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Artillery

In this chapter one can find concisive descriptions of the material used by the Dutch army artillery units, coastal artillery and the ground-to-air defence units. Almost all the guns of the first two Weapons were from German or Swedish origin. The links in the left margin of this page guide one to the desired weapons types.

The army artillery mainly comprised pre-WWI material, like it was the case in most belligerent armies. The modern component only consisted of 56 off highly capable 10,5 field howitzers of Swedish make. About one quarter of the artillery was 19th century production and quite obsolete. In total, the Dutch army artillery could mobilize 700 guns and a further 108 more obsolete light field guns.

The backbone of the field artillery was formed by more than 200 light field-guns of 7,5 cm, called '7-veld' and based on a Krupp design of 1904. It was a capable rapid-fire field gun that was quite comparable to the famous French Model 1897 better known as 'soixante-quinze'. The Dutch had overhauled and improved their 7-veld guns in the twenties, improving elevation and making the guns suitable for single shell loads. It caused the maximum range to be expanded to 10,500 m, which was a huge improvement to the previous performance. Like other light field guns, the 7,5 cm was hardly capable of delivering a punch. It was quite capable of repelling an infantry assault, but destructive barrages and effective fire on covered infantry had to be assigned to heavier guns.

The medium calibre artillery in the army was basically old or even obsolete. The 12,5 cm and 15 cm steel guns from Krupp were products from the 1880's. Slow firing rates, short ranges, low capacity shells and poor handling were characteristics that went along with these ancient weapons. Although these guns still proved quite capable of effective fire, their value was less than half that of a modern gun. The only modern component in the medium spectrum was represented by four battalions equipped with the very capable Bofors 10,5 cm howitzers, designated as '10-veld'. These were able of delivering a punch over distances as far as 16,5 km and quite accurate too.

The Dutch main howitzers were all originates of the first two decades of the century. It were 12 and 15 cm guns, which were all perfectly capable of short and medium range missions, but the limited range of 7 to 8,5 km proved to be a short-coming with massive tactical impact. Due to the shortage of long range artillery and the lightness of the standard 7,5 cm guns of the army artillery, the Dutch had hardly any weapons available to raid German artillery.

The Dutch coastline, over 400 km long, was a huge stretch to defend. As such coastal artillery was concentrated along the areas with important harbours and water-ways. A series of ancient coastal fortifications, some of which dated back into the early 19th century, were still used to house the Dutch coastal guns, although these guns were often quite capable. Most of the equipment originated from scuttled navy units. The majority was of the 12 and 15 cm calibres, usually capable of ranges up to 15-20 km. The lighter guns were used for direct harbour or river defences.

The ground-to-air defence of the Netherlands was quite good, although before 1935 it had been an army asset that had been grossly neglected. In a few years time capable and modern ant-aircraft guns had been procured and delivered. The heavy AAA component was almost entirely formed by the 7,5 cm guns from Vickers, with the addition of some 7,5 cm Skoda guns. The 7,5 cm AAA batteries were guided by a capable Vickers fire-directional control. The medium ground-to-air defences were not as strong. The 4 cm Bofors guns procured were only partially delivered and alternative sources dried up after minimum deliveries too. It left the air-defences with only a modest medium component. The light component was represented by 2 cm Oerlikon and Scotti guns as well as a few hundred Spandau and Vickers machineguns. Most of the ground-to-air defences had been concentrated in the west of the country, within the so called Fortress Holland. Other areas of concentration were the retreat routes of the southern field army and the main defence line in the heart of the country, the Grebbeline.