of suffrage.

2. H.M. van der Wijck (1894-1897): Former lieutenant in the navy and secretary-general of the Minister of the Navy. Agrees with his predecessor that a coup-de-main attack is the most likely, but thinks such a scenario – coupled with threats to the Dutch neutrality – is more likely outside of Java. Jansens’ coastal defence ships are useless in those areas because of their lack op seaworthiness. Instead, Van der Wijck orders a force of cruisers to be constructed, which can operate throughout the archipelago, breaking with the army and the Fundamentals.

3. J.C. Jansen (July-December 1897): In his second tenure Jansen tried to turn back the clock to the situation during his first, by putting the focus back on armoured coastal defence ships. The threat of large battleships was discarded because those were probably needed elsewhere. This was not the case with the armoured cruiser, a new and fast ship type that was excellent for coup-de-mains. The cruisers of Van der Wijck were too light to counter those. Jansen’s alternative was denied by parliament however, causing him to resign.

4. J.A. Roëll (1898-1901): Vice-Admiral and former commander of the navy in the East Indies. Wants a heterogeneous fleet with both cruisers and armoured coastal defence ships, to succeed in most of the possible scenario’s. Political and economical circumstances make that impossible but Roëll does manage to build ships that are able to match the foreign armoured cruisers in guns and armour, though not in speed. Minister during the First Sino-Japanese War he sees the Japanese as growing threat. This is a problem that the Netherlands would have to solve by itself or through an alliance. In both cases that would mean heavier naval units.

The different tenures by different ministers with – sometimes fundamentally – different opinions regarding policy, made the Dutch navies procurement of material walk around like (please forgive the pun) a drunken sailor.

The challenges for policymakers were very difficult in this period. The preceding Second Industrial Revolution had caused a subsequent revolution in naval warfare. Inventions and developments in this period included the torpedo, the naval mine, the cruiser (in all its varieties), the battleship, the submarine, the turbine-engine, radio and the airplane. These inventions changed the landscape (or seascape if you will) continuously. To the effects of the Second Industrial Revolution could also be added the continuous scaling up of naval ships. The Dutch building program was one step behind the curve, hampered by the fact that the county’s wharves and locks were simply too small. Funds were lacking efforts to remedy this, caused by economic woes and an almost cultural tendency by parliament to be frugal, especially in military spending. To illustrate: between 1880 and 1913 the budget for the Royal Navy grew from 126 million to 643 million guilders, or 510%. In the same period the Dutch budget for the navy grew from 12,6 million to 19,8 guilders, or 157%. Was the Dutch budget in 1880 10% of the British budget, in 1913 it had shrunk to 3,1%.

While the context of Dutch policymaking in the described period was clearly demanding, this article will explore in more depth what lessons can be learned for the current age, in which the Digital Revolution can be the cause of similar challenges….


De Vries, A. (2020). Decade of the Four Ministries: lessons for building coherent policy. Politics of the Low Countries 19, 62-77.


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Sorry for the long wait! It has been pretty busy at school and writing didn't go as smooth as I had hoped. Thankfully last week was a school holiday so I was finally able to get some things in order. I had to move some bits and piece around which made this chapter neither spectacular nor long, but now I do still have two chapters in reserve so to speak, which will hopefully allow me to have a more steady update-pace of a chapter every week at least. All comments, feedback and spelling tips very welcome as always

 

[HJ Tulp]

V. Another Man, Another Mission

I am a Calvinist, through upbringing and conviction[…] It has never been a characteristic of the man of the Calvinistic confession to seek his strength in sitting still or lamentingly sighing. – Hendrikus Colijn

Sabang, May 1904

‘Parrrrdon kapitein[1].’

Concentrated as he was on his papers, the words clearly startled the young officer as he looked up at native servant who had disturbed him in his work.

‘Parrrdon kapitein Colijn, but toean[2] Kugelmann want to offer toast and gift you this jenever.’ Said the servant in far from unaccented but passable Dutch, while point at the bar. As Colijn’s eyes followed the servants gesture, they met those of Gerhard Kugelmann, the proprietor of the establishment. Nodding his head in salute, the captain stood up, straightened his blue Marechaussee[3] uniform and accepted the glass.

‘Gentlemen! A toast! To her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina, to the Indische Leger in Sabang and her commander captain Hendrikus Colijn! Hiep, hiep! Hoera!’ Had Hotel l’Europe been situated in Batavia[4] or Surabaya it would have barely been reputable but in the far from developed hospitality sector of Sabang it was the creme de la creme. Of course, with Aceh being as far from Java as could be and only recently in the later stages of pacification, its clientele was still a pretty rowdy and masculine mix of colonials: army and navy officers, adventurous businessmen and civilian administrators. Even though only a slim majority of them were actually of true Dutch descent, they all stood and toasted the Queen, and him.

After the commotion – involving more than a couple of slaps on his shoulders – had subsided somewhat, Hendrikus Colijn sat down in his chair again, barely being able to suppress a grin over what the Lord had brought the young farmers boy from the Haarlemmermeer[5].

Hotel l’Europe, 1892. The man in carriage on the left is G.J. Kugelmann, owner of the hotel. Standing in the middle of the picture is captain R. MacLeod. MacLeod would be divorced from his wife, Griet Zelle, in 1897. The latter would become better known under her pseudonym: Mata Hari.

