THE CITIZEN ARMY OF HOLLAND 



617 



because it has an ally, mightier than 

 either steel or iron or high explosives. 

 That ally is the North Sea. The King- 

 dom of the Netherlands is a mud-bank 

 conquered from the ocean. Open the 

 dikes which defend the land against the 

 angry aggression of the sea and the 

 country will disappear beneath 3 feet of 

 water. This excellent method of defense 

 was known to our ancestors. It was first 

 used in the year 1572. In the month of 

 April of that year a number of starving 

 Dutch revolutionists captured a small 

 Dutch town named Brielle. The Span- 

 iards tried to reconquer it. The Hol- 

 landers opened the locks of the Meuse. 

 The water came and the Spaniard went. 



A few years later the town of Leiden, 

 situated in the heart of the country, was 

 delivered from Spanish siege by a fleet of 

 Dutch catboats and flat-bottomed scows 

 sailing across an impromptu lake and 

 storming Spanish forts after a charge of 

 swimming and wading sailors. 



A century later the entire military 

 power of Louis XIV of France was 

 turned against the Dutch Republic. The 

 French army, fresh from victories in 

 many parts of Europe, came to grief 

 when William III inundated the principal 

 part of the Province of Holland and 

 threatened to drown the invader. 



In the year 181 5, when the new King- 

 dom of the Netherlands was definitely 

 reconstructed, it was decided to use the 

 water in a scientific fashion for the de- 

 fense of the country. The eastern part, 

 flat and covered with heath, was to be 

 left open to invasion. The heart of the 

 country, 9 feet below the level of the sea, 

 was to be turned into an ingenious for- 

 tress. 



At the present time the old idea has 

 been continued with but small changes. 

 A strong force of cavalry and infantry 

 provided with bicycles is left for the de- 

 fense of this territory. These men must 

 try and stop the invading power as long 

 as possible. It is their duty to destroy all 

 bridges and to dispute any attempt of the 

 enemy to cross the big rivers. 



HOLLAND IS SURROUNDED BY MOATS 



Meanwhile the regular army has re- 

 tired behind the system of fortresses and 



inundations, which are all together desig- 

 nated as the "Waterline." 



The "Waterline" consists of two parts. 

 The first. line of defense runs from the 

 Zuyder Zee due south to the lower parts 

 of the rivers Meuse and Rhine. It cuts 

 off the provinces of north and south Hol- 

 land and half of the province of Utrecht. 

 It creates a large artificial lake, from 6 to 

 10 miles wide, which covers all roads, 

 canals, bridges, railroad tracks, and 

 fences. 



In many places where an attack might 

 be expected barbed-wire fences have been 

 constructed in such a fashion that they 

 shall be completely covered by the water. 

 The few trenches which guard this line 

 of defense on the east can be turned into 

 ditches. It will offer the forlorn aspect 

 of a large tract of flooded territory. The 

 thousands of trees, the network of fences 

 just below the surface of the water, will 

 make navigation an impossibility. 



At irregular intervals there are more 

 than 40 little islands armed with heavy 

 guns. They cover all the roads which in 

 normal time cross this territory, and they 

 know the exact range of every foot of 

 ground (or rather mud) in the water- 

 line. 



Behind this first line of defense 

 stretches the second one, which is also 

 the most important. It consists of an- 

 other group of inundations and some 

 forty-eight fortifications, and forms a 

 broad circle of defense for the town of 

 Amsterdam. Here the strength of the 

 country has been concentrated, and ever 

 since the beginning of the present war 

 every lock and every dike has been 

 guarded. Within six hours this territory 

 would be ready to resist an invasion. 

 Within twelve hours thousands of acres 

 of the most fertile grazing grounds would 

 be covered with four feet of salt water. 

 After a day and a night neither man nor 

 machine could cross the artificial sea sur- 

 rounding the heart of the country. The 

 much dreaded shells of the heavy siege 

 guns would cause a big splash, but would 

 do no damage. 



This is not a mere supposition written 

 in a moment of patriotic self-glorification. 

 Our statement is based upon the German 

 experience along the Yser front. The 



