Available since April 2023:
May 1940 – War over Holland (Winkelman's Witzkrieg)
ISBN: 9789464629637 | 210 pages | English edition
The dramatic Dutch defence against the German invasion of May 1940 lasted only five days. It began with a massive German airborne assault in the western heartland of the country and ended with the devastating German bombardment of Rotterdam, which destroyed much of the city centre and profoundly shocked the Dutch high command. When another major Dutch city was subsequently threatened with aerial destruction, the Dutch Commander-in-Chief decided to surrender.
How was it possible that a flat, water-rich country with extensive defensive preparations was overrun so rapidly by a comparatively modest German force?
The Dutch campaign of May 1940 is often ridiculed or dismissed as the inevitable consequence of poorly equipped and inadequately prepared armed forces. While there is some truth in these observations, the reasons for the swift Dutch defeat were far more complex. This book examines the origins of Dutch defence policy during the 1930s, the evolution of strategic thinking as international tensions mounted, the political influences that shaped military planning, and the development of the Dutch armed forces in the years leading up to war.
A central theme of the book is the politically motivated replacement of the Commander-in-Chief shortly before the outbreak of hostilities. This change fundamentally altered Dutch military strategy, shifting it away from a defence concept based on cooperation with Belgium and France towards a largely isolated defence of the western Netherlands and the national stronghold known as Fortress Holland.
As the German invasion of 10 May 1940 transformed years of planning into operational reality, the book follows the Dutch high command through the critical opening hours and days of the campaign. It analyses the key decisions that were made, the adjustments to unfolding events, and the efforts to anticipate both Allied (particularly French) and German manoeuvres.
The work is illustrated with operational and situational maps and is supported by detailed endnotes containing citations, source references, and archival material.
The book is available at webstores in the Netherlands as well as online, but in any case at the publisher's house (link is a hotlink directly to the publisher):
Aspekt Publishers >>>> link