Whether it was the work on the farm itself, or the fact that it separated him from his parents as he grew up with his grandparents to help them on their farm he – honest to God – did not know. He did know from a young age that the Lord had a different plan in store for him. As if it had happened yesterday he remembered when he had read the article about the Siege of Kars[6] and how it had lit an adventurous flame into his spirit. God didn’t mean for him to stay in the polder forever, he was destined to be more than simple Rooie Driekus[7] as he was called back then. He didn’t only want to read about history, he wanted to make it!

The Colijn-Groenenberg farm, in Uitwijk, where Hendrikus Colijn lived from age six to age 12 with his grandparents.

‘There in the Indies something great could be achieved.’ Those were the words of Coen [8] in the Golden Seventeenth Century, and they were true then as they were now. For the Dutch East Indies were the place to be for young and ambitious men looking for fortune and fame, and Hendrikus Colijn was one of those. It had been quite a journey, from the farm in Uitdijk – or Uttek as the locals would say – to Sabang, a journey in which he was tested by his maker. If the Lord hadn’t brought his loving wife Helena on his path, would he have found His? Twice he had been medically rejected for service in ‘De Oost’, twice he had persevered, the second time through a painful and dangerous operation no less. Certainly no one could claim that all that did not result in accomplishing something great. Had he not forced the surrender of Panglima Polèm IX, the last of the great Acehnese resistance-leaders? Had he not received the kingdoms highest military decoration? Wasn’t he adjutant and right-hand of none other than the country’s greatest leader and hero Jo van Heutsz[9]? Yes, was the answer to all those questions, he concluded with supreme satisfaction.

The surrender of Sultan Mohammed Daoed of Aceh, January 1903. To the right of the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina is general J.B. van Heutsz. Directly in front of the portrait captain Colijn.

And now here he was in Sabang, handpicked by Van Heutsz to take command in times of great peril! Sabang, being situated on the shipping routes through Asia and thus having the great potential to rival Singapore as a coaling station and transhipment port, also caused it to have the great potential of being a geopolitical flashpoint. Colijn was send here because war had come to the Far East and the latter of Sabangs great potentials was feared to come to fruition. He couldn’t help but smirk as he thought back at the consternation he had encountered when arriving at the port city. Nay, as he thought back at the consternation he had encountered within himself! The Japanese attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur and their subsequent – didn’t those Japs have any honour? – declaration of war against the Russian Czar. If the latter would want to reinforce his navy in the Far East he would need coaling stations along the way, that was clear to anyone, just as was clear that Sabang would do very nicely in that role! Clear to the Dutch residents and obviously also clear to the British who were nearby on the other side of Strait Malacca. What did the British have to do with this Russo-Japanese squabble? Everything! The British were the adversaries of the Russians in the Great Game of Central Asia and had thus concluded an alliance with the Japanese. By taking Sabang the Royal Navy could help their ally and take out a competitor of Singapore in one fell swoop, and with nothing that Colijn, the Indian Army or the Royal Netherlands Navy could do. Hendrikus’ fears had subsides after the first week but not because the defensive strength of the colony convinced him, far from it. Neither the paltry forces the Indian Army could muster at such short notice, nor the naval squadron that was hastily assembled, consisting of outnumbered and outgunned vessels, would be able to give more than a token defence of the city and Poeleh Weh, the island that was situated on. It was the realisation that the United Kingdom was going to be officially neutral that eased his fears instead.

Colijn didn’t like himself when he was afraid, as fear clouded judgement. Fear without subsequent analyses was worse though, it was foolish and Colijn wasn’t the man to abide with foolishness, least within himself. The past years he had seen the world mostly on a smaller scale. Organizing the taxation system in a small town, cleansing a province of rebellious gangs, the governance of Aceh. This was not something uncommon, in fact he could now see that this line of thinking was endemic in the Dutch nation. For the young officer the next step was obvious: he had to start thinking on a larger, more geopolitical scale. He had spend his adult live up to now enlarging and strengthening the Dutch colonial empire in the Indies. Colijn had always believed that roving bands of treacherous Acehnese and other natives were the great threat to that empire, he now realized that he had been wrong all that time. Sure, local stability and security could be threatened but there was no way that those roving bands could ever seriously hope to stop the juggernauts of Western civilisation. No, the real threat to the Dutch East Indies was external instead of internal, and that threat was seriously underestimated by his countrymen. They were ruling an emerald empire of islands, separated from the motherland by thousands of kilometres of sea, and the British, French, Russian and – even – Japanese navies all had ships that were capable of destroying the total Dutch navy by themselves! Here he was, sitting at a bar, writing up a lecture on the importance of Northern Sumatra for the economy of the colony while knowing fully well that in case of war the Netherlands would only try to defend the island of Java! This, this would not due.

‘Parrrdon kapitein.’ Once more Colijn was disturbed from his thoughts and looked up, half-expecting yet another drink from another grateful civilian.

‘A letter has arrived for you sir.’

After accepting the letter and dismissing the servant Colijn opened the letter and started reading.

‘…will travel to Holland….interviewing for post of Governor-General…..position adjutant on trip open….interested in attending?’

As Colijn folded up the letter, he couldn’t help but look upwards for a moment.



