Germany famously invaded France via the Netherlands and Belgium in World War Two. Yet in the First World War Germany choose to avoid the Netherlands and only invaded via Belgium and Luxembourg. So why did it do this? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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In the Second World War, Germany famously invaded France by going through Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The idea was that doing so would broaden the front, stretching French forces and allowing German troops to quickly go around them and avoid some fortifications too.

But during the First World War, when the German military had the same concerns, the Netherlands was left alone.

Why didn't Germany invade the Netherlands in the First World War?

So to begin, whilst planning for any future war with France, German commanders led by Alfred von Schlieffen knew that it would likely also involve Russia.

The original plan was to hold at the border and crush Russia before bringing their full might against France.

However, in 1905 the Russians showed the world that their military wasn't as mighty as they had let on, and so the Germans changed their plan.

Instead, France would be crushed first and then Russia dealt with.

The problem was that the Franco-German border was heavily manned and fortified, meaning that going through there would take a long time.

Schlieffen felt that quickly pushing through Luxembourg would allow the Germans to go around French fortifications, and that going through Belgium would aid in cutting through Luxembourg and that going through the Netherlands would aid in going through Belgium.

However, when war broke out 9 years later, Germany left the Netherlands alone.

Well, the first reason was overconfidence.

Germany's military chiefs believed that going through the Netherlands to flank the Belgians was unnecessary, because crushing them was going to be easy so why deal with the extra paperwork?

The second reason was that the German Emperor had a good relationship with the Dutch Royal Family, and Kaiser Wilhelm personally preferred that they weren't subject to capture or humiliation at the hands of the German army.

The third reason was the most important, pragmatism.

German high command knew that invading France via Belgium would pull Britain into the war, and with Britain's navy easily able to block trade to Germany, it needed to keep some of the seas open for food and goods.

As such, keeping the Netherlands out of the war meant that as a neutral nation it could openly import goods which Germany could purchase.

As a neutral third party, the Dutch could be threatened with escalation in order to prevent them from taking Britain or France's side.

The German military knew that the Dutch monarchy would never take their country into war with a great power, and so the threat of war, which Britain and France would never countenance, could be used to give some minor concessions.

For example, in the opening days of the invasion of Belgium, the Dutch closed the river Scheldt, which runs through its territory here to Antwerp and later to Brussels.

Now technically the Dutch were obliged to do this in times of war, but the Entente had put immense pressure on the Netherlands to keep it open.

However, the government of the Netherlands weren't willing to do this because if weapons and troops travelled through its territory to fight Germans, the Germans would have a justification to invade.

And so, it's these 3 reasons why the Netherlands was never invaded.

And as the war progressed, the German economic situation only got worse, thus the need for Dutch trade only ever grew, and intervention had no benefit.

And in case you're wondering why Germany did invade it in the Second World War, it's because it was great for building airfields close to Britain and also, again, over confidence.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my patrons...

James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chappell, Corsha Wolf, Jerry Lambdin, Jordan Longley, Adam Stalter, Marcus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Rod D.

Martin, Words About Books Podcast, Captain Psydog, Gustav Swan, Marvin Casal, Camoon Yoon, Winston K.

Wood, Boogily Woogily, Daniel Tobian, Miss Isett, Aaron the White, Corey Turner, The McWhopper, Alex Schwinn, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Maggie Paskowski, Shuen In, Spinning 3 Plates and Charles I.


Speaker 0: In the Second World War, Germany famously invaded France by going through Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. The idea was that doing so would broaden the front, stretching French forces and allowing German troops to quickly go around them and avoid some fortifications too. But during the First World War, when the German military had the same concerns, the Netherlands was left alone. Which raises the question, why? Why didn't Germany invade the Netherlands in the First World War?

So to begin, whilst planning for any future war with France, German commanders led by Alfred von Schlieffen knew that it would likely also involve Russia. The original plan was to hold at the border and crush Russia before bringing their full might against France. However, in 1905 the Russians showed the world that their military wasn't as mighty as they had let on, and so the Germans changed their plan. Instead, France would be crushed first and then Russia dealt with. The problem was that the Franco-German border was heavily manned and fortified, meaning that going through there would take a long time.

Schlieffen felt that quickly pushing through Luxembourg would allow the Germans to go around French fortifications, and that going through Belgium would aid in cutting through Luxembourg and that going through the Netherlands would aid in going through Belgium. However, when war broke out 9 years later, Germany left the Netherlands alone. So why? Well, the first reason was overconfidence. Germany's military chiefs believed that going through the Netherlands to flank the Belgians was unnecessary, because crushing them was going to be easy so why deal with the extra paperwork?

The second reason was that the German Emperor had a good relationship with the Dutch Royal Family, and Kaiser Wilhelm personally preferred that they weren't subject to capture or humiliation at the hands of the German army. The third reason was the most important, pragmatism. German high command knew that invading France via Belgium would pull Britain into the war, and with Britain's navy easily able to block trade to Germany, it needed to keep some of the seas open for food and goods. As such, keeping the Netherlands out of the war meant that as a neutral nation it could openly import goods which Germany could purchase. As a neutral third party, the Dutch could be threatened with escalation in order to prevent them from taking Britain or France's side.

The German military knew that the Dutch monarchy would never take their country into war with a great power, and so the threat of war, which Britain and France would never countenance, could be used to give some minor concessions. For example, in the opening days of the invasion of Belgium, the Dutch closed the river Scheldt, which runs through its territory here to Antwerp and later to Brussels. Now technically the Dutch were obliged to do this in times of war, but the Entente had put immense pressure on the Netherlands to keep it open. However, the government of the Netherlands weren't willing to do this because if weapons and troops travelled through its territory to fight Germans, the Germans would have a justification to invade. And so, it's these 3 reasons why the Netherlands was never invaded.

And as the war progressed, the German economic situation only got worse, thus the need for Dutch trade only ever grew, and intervention had no benefit. And in case you're wondering why Germany did invade it in the Second World War, it's because it was great for building airfields close to Britain and also, again, over confidence. I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my patrons... James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chappell, Corsha Wolf, Jerry Lambdin, Jordan Longley, Adam Stalter, Marcus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Rod D. Martin, Words About Books Podcast, Captain Psydog, Gustav Swan, Marvin Casal, Camoon Yoon, Winston K.

Wood, Boogily Woogily, Daniel Tobian, Miss Isett, Aaron the White, Corey Turner, The McWhopper, Alex Schwinn, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Maggie Paskowski, Shuen In, Spinning 3 Plates and Charles I.

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Why didn't Germany invade the Netherlands in World War One? (Short Animated Documentary)