Origins as portrayed by
Michiel van Mierevelt, between 1613–1620. The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to the founding of the (the Army of the Dutch States) in 1572: the creation of one of the first modern standing armies. Under the command of famous commanders such as
Maurice of Orange and
William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg, the army developed widely. The
Dutch States Army of the
Dutch Republic saw action in the
Eighty Years' War, the
Dano-Swedish War, the
Franco-Dutch War, the
Nine Years' War, the
War of Spanish Succession, the
War of Austrian Succession, as well as the
French Revolutionary Wars. The independent army was disbanded in 1810, when
Napoleon decided to integrate the Netherlands into France (""): Dutch military units became part of the (the present-day French
126th Infantry Regiment has Dutch origins). Dutch military elements participated in the disastrous
French invasion of Russia in 1812, and the actions of the Pontonniers company under Captain Benthien at the
Berezina River (
Battle of Berezina) are especially noteworthy. New research points out that, contrary to long-held belief, around half of the Dutch contingent of the Grande Armée survived the Russian Campaign. '' by
Jan Willem Pieneman, 1818. The future
William II at the
Battle of Quatre Bras.
Kingdom of the Netherlands (1814–1914) In 1814, a year after the return of
William I of the Netherlands to
Scheveningen and the
Orangist uprising against Napoleonic rule, an independent Dutch army was reformed by the new
Kingdom of the United Netherlands. Several militias of the
Dutch States Army were integrated into this newly formed Netherlands Mobile Army, and it became an integral part of the allied army during the
Hundred Days campaign that culminated in the
Battle of Waterloo. Units such as Baron Chassé's were essential to securing victory for the allied army. The army was involved in various conflicts since 1814, including the
Waterloo campaign (1815) and different colonial wars (1825–1925). During the
Belgian Revolution, from 1830 to 1832, the army was deployed to restore order in the southern provinces. After initial Dutch military success and widespread Belgian defeat during battles of the
Ten Days' Campaign, the Belgian rebels appealed to
France for military support. The severely outnumbered Dutch troops were forced to retreat when the French agreed to send reinforcements.
World wars (1914–1945) during the mobilization of the army in 1939. The Netherlands continued the policy of
neutrality during
World War I. This stance arose partly from a strict policy of neutrality in international affairs that started in 1830 with the
secession of Belgium. Dutch neutrality was not guaranteed by the major powers in Europe however, nor was it a part of the Dutch constitution. The country's neutrality was based on the belief that its strategic position between the
German Empire, German-occupied Belgium, and the British guaranteed its safety. The Dutch military strategy was aimed exclusively at defence and rested to a large extent on the
Dutch Water Line, a defensive ring of rivers and lowland surrounding the core Dutch region of Holland, that could be inundated. The
German invasion posed a complete surprise for the army command and shocked the Dutch population. While the Royal Netherlands Army initially managed to slow down the German advance and fought back in intense battles, such as the
Battle for The Hague, the
Battle of Rotterdam and the
Battle of the Afsluitdijk, the devastating
German bombing of Rotterdam and the threat of bombing the city of
Utrecht forced the Dutch supreme command to capitulate. The Royal Netherlands army was disbanded during the German occupation, however army personnel continued the battle against the German occupiers during the war. Army resistance began to rise again with the formation of the
Princess Irene Brigade and
No. 2 (Dutch) Troop (predecessor to the
Korps Commandotroepen) as part of the
Free Dutch Forces in exile, and with army personnel active in the
Dutch resistance. In the East, the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was defeated by the Japanese in 1942; few elements managed to escape. Today's army grew out of the wartime force, starting with the liberation of parts of the Netherlands in 1944; the Dutch had plans to contribute a 200,000 strong army to the defeat of Germany and Japan. in 1948, the
Bren-gunner adjusts his sights.
Decolonisation and Cold War (1945–1991) Dutch East Indies Between 1945 and 1949, the Royal Netherlands Army, which originally used mainly
war volunteers but later was heavily dependent on conscripts, was deployed to the
Dutch East Indies during the
Indonesian War of Independence. To restore Dutch authority in the
Dutch East Indies, the expeditionary land force
First Division "7 December" was established in 1946. Approximately 25,000 volunteers and 95,000 conscripts were deployed to the East during the conflict, 4,751 servicemen were killed.