Kleioboeken[10]

Op de Grens van twee werelden, deel II: de Olieman/On the border of two worlds, part II: The Oiler, Herman Langeveld[11]

The first instalment of ‘On the border of two worlds’ was both the breakthrough of the genre of historic novels in our country, as well as that of the writer Herman Langeveld. This second part of the series is a worthy successor. Langeveld manages to paint an impressive picture of the live of Hendrikus Colijn, one of the country’s greatest – though not uncontroversial - statesmen of that period, but also of the period itself. Historic novels lent themselves quite handsomely for use in the classroom as the texts are considered by students to be less dry than non-fiction books and – if done right – can foster a sense of historical empathy. Fiction also allows the author the freedom to fill in the blanks so to speak. We know that Colijn dined two times at the Royal Palace during his first leave back in the Netherlands, what we don’t know is what was discussed at those dinners. Langeveld takes us to those dinners and allows us to hear what could have been said by Colijn and Queen Wilhelmina, though in reality we can be quite sure that the actual conversation didn’t quite go as described in The Oiler. That particular scene is very suitable for use in a lesson on modern imperialism though, so we will forgive the writer. As we will also have to forgive him for a few other elements in the book that don’t quite stroke with the historical sources. The Hotel l’Europe from the start of the book wasn’t situated in Sabang but in Kota Radja[12] and it was Colijn who requested to be part of Van Heutsz’ journey back to the Netherlands in 1904, not Van Heutsz who requested Colijn’s presence. Are these actual mistakes or literary license? The beauty, or problem depending on your point of view, with historical novels is that it doesn’t really matter. Either way The Oiler is another success from Langeveld and we can’t wait for him to complete the trilogy!





[1] Captain.
[2] Sir or lord in Malay.
[3] The Korps Marechaussee te Voet (or ‘Constabulary Corps on Foot’) was a contra-guerilla force formed during the Aceh-War. Not to confused with the Koninklijke Marechaussee (or ‘Royal Constabulary’) which served as the military police of the Netherlands.
[4] Present-day Jakarta.
[5] Reclaimed land (or polder) in the province of Noord-Holland. The reclamation was only completed in 1855 and the parents of Colijn were part of the first generation of colonists.
[6] The Battle of Kars was a decisive Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
[7] ‘Red Hendrik.’
[8] Jan Pieterszoon Coen was between 1619 and 1623 the fourth Governor-General for the VOC (Dutch East India Company) in the Indies. He is seen as the founder of the Dutch East Indies. Far from uncontroversial as he ordered the genocide in the Banda-islands in 1621.
[9] Joannes Benedictus (Jo) van Heutsz was known as the ‘Pacificator of Atjeh’. He published a brochure in which he outlined a way out of the quagmire that was the war in Aceh, got appointed governor of Aceh and managed to do exactly that. Would later on become Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and remains that only non-royal person to receive a state-funeral.
[10] Literally: Kleio Books. The Kleio is the periodical of the Dutch association of history teachers.
[11] OTL Herman Langeveld isn’t a novelist but wrote the most recent biography of Colijn. On the border of two worlds was the brochure Colijn wrote after the German conquests of 1940, in which he argued that an understanding should be reached with the Germans, as did many conservative politicians in Western Europe at that time. Butterflies change these somewhat. Colijn would later change his opinion on the Germans and die in German internment for his support of the resistance.
[12] Literally: city of the King, present-day Banda Aceh.

 

[dunHozzie]

I'm enjoying this one my countryman. Including this last not bookmarked chapter. 😉

One crit: the title really was confusing for a sec. Navalisme isn't a term I heard before, but what really nekt (bad joke I know) me was the capital N in it.

 

[Khaine]

Quite interested in seeing how the Dutch Navy would look if they end up focusing on submarines, especially if it does let allow them to hold Indonesia.

 

[anyone]

Would a Dutch emphasis on submarines allow the allies to reverse engineer tactics against German subs?

 

[HJ Tulp]

I'm enjoying this one my countryman. Including this last not bookmarked chapter. 😉

Thanks for the compliment fellow-cheesehead! (And for the heads up on the bookmarking of course)

One crit: the title really was confusing for a sec. Navalisme isn't a term I heard before, but what really nekt (bad joke I know) me was the capital N in it.

Yeah, I'm not really happy about the title as I know that the capitalizing of words is a bit of a anglicisism. When I set up the thread I had spend a lot of time on the first post and was anxious to just get it out there, so I didn't pay enough attention to the title. I am happy that it's a hommage to the work of Anten though, as without Navalisme nekt onderzeeboot (with the correct capitalizing!) this TL would never have happened.

Quite interested in seeing how the Dutch Navy would look if they end up focusing on submarines, especially if it does let allow them to hold Indonesia.

So am I! I haven't written out the whole TL yet and with good reason. Every time I write an update I find more information so there is still a LOT of things undecided. Holding (significant parts of) the DEI is going to be a tall order though, and keeping the Indies a Dutch colony is going to be even harder! I daresay that ATL will be pretty different from OTL though.

Would a Dutch emphasis on submarines allow the allies to reverse engineer tactics against German subs?

Doubtful for several reasons. To start with, the Dutch and German submarine tactics were not the same. I don't want to give up to much - as the development of the Dtuch submarine tactics will be an extensive and integral part of the TL - but both navies were fighting very different wars. The Germans were fighting a guerre de cours (or commercial war) on the wide open Atlantic Seas, while the Dutch were planning on fighting an invasion fleet in the narrow straits of the Indonesian archipelago. Furthermore, the Dutch submarine tactics will shine in 1942, by that time the British have been in Battle-of-Atlantic-school for almost three years.

 

[Parma]

Great update. Very impressive inbedment to OTL even it is only slightly ALT. Especially the small detail of the ex-husband of Margaretta Zelle, briljant!
Good to read in the background of the men, and their world view, who will realy will make difference of the future of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the first half of the 20th century.
I might run a bit too fast, but will there be also and installment of some major figures of the RSKP, the Catholic party and the largest political faction in Dutch plolitics, after the introduction of the general voiting rights for men and women? It were 10 members of this party who "sunk" the 'half minimum' fleet law of 1923. If you even want to change OTL already on this point of course. Just want to highlight that the pacifist ideology, or complete out of the world idea's, runs through the whole political spectrum in those days....

