The Netherlands entered World War II on May 10, 1940, when invading German forces quickly overran the country. [1] On December 7, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Netherlands government in exile also declared war on Japan.

The following is a list of Dutch military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that began in 1939 and ended in 1945. On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, aiming to dominate Europe. The country was fully occupied by 17 May.

The Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation during World War II developed relatively slowly, but its counterintelligence, domestic sabotage, and communications networks provided key support to Allied forces beginning in 1944 and through the liberation of the country.

At sea, Dutch sailors and ships sailed with Allied convoys while a small Dutch naval presence continued to exist in the Pacific Ocean. On the ground, the Princess Irene Brigade was formed in Britain to train for, and would participate, the invasion of Western Europe.

The Dutch troops that managed to escape to Great Britain during World War II were incorporated into the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade, also known as the Princess Irene Brigade, after a Dutch princess.

Feb 4, 2024 · The Netherlands in World War II The Germans attacked The Netherlands on May 10, 1940 to provide access to France to bypass the Maginot Line and entice the Allies to cross the Dutch border to attack their spearhead in Belgium.

Feb 5, 2024 · But Dutch soldiers who had fought with the Allies were welcomed home, and the dead mourned. The Netherlands lost 7,900 soldiers in combat and 2,860 wounded or missing. Some 200,000 civilians were killed.

Dec 21, 2017 · The most famous Dutch Waffen-SS soldier emerged in the bitter fighting outside Leningrad, as Russian troops and armor struggled to break the German stranglehold on the city. Gerardus Mooyman, the dairy farmer’s son, had already been at the front for over a year, earning the Iron Cross First and Second Class.

Before the War the Dutch Navy in European waters was intended primarily for local coastal defense and mine-laying work in the North Sea; its most powerful units were stationed in the Dutch East Indies.

Nine Dutch Commandos are wounded during the very heavy fighting around the German gun battery W2. The fighting was later described “as one of the fiercest battles of the whole operation”. On 3 November 1944 Walcheren is liberated and the route to Antwerp is free.