Cold War During the
Korean War, 4,748 members of the army, the
Royal Netherlands Navy and the
Netherlands Marine Corps formed the and were dispatched to East Asia to fight against the troops of the People's Republic of China and North Korea. 122 soldiers were killed in action, 3 soldiers went
missing in action. in 1963, after which light tanks of the type
AMX-13 and
AMX-VCI tracked vehicles move by in a procession. The
I Corps (Netherlands) stood watch alongside its NATO allies in Germany during the Cold War. The corps consisted of three divisions during the 1980s, the 1st, 4th, and 5th (reserve) divisions. It was part of the NATO
Northern Army Group. The corps' war assignment, as formulated by Commander,
Northern Army Group (COMNORTHAG), would be to: • Assume responsibility for its corps sector and relieve 1st German Corps forces as soon as possible. • Fight the covering force battle in accordance with COMNORTHAG's concept of operations. • In the main defensive battle: (1) hold and destroy the forces of the enemy's leading armies conventionally as far east as possible, maintaining cohesion with 1 (GE) Corps; (2) in the event of a major penetration affecting 1 (NL) Corps sector, be prepared to hold the area between the roads A7 and B3 and to conduct a counterattack according to COMNORTHAG's concept of operations. • Maintain cohesion with LANDJUT and secure NORTHAG's left flank in the Forward Combat Zone. Dutch army troops have deployed to Lebanon as part of an international protection force since 1979 War in Lebanon, 1979–1985
UNIFIL. Of the 9,084 soldiers who served in Lebanon, 9 soldiers were killed in action. At the height of the Cold War the Dutch army had almost 1,000 tanks in service.
main battle tank on the beach of
Scheveningen, 2008.
Recent history (1991–present) The
Fall of the Iron Curtain and the ensuing end of the Cold War has had a significant impact on the Dutch armed forces as a whole, but on the army in particular. Mandatory conscription was suspended and surplus equipment deemed unnecessary was sold. An airmobile brigade was formed and co-operation with allied countries, Germany in particular, was intensified. The
I (NL) Corps was reduced to the
First Division "7 December" in 1995, which became part of the newly established
I. German/Dutch Corps, and consequently the division headquarters itself was disbanded. In addition, the army increasingly concentrated on peace-keeping and peace-enforcing operations and has been involved in several operations in the former
Yugoslavia (1991–present), but also in Cambodia (1992–1994), Haiti (1995–1996), Cyprus (1998–1999), Eritrea and Ethiopia (2001), and most recent in Iraq (2003–2005), Afghanistan (2002–present), Chad (2008–2009) and Mali (2014–2019). On 8 April 2011, the Dutch Ministry of Defense dissolved the last tank unit and sold the remaining Leopard tanks due another series of large budget cuts while also dismissing 6,000 servicemen and women. On 18 May 2011, the last Leopard 2 fired the final shot at the
Bergen-Hohne Training Area. In 2014, the Dutch defence budget hit a new low, 7.4 billion euros (1.09% of GDP), resulting in the
combat readiness of both personnel and equipment being subpar. The negative trend was broken from 2015 onwards due to a perceived shifting international security situation. The attitude towards defence changed, mainly caused by increasing tensions with Russia (caused by the
downing of the MH17 flight and the
annexation of Crimea) and the
rise of the Islamic State, resulting in the defence budget seeing an increase of over 50 percent between 2014 and 2020, amounting to 11.04 billion euros (1.35% of GDP) in 2020. Due to the war in the Ukraine, the budget rises sharply, in 2025 amounting a total budget of 23.4 billion. The budget will grow to around 30 billion euros in 2030. In September 2024 it was announced that the Netherlands will acquire new tanks.
Bosnia Dutch army personnel was deployed to
Bosnia between 1994 and 1995 to, as part of the UN peace force
UNPROFOR, to restrain the escalating ethnic violence of the
Bosnian War. Three infantry battalion (known as
Dutchbats) of the, at the time, recently established
11 Air Assault Brigade were sequentially deployed to guard the
United Nations Safe Areas of any possible threats. This mission became infamous following the
Siege of Srebrenica and the ensuing
Srebrenica massacre. Bosnian Serb troops under the command of general
Ratko Mladic, sentenced to life imprisonment on accounts of participating in
genocide,
crimes against humanity, and
war crimes in 2017, invaded the enclave of
Srebrenica and subsequently deported and massacred a large share of the present Bosniak men and boys.