 

[HJ Tulp]

Great update. Very impressive inbedment to OTL even it is only slightly ALT. Especially the small detail of the ex-husband of Maergaretta Zelle, briljant!

Thanks! At some point I discovered that I couldn't make the story work with Colijn being in Kota Rahdja but I also couldn't let all the interesting information about Hotel l'Europe go to waste. Which is when I thought of 'historical fiction' as a solution. It felt a little bit clunky writing it but I hope it worked out in the end!

I might run a bit to fast, but will there be also and installment of some major figures of the RSKP, the Catholic party and the largest political faction in Dutch plotics, after the introduction of the general voitng rights for men and women? It were 10 members of this party who sunk the 'half minimum' fleet law of 1923. If you even want to change OTL already on this point of course. Just want to highlight that the pacifist ideology, or complete out of the world idea's, runs through the whole political spectrum in those days....

There will certainly be an installment about Dutch interbellum politics, its pacifism and the demise of the 1923 Fleetlaw! How deep I'm jumping into the former I'm not sure yet and I also can't promise anything about narrative installments as I've noticed they are really fun to write but also time-consuming and reliant on bouts inspiration. What I can say is that the Fleetlaw of 1923 will not change much, for different reasons I will disclose when we get there

 

[HJ Tulp]

VI. The Fleetlaw of 1914

‘We can do anything we want, and if the Dutch people would only start with saying that, we can look at the future with confidence.’ Hendrikus Colijn, 1912.

The gamut of polemic articles in the Marineblad[1] attest to the lack of harmony, about what course the KM should plot, within the officer corps of the Koninklijke Marine (or KM) in the early decades of our century. The divisions were mainly – but certainly not limited to – about what threat the navy should focus on, a surprise attack on ports in the East Indies or a full-scale invasion of the colony as a whole, and how that threat should be countered, through a force build around the weapon of the torpedo (the Torpedoists) or guns (the Artillerists). These divisions made it impossible for the KM to make a fist in the debates about the defence of the Dutch East Indies, which spilled over into the political arena as a result of that.

While the debates raged, it became increasingly clear that the stakes were only becoming higher and higher. The economic importance of the Asian possessions of the Netherlands grew in relative and absolute sense, especially in the areas outside of Java (de Buitengewesten or Outer Regions), while possible adversaries increased their naval presence in the region. The disbalance in naval power grew larger as the strength of the Dutch navy barely increased, while French, British and, most importantly, Japanese ships increased in size and numbers. Since the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) the Empire of Japan had begun to feature in possible war scenario’s concerning the Dutch East Indies. With growing Japanese industrial and military, Dutch fear for a possible confrontation grew as well. This increased with the shock of the crushing Japanese victory over Russia in 1905, while the Anglo-Japanese alliance also robbed the Dutch East Indies of a possible protector and ally.

As tense and as dangerous as the geopolitical situation was fast becoming, one cannot overstate the influence of Hendrikus Colijn in turning the ship of state towards a new and highly ambitious naval expansion program. By 1911 this scion of an orthodox-Calvinist family had already had quite a remarkable career as a military officer and colonial administrator, when he was appointed minister of War in the confessionalist[2] cabinet of Theo Heemskerk. True to his nature and reputation, he would waste no time with indecisiveness about which road to take. That road had already been prepared somewhat by the minister of the Navy, vice-admiral Jan Wentholt, who was nicknamed Jan Kanon (John Cannon) because of his proposals to build a large, heavily armed and armoured ship, being inspired by a relatively new – for the Netherlands – political movement: navalism.

Alfred Mahan, naval officer, historian and theorist.

Navalism was inspired by the works of the American naval officer and theorist Alfred Mahan, who’s book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 became an instant international bestseller when it was published in 1890[3]. Analysing the work of Mahan in depth is outside of the scope of this publication, but in Seapower and later publications he emphasised the (growing) importance of sea lines of communication. Having the power to control the seas was paramount for every great power, without which global trade would grind to a halt and colonial possessions would be lost. Naval power thus became a matter of national survival. Naval power always being relative made the Marineblad write in 1911: ‘No, for us the fleet could never be powerful enough.’ How to get the most naval power? Through building the biggest, heaviest armoured and armed ships: battleships.

In comparison with countries like the United States, Germany or the United Kingdom, navalism was initially didn’t make many inroads into Dutch society. The country lacked the deposits of raw materials for a heavy industry to build battleships (or other capital ships for that matter) and thus also lacked a strong industrial lobby in favour of navalist policy. Furthermore, liberal parties maintained a strong presence up until the First World War. The Dutch liberals were in favour of keeping government-spending reduced, promoted the Ethical Policy in the Indies – stressing the need for social programs instead of military power – as well as an internationalist and free-trade view on foreign affairs. Other factors were the resistance of the KNIL and a lack of tabloid magazines. The only institution where navalism did have a strong presence was, unsurprisingly, the Koninklijke Marine. This presence was initially not strong enough to overcome societal inertia though. For that, navalism needed a former KNIL officer to shake things up, namely Hendrikus Colijn!

As mentioned earlier, minister of the Navy Wentholt planned to build a relatively – for the KM – heavy ship. When that plan failed (because one half of parliament was of opinion that the plan didn’t go far enough and the other half that it went too far) John Cannon resigned and who took his place as minister? None other than Colijn. Not more than three weeks after his swearing in as minister of the Navy did Colijn set up a state-commission which was ordered to ‘examine the organization of the defence of the Netherlands Indies, on land and on sea, from a political, technical and financial point of view and advise [the government] how to improve and finance it.’

The state-commission of 1912 was far from the first of its kind, since 1890 there had been four of those concerning the same subject, but it certainly was the ‘heaviest’, dubbing Colijn to call it a ‘super-state-commission’. The chairman was Prime Minister Heemskerk, with Colijn and minister of Colonial Affairs De Waal Malefijt as vice-chairmen, meaning the government was practically advising itself. The further composition of the state-commission heavily tilted it towards the conservative-Christian side of politics, with the Thesaurier-Generaal, or head of the General Treasury, Van Gijn being the only Liberal.

It took the state-commission a little over a year to produce its report and present it to Queen Wilhelmina on the 21th of May 1913. True to its assignment, the state-commission put the defence of Dutch East Indies in a greater geopolitical context. It asserted that the loss of the Indies would be a colossal disaster for the Netherlands, because Dutch investments had reached over a billion guilders and a great part of the national economy was reliant on its trade. Further noted was the shift in economic importance from Java to Sumatra – and to a lesser extent the other parts of the Outer Regions. The combination of internal pacification and geopolitical developments meant that the greatest danger to the colony were now external. These external threats were the great powers in Asia and – as was written in a secret chapter of the report – especially Japan. A battle for control of the Indies was undoubtedly going to be about control of the seas, necessitating a powerful force of battleships and other vessels supporting that force. The state-commission went so far as to advise on the composition of the Navy in the coming period:

• 9 battleships of 21,000 ton
• 6 torpedocruisers
• 8 destroyers of 500 ton
• 44 torpedoboats of 300 ton
• 22 submarines of 380 ton
• 6 minesweepers

To make this shipbuilding program happen, it was further recommended to confirm it in a Fleetlaw to prevent it from being axed if a different political wind would blow. The costs were estimated on 45 million guilders, with a 6 million budget cut for the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL). As the state-commission didn’t want to raise taxes on companies, as was suggested by some, a quite unorthodox payment scheme was devised. It was therefore not surprising that the only liberal member, Van Gijn, wrote a dissenting opinion on the financing of the plan, in which he also estimated that the plan would probably cost twice as much as budgeted. The Thesaurier-General rather spend that money on an ‘ethical defence’ of the colony, in which social programs would legitimize Dutch rule. Nevertheless, the report was signed unanimously by all member, including Van Gijn.

The hard work of the commission notwithstanding, it was impossible to get the Fleetlaw through parliament before the elections of July 1913, which the government parties lost. Was this the end of the Fleetlaw? In its current form it became clear that the social-democrats and the liberals, which constituted the majority of the new parliament, were not going to be swayed. The new cabinet didn’t retract the whole law however. The tide was in that sense clearly with the navalists. The Rambonnet-plan entailed the following fleet composition:

• 5 battleships of 24,605 ton (four build in the next five years and the fifth one ready in 1927)
• 5 cruisers of 4,000 ton (bigger than the torpedo-cruisers of the previous plan)
• 24 destroyers
• 7 submarines of 570 tons.

This downsized force was still a great improvement over the current forces - and more balanced than the original plan - but couldn’t overcome the navy’s greatest enemy: the Ministry of Finance. Minister Bertling would only allow a single battleship (paid for by the Dutch East Indies!) to be build, torpedoing the Fleetlaw.

Bertling had failed to consider how much stronger the forces of navalism had become though. Onze Vloot (‘Our Fleet’), was an association not unlike the German Navy League, which supported naval expansion. It had only been founded in 1906 and tried to be a-political, but saw that it was now or never for the Fleetlaw. It hired journalists to write navalist articles and spread 100,000 copies of their brochure: ‘’sLands Welvaart in Gevaar!’, ‘Our Country’s Prosperity in Danger!’ Which painted a hellish picture of what the Netherlands would befall, if the Indies were lost.

‘And slowly but surely, our nation will sink to the level of one of the least significant
little states of Europe,- to a country with some agriculture and some livestock
and some domestic industry, with a fourth of its trade of yesteryear – that will lack
any power of its own and is ready to be incorporated into one of the stronger
Powers. And then, then the time might not be far, that the Netherlands will have
ceased to exist.’

The Demise of the Netherlands, a subsequent brochure published by ‘Onze Vloot’. To the right a cartoon captioned: the unarmed idealist and the well-armed molester. ‘The Idealist: We shouldn’t see the Indies as a commercial, but as an idealistic possession.’ ‘The other: completely right! If he stays inadequately armed, I will carry out those ideals – on MY terms.’

Scores of industrials, bankers and businessmen were quoted in the publications of Onze Vloot, which all supported the same message: No Indies, no future! The navalist propaganda was very successful, among politicians but also among the business-class. A new payment scheme was devised, with a special ‘fleettax’ for assets above 50,000 guilders, a direct tax on profits of companies in the Dutch East Indies, export taxes on oil, rubber, sugar, tobacco and tea, a tax of shipping and a tax on railroad companies. The strongest shoulders would to the heaviest lifting. Minister Rambonnet could be pleased with himself, there was nothing that could stop the Fleetlaw now.