Iraq A contingent of 1,345 troops (comprising Army and
Dutch Marines, supported by
Royal Netherlands Air Force helicopters) was deployed to Iraq in 2003, based at Camp Smitty near
As Samawah (Southern Iraq) with responsibility for the
Muthanna Province, as part of the
Multinational force in Iraq. On 1 June 2004, the Dutch government renewed their stay through 2005. The Netherlands
lost two soldiers in separate attacks. From 2015 until the spring of 2018, Dutch
special operations forces (
KCT and
NLMARSOF) deployed advice and assist (A&A) teams to northern Iraq in co-operation with the Belgian
Special Forces Group. During this deployment, they provided support to
Kurdish Peshmerga and
Iraqi Army forces before, during and after operations in the
battle against ISIL, as part of the
Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. The Netherlands currently deploy approximately 60 troops to Iraq.
Afghanistan Between 2001 and 2003, a reinforced army company was deployed to Afghanistan to provide support in maintaining public order, and providing security in and around the capital
Kabul. In addition, military assistance was provided to the
Afghan National Army and to local security troops. The troops were deployed under the command of
NATO's
International Security Assistance Force mission. , Afghanistan in 2009. Between 2006 and 2010, the Netherlands deployed personnel to southern Afghanistan. By August 2006 the Netherlands had deployed the majority of 1,400 troops to
Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan at
Multi National Base Tarin Kot (Kamp Holland) in
Tarin Kowt (1,200) and Kamp Hadrian in
Deh Rahwod (200).
PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery pieces were deployed and used in combat for the first time. On 18 April 2008, the second day of his command, the son of the
Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army Lieutenant-general
Peter van Uhm, Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm, was one of two servicemen killed by a road side explosion. As of 1 September 2008, the Netherlands had a total of 1,770 troops in Afghanistan excluding special forces troops. In total, 25 Dutch servicemen were
killed in action during the deployment. All Dutch troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan by August 2010. Since 2015, 160 Dutch troops from the
Korps Commandotroepen (rotated with
NLMARSOF) and multiple support elements are deployed to the Afghan city of
Mazar-e-Sharif as part of
NATO's
Resolute Support Mission. Dutch troops co-operate with personnel of the German
Kommando Spezialkräfte as part of the German-Dutch lead Special Operations Advisory Team (SOAT). The SOAT provides advice and assistance during operations to an Afghan
police tactical unit, the Afghan Territorial Force-888 (ATF-888). The SOAT has been granted authority to deploy in the entirety of Afghanistan.
Mali disembark a
CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a long-range reconnaissance patrol, north of
Gao, Mali. Special forces of the
Korps Commandotroepen have been deployed to Mali since 2014 as part of the UN-mission
MINUSMA. The primary task of the Dutch forces has been to gather intelligence concerning local Islamist groups and to protect the people of Mali against radical Islamist groups. Since 2016, personnel of
11th Airmobile Brigade and
13th Light Brigade have been included in rotations. On 6 July 2016, two servicemen of 11 Airmobile Brigade were killed during a mortar firing exercise, a third serviceman was severely wounded. The incident lead to the resignation of the
minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and
Chief of Defence Tom Middendorp after a critical report by the
Dutch Safety Board found that the safety-standards were subpar. The Netherlands have ended their troop contribution to the peacekeeping mission in May 2019 to send troops to Afghanistan instead.
Lithuania The
cabinet of the Netherlands announced in 2016 that the Netherlands would contribute troops to the
NATO Enhanced Forward Presence mission in Lithuania to protect and reassure countries on
NATO's eastern flank—
Baltic countries and Poland in particular—of their security following increased political tensions sparked by the
Russo-Ukrainian War. The Dutch contribution currently equates to approximately 270 troops, integrated into a multinatinational battle group that is headed by Germany. Each rotation is composed of armoured infantry companies equipped with
CV9035NL
IFVs and
Boxer AFVs, or artillery batteries equipped with
PzH 2000NL self-propelled howitzers. ==Structure==