Translated from: Teitler, G. (1988). Slagschepen voor Jan Maat! Het vlootplan van 1914. Marineblad, 100, 34-39.[4]



Delftsche Courant, Monday 29th of June, 1914[5]

THE AUSTRIAN HEIR MURDERED

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot and killed on yesterday’s morning in Sarajevo, the capital of Austrian annexed Bosnia. (...) Yesterday morning the following signal arrived us: Sarajevo, 28th June. - When this morning the Austrian heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand with his consort arrived at the station, an unknown individual fired several pistol shots at them; the archduke as well as the princess were killed. Other reports say that the archduke was killed, the princess heavily wounded.
(...)
For several years, the prince Hohenlohe, former German Chancellor in his DANKWURDIGKEITEN asked: how long will it go on in Austria and will the dead of Emperor Franz Joseph not mean the end of the monarchy. Russia would like to divide Austria after Franz Josephs dead and it will depend on the new heir if that will mean war or if that will mean peace.
(…)
BERTHA VON SUTTNER – The remains of Bertha von Suttner have been burned at the crematory at Gotha. The coffin was draped with velvet and at it foot end laid a large wreath captioned: “To our beloved great leader! The German Peace movement!’ All ceremony has been dispensed with and…[6]





[1]Literally the ‘Navy Gazette’, the periodical of the Marine-Vereeniging (or Naval Association) which membership was mainly composed of naval officers.
[2]Dutch politics was divided in roughly four, loose, groupings: Catholics, Protestants, Liberals and Social Democrats. The first two hated each other religiously but as the 19th century progressed they got a lot closer politically.
[3]Wentholt actually send a birthday-telegram to Mahan in 1910: Gratefully acknowledging the great merits of your famous works on naval history and strategy I beg to accept of myself and the officers of the Royal Netherlands Navy the warmest gratulations with your 70th birthday.
[4]Professor Teitler is probably the greatest authority on 19th and 20th century naval and military history of Netherlands. The text is all mine but based on his book Anatomie van de Indische Defensie.
[5]This is the original article in the Delftsche Courant, translated by yours truly.
[6]Bertha von Suttner was the leader of the German pacifist movement. I had never heard of her before I read the article about the murder on the Austrian royals, but found the juxtaposition of these two news items deeply ironic.

 

[H.Flashman(VC)]

While looking in the Dutch Defense Academy image bank, I came across this picture of the midshipman football team in 1903:

Player at the bottom center might be our protagonist, though I admit that this could very well be idle hope!

Johan Furstner 40 years later.

I actually suspect it is the most left one on the top.

 

[Parma]

Very nice update. Incredible indepth proloog

 

[HJ Tulp]

I actually suspect it is the most left one on the top.

Ah good one! I'm not sure about the chin though.

Very nice update. Incredible indepth proloog

Thanks! At times I'm wondering if it's not too in-depth but it might be the best for such a niche-subject.

 

[Parma]

Ah good one! I'm not sure about the chin though.

Thanks! At times I'm wondering if it's not too in-depth but it might be the best for such a niche-subject.

For me not, but maybe for others. Although it does give a solid base. And you need to make a simmilar instalment for the period 1918-1923. The crucial cabinets Ruys de Berenbroeck who made, or brake the KM and the submarines for the next decade. Or are you leave it to thed cabinets Colijn in the thirties? 😉

 

[HJ Tulp]

For me not, but maybe for others. Although it does give a solid base. And you need to make a simmilar instalment for the period 1918-1923. The crucial cabinets Ruys de Berenbroeck who made, or brake the KM and the submarines for the next decade. Or are you leave it to thed cabinets Colijn in the thirties? 😉

The next instalment will be about the KM in WWI. After that we will begin dissecting the evolution of the Dutch submarine tactics!

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

Thanks! At times I'm wondering if it's not too in-depth but it might be the best for such a niche-subject.

Hi HJ Tulp, its not too in-depth for me, but I would say you should write the timeline you want to write and not worry about what others think. At the moment its about setting the historical content from which your POD will divert. Because your subject matter is unknown to most of us, the historical content is needed, and in some detail so we understand the arguments that were made at the time, as to how defend an empire on the other side of the world with a very limited budget. Once you move into the alternative history your writing style may change somewhat, possible personalising it by using characters, either historical of fictional to make it a less dry read but don't lose detail if you can help it. Personally I'm loving it, learning loads about a subject I would like to know more about.

 

[HJ Tulp]

VII. False Start

‘De hele vaderlandse slagvloot naar de kelder gejaagd, zonder dat het ook maar een enkel schot gelost had. Tot zinken gebracht niet door den vijand, maar door den eigen volksvertegenwoordiging. Sinds Pichegru’s ruiters had den Marine geen schandelijkere nederlaag gesmaakt.’

‘The entire national battlefleet plunged to the bottom of the sea, without having fired even a single shot. Sunk not by the enemy, but by it’s own parliament. Not since Pichegrus hussars[1], had our Navy tasted a more bitter and shameful defeat.’ Captain C.E.L. Helfrich, January 1939.[1]



….there was nothing that could stop the Fleetlaw now. Nothing, but for an all-encompassing world war that is.

As Allied and Central armies marched to the fields of battle, the main priority of government and parliament were with keeping the country neutral and out of the war. As it became clear that the war would not be over by Christmas, the situation in the Netherlands normalised somewhat. In October 1914 the ministers of navy and colonial affairs did, however, notify parliament that the Fleetlaw-proposal would be put on hold. The first, and stated, reason was that the government wished to learn lessons from the war and adjust the proposal accordingly. The second, and unstated, reason was more important though: it was impossible to order the battleships in Germany or Great-Britain, as the latter had confiscated the Ottoman Empire’s Reşadiye (commissioning it as HMS Erin) and the former hit even closer at home by confiscating the Dutch Z-class[3] torpedoboats (commissioning them as V105 to V108) being build at AG Vulcan Stettin. Minister of the Navy Rambonnet nevertheless tried to keep the momentum of navalism going by requesting funds from parliament to build three cruisers. In the Tweede Kamer [4] he now finds heavy opposition to the cruisers, in favour of submarines. What had happened to the enthusiasm for the Fleetplan of 1914?

Influence of the First World War on the Fleetplan of 1914

As we have seen, Dutch navalism had faced an uphill battle from the start. In early 1914, that battle did seem to have been won. Naval warfare during the Great War quickly negated that victory however.

The war had only been going on for less than two months, when German submarine U-9 sank three British armoured cruisers in an action that took just over an hour. This event made even more of an impact in the Netherlands because it took place close to the Dutch coast and a large number of British seamen were rescued by Dutch shipping. These sinkings, as well as the successes against Allied merchant-shipping, made it clear that the submarine was a weapon which potency shouldn’t be underestimated. Meanwhile the battleships, that had been seen as great symbols of national strength and indispensable to every serious navy, made barely an act-de-presence. The Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy was driven off to Scapa Flow in the north by the German U-boats, while the Hochseeflotte was being unmasked as not much more than the Kaisers toy duck, with which he could only play in the bathtub that was the Helgoland Bight (under protection of those same U-boats no less!).

|
Steamlaunch of HMS Cressy in the port of Scheveningen, after it was found drifting at sea by the Dutch authorities

It were these developments which opened up the debate between Artillerists and Torpedoists once again, by providing the latter with much needed ammunition. In this, they received support from the KNIL. The battlefleet-plan had, as mentioned before, entailed a drastic reduction of the Indian Army, which could now see an opening to reverse that defeat. In fact, plans were now being made for an expansion of its size and role, through the adoption of conscription in the East Indies. Initially this would concern the European subjects but why not for the natives as well? Didn’t the Ethical Policy[5] make colonial rule beneficial to them, and eager to defend that same colonial rule? This plan even received support from an unlikely place, as Indonesian Nationalists happened to be very much in favour of this idea. Their demands spooked the colonial establishment however, as the Nationalists demanded native participation in government to be included. In spite of colonial hesitancy, a Volksraad or Peoples Council was instated in 1918 as a first step, only for that development to be halted with the end of the First World War. Besides the native conscription, the KNIL had another ace in their sleeve. The position of Soeroebaja as the main naval base in the colony had been disputed ever since the discussion regarding the Fundamentals of 1892, and arguably even before that. The base was in East-Java, while West-Java (with the capital Batavia) was the centre of gravity for the KNIL-manned defence of the island, and her harbour was too shallow for large ships. Several proposals for a different base of operations were made, with the KNIL being especially interested in the construction of a new base in Soenda-Strait. Even the most ardent anti-KNIL naval officer had to agree that this idea had its merits. The location of the base would mean that a fleet based there, could only be blockaded if the enemy would divide its forces, and even in that case, the enemy fleets wouldn’t be able to jointly engage the Dutch one. More importantly for the KNIL however, was the fact that the base would allow unobstructed movement between the islands of Java and Sumatra. This would mean that the Army wasn’t bound to Java alone! This possible ascendance of the KNIL, and the fact that the construction of the new headquarters of the fleet would cost literal battleships of money, made the Navy’s opposition to this plan understandable, yet unfortunate[6].

Within the Koninklijke Marine the main venue of discussion was the Marineblad. In the wartime editions we can discern roughly four different variants for what the post-WWI navy should look like.

• Original Fleetlaw-plan of 1914.
• ‘Harmonic’[7] or balanced fleet.
  • Four battlecruisers that would have to be faster or stronger than any Japanese ship.
    1. These would be able to use their speed to scout in a wide area and attack the enemy where it is the weakest.
    2. Would also be able to weaken the enemy anti-submarine units.
  • Submarines to form lines in the small straits of the Indonesian archipelago.
    1. Tasked with taking out the enemy transport-fleet.
    2. Could weaken the enemy battlefleet.
  • This plan would be more encompassing and more expensive than the 1914 Fleetlaw-plan.
• Submarine fleet.
  • No heavy ships.
  • Instead more (up to 78) submarines.
  • Concentration of forces against the enemy transport-ships.
  • There would be no (attempt at) hegemony of the sea, meaning the Japanese Kongo-battlecruisers would be able to penetrate the archipelago.
  • Most supporters of this plan also advocate heavy cruiser-submarines for an offensive against the Japanese ports.
  • Would be less dependent on (swift) support from possible allies.
  • Barely less expensive than the previous two variants.
• Neutrality fleet.
  • Cruisers, assisted by destroyers.
  • Only purpose is neutrality enforcement, as in any other scenario the Netherlands can’t influence the outcome anyway.

As the world war progressed, the obsolescence of the Fleetlaw-plan became more and more apparent, with most of its supporters joining those of the balanced fleet. Jan Maat[8] was not getting his battleships.

Translated from: Teitler, G. (1988). Slagschepen voor Jan Maat! Het vlootplan van 1914. Marineblad, 100, 34-39



Java-class light cruisers

During the First World War the Royal Netherlands Navy had a problem. Its battleship-program could not be executed, as foreign shipyards started building for their own navies. This opened up the floor for new discussions on the composition of the fleet, within parliament and navy. Minister of the navy J.J. Rambonnet, tried to do his upmost best in these conditions to effectuate some form of fleet expansion. He tried to convince the members of parliament that light cruisers should be useful in any of the fleet compositions proposed. The former commodore envisioned tactical units of (light) cruisers, destroyers and submarines, where the surface-ships could lure the enemy to a line of submarines.

The proposed Java-class (named after the lead ship and most important island of the Dutch East Indies) had to be stronger than the strongest of Japanese cruisers, the Chikuma-class (see p.36). At first a Dresden-class (see p.58) look-a-like was proposed. When SMS Emden was sunk by HMS Sydney (which was very similair to the Chikamu) during the Battle of Cocos though, the design was expanded.

Rambonnet managed to get three Java-class cruisers accepted in parliament with the tiniest majority possible. The building of Java and Sumatra started in 1916, with work on Celebes starting in 1917. The building proces would be wrought with issues and delays, caused by inexperience of the shipyards (the Java-class being the largest naval ships ever constructed in the Netherlands), hindrance from the belligerent countries when obtaining equipement, and incidental bad luck such as a fire at the engine supplier and industrial actions from unions. All this would result in Hr. Ms. Java only coming in to service in 1925, Hr.Ms. Sumatra in 1926 and in 1923 Celebes being cancelled all together.

The two Java-class cruisers that did come into service would see extensive service in the Second World War however, starting in 1940 when….

Hr.Ms. Sumatra in 1926, the year it was launched after a building-proces of 10 years.

Shaw, D. & Hendricks, T.Y. (2002). Warships Illustrated XVII. Annapolis, MA: Naval Warfare Publications



Socio-scientific explanation of the failure of the Battlefleet-plan

Why did the military-industrial complex failed to implement its aggressive Battlefleet-plan? For this we turn to the theory of the well known pacifist-theoretician, L.F. Richardson. According to him the succes any armament-expansion-proces is the result of (a) the level of armament of the opponent, (b) the level of the already carried armament-load and (c) the measure of enmity against the opponent. The higher (a) and (c) are, and the lower (b) is, the greater the expansion of armaments can be. Of course if (a) and (c) are low, while (b) is high, the effort to expand the military will most likely fail. How does that fit in the situation in the Netherlands before and after the start of the First World War? In the analysis below Japan will be the opponent, because that was the vision of the military-industrial complex in the Netherlands at that point in time.

Before the First World War: Japan had a high level of armament (a), the economy of the Netherlands had high numbers of wealth accumulation (b), while the level of emnity towards Japan was high (c). (a) and (c) were high, while (b) was low.

During the First World War: Japan still had a high level of armament (a), the economy of the Netherlands tanked (b), while the lack of a Japanese attack (as ordered by the United Kingdom) on the colony of Indonesia, coupled with a change of government[9] meant that the emnity towards Japan was low (c). This explains the failure of the Battlefleet-plan. One

This explains why the Battlefleet-plan was gaining traction with the bourgeoisie before the start of the First World War, while also explaining its loss of momentum after the beginning of overt hostilities. I do want to add that it is very well possible that if the Netherlands had a domestic industrial base that could provide the battleships, the Battlefleet-plan could very well have kept up the momentum and come to fruition, with all consequences that would entail. Indeed, we will see in the next chapter that it would not take long for the military-industrial complex to make another push for a expansion of the fleet.

Translated from: Van der Spek, A.G. (1973). Het Pacifisme in Nederland. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Antimilitaristische Uitgeverij.[10]



[1]On the 23th of January, a force of French cavalry commanded by general Pichegru captured the Dutch fleet at Den Helder. The fleet was iced in and had no way to escape. This is seen by many as the only time a unit of cavalry defeated a naval squadron, though when the French arrived at Den Helder, the decision to surrender had already been made.
[2]Very much ATL. Actually this is the first actual butterfly in this TL, as Helfrich was OTL a schout-bij-nacht or commodore at this point in time.
[3]Z standing voor ‘Zeer grote’ or ‘Very large’
[4]The Lower House of Dutch parliament
[5]Collection of policies that aimed to improve life of the colonial citizens of the Dutch Indies. Because it did nothing to stop the racial divide in society, and was wrought with paternalization, it did in fact not endear the population to their colonial overlords.
[6]If I would be doing a Dutch-wank this would be my starting point. The Sunda-strait base would have been fantastic for the allied defense of the Malay Barrier, allowing for a more substantial force to be stationed near Palembang, as its lines of retreat to Java would be secure. Pity.
[7]AFAICS the term isn’t used in English.
[8]Nickname for the navy.
[9]During WWI the Netherlands was ruled by a liberal minority cabinet. As we will see the Liberals were pretty much in favour a defense of ethics, instead of arms.
[10]Fred Van der Spek was a Dutch politician and one of the founders of the PSP, the Pacifistic Socialist Party.

 

[Parma]

Nice update, I can not wait for 1922

 

[Errolwi]

The foundation continues to the built, good detail, thanks.

 

[HJ Tulp]

Nice update, I can not wait for 1922

The foundation continues to the built, good detail, thanks.

Thanks to the both of you! My apologies for the hiatus between this update and the last. Work has been - almost literally - crazy the past month. Fortunately things have quieted down a bit recently so that leaves more room for sleep and writing. Hopefully I will be able to get into the rhythm of the weekly update again, though I do have to start writing application letters so no promises!

 

[Khaine]

Ever so slowly history is turning. I am quite curious in what direction you want to take this.