Germany invade the Netherlands 1918

On 9 January 1917, the Kaiser met with Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg and military leaders at Schloss Pless to discuss measures to resolve Germany's increasingly grim war situation; its military campaign in France had bogged down, and with Allied divisions outnumbering German ones by 190 to 150, there was a real possibility of a successful Allied offensive. Meanwhile, the German navy was bottled up in its home port of Kiel, and the British blockade had caused a food scarcity that was in turn causing deaths due to malnutrition. The military staff urged the Kaiser to unleash the submarine fleet on shipping travelling to Britain, Hindenburg advising the Kaiser that "The war must be brought to an end by whatever means as soon as possible." On 31 January, the Kaiser duly signed the order for unrestricted submarine warfare to resume effective 1 February; Bethmann-Hollweg, who had opposed the decision, said "Germany is finished".

On 27 January, Admiral Beatty observed that "The real crux lies in whether we blockade the enemy to his knees, or whether he does the same to us."

Germany would have 105 submarines ready for action on 1 February: 46 in the High Seas Fleet; 23 in Flanders; 23 in the Mediterranean; 10 in the Baltic; and 3 at Constantinople. Fresh construction ensured that, despite losses, at least 120 submarines would be available for the rest of 1917.

The German Navy how ever thought to need a better base near the North Sea. Flushing would be the best option for this. Although it entered Belgium in 1914 with a very weak causus beli it still needed a causus beli to invade the Netherlands. It found this in the confiscation of all the dutch merchant ships by the USA. Despite strong objection and demand to release the ships the Germans were in the impression that the Dutch were supporting the Allies.
The Dutch PM and secretary of foreign affairs tried to persuade the Germans that the Netherlands were still neutral, but in vain.
Already since 1917 the German Navy had made plans to invade the South of the Netherlands in order to control the Dutch Province of Zeeland and establish submarine bases in the Schelde estuary. Due to limit of sources the German Army could only deliver support units and initially a limited number of men. Due to the armistice of the East front several units were transferred tot he West in January 1918 and reinforced with recruits. Their main objective was central Netherlands.
The action in the South was nearly an entire Navy affair. The bulk of the men where sailors from surface ships, trained in land combat. The Navy units were reinforced with some experienced Army units who would act as the front troops.
The Dutch army nearly did not move since September 1914 with exception of the Island of Walcheren and the heights between Antwerp and Bergen-op-Zoom, a height which controlled the access to the Islands Beveland and Walcheren. On Walcheren, with the city Flushing was continue reinforced until 25000 men and the height near Antwerp was reinforced with ever extensive trench systems, who were under continues construction and improvement.

On the first of February still in the dark the Dutch border units guarding the railroad border crossing between Belgium and the Netherlands were attacked and quickly defeated a armored train steamed quickly North caring a company, followed by and other longer unarmed train with a complete battalion on-board. At the German- Dutch boarder North East the same happened. The trains from Belgium headed towards Flushing while the trains in the North East drove to the cities Zutphen, Zwolle, Deventer and Arnhem, with the objective to conquer the bridges crossing the river Ijssel.
The trains were followed by reinforcements on foot and artillery by horse.
Unfortunately for the Germans the train heading to Flushing was stopped by the heights near Antwerp and the trains with he Ijssel bridges as objective were stopped in front of the bridges by Dutch units of the 2nd division.
At the entire Ijssel front numerous battles took place with ended in the retreat of the 2nd division North after they destroyed all the bridges. The river Ijssel is a small narrow river, except during the winter when it double or even triple in with. The crossing of the river by small boats was not really a problem until the boats were half way then they were met by filed artillery from the high grounds West of the river. Eventually beachheads were formed but the low lands West of the river turned to be killing fields and West, parallel of the river the Canal Appeldoorn turned to be a 2nd make shift defense line. All in all it took nearly three day to cross and secure the river Ijssel. Two days later the Germans had to fight their way over the height East of the city Utrecht which took them an other two days before the Dutch army finally retreat behind the Water line. It took the Germans in the center seven days to chase the Dutch army behind the Waterline. The Dutch 2nd division finally retreat in relative good order with he help of hundreds of fishing ships across the Zuyderzee to the province of Holland.
In the South the advance did not worked as a clockwork for the Germans either. Despite the use of experienced front troops it took two days battle to defeat the Dutch on the height North of Antwerp and another four days fighting to secure the Islands of Tholen, Walcheren and Beveland.
On February the 10th the first German U-boat entered Flushing and left on patrol the 12th.

During this seven days war the Allies did not sent troops or support to the Dutch event he objective was after one day relatively clear. If Zeeland was occupied by the Germans they would have a much better base for U-boat operations.The only support came from the Royal Navy, when ships of the Dover squadron give artillery support to the Dutch troops.

On the 8th commonwealth troops disembarked in Rotterdam, which, but by then Zeeland was lost and the front at the Waterline secured. The Germans did one attempted to attack the line but were repulsed relative easy, after which the Germans did not tried it again. Offensive actions were by the Dutch, as the Allies were demanding, were rejected by the General commander General Snijders, even with Commonwealth reinforcements.
The Dutch cabinet now urged to give food support for the now beleaguered Dutch population in stead of reinforcements. It took considerable effort to feed the nearly 3 million people behind the Dutch Waterline.
This North sea crossings were now even more dangerous since the U-boat base in Flushing even most of the patrol area of the U-boats was South of Flushing.

At 21st March the Germans launched their spring offensive, operation Michael, whit much initial successes. However by exhaustion of German troops, attrition and sudden abundance of luxury food and drinks the Germans soldiers encountered the offensive lost its momentum. The British and French regrouped and adapted their defense. By beginning of April the German advance stopped.

In August the Allies launched their own offensive which saw the collapse of the German defense lines and resulted in a dynamic warfare which ended at 11 November 1918 with the armistice.
 

SwampTiger

Banned
How do you get the same armistice date with this POD? The Germans take greater losses, add a new flank to their forces, weaken Operation Michel and still hold the lines as in OTL?
 
How do you get the same armistice date with this POD? The Germans take greater losses, add a new flank to their forces, weaken Operation Michel and still hold the lines as in OTL?

You are correct the same armistice date is a alternate history thing of me and not based on any assumptions.
The flank threat for Germany is limited when the Dutch and Allied reinforcements are behind the waterline. This line is a defense line based on inundations. The fortresses, many of them 19th century and only capable of withstanding modern filed artillery but not the heavy modern artillery of 1918 were mere to secure locks and sluices which controlled the water level and to secure levies which divided the inundation fields.
The water barrier proved to be an excellent defense, on the other hand it proved to be a very poor site to launch a counter offensive against the attacker. This was not a large problem since it was part of the Dutch defense strategy.
The field army had to defend the neutrality and in event of attack delay the attacker in order ot buy time to establish the inundations. When the inundations were set the filed army would retreat behind this water line and sit the conflict out, expecting the decisive battles took place elsewhere by the now allies.
By 1918 the Dutch army consist of around 200000 conscripted men of which roughly half of them were part of the filed army, the younger echelons, while the older echelons were part of the fortification army, based in the forts and defense lines.
The doctrine of the Dutch army was to fight a mobile war outside the main defense lines, only to delay the attacker and then retreat. The doctrine and training was not offensive, hence the capacity for offensive actions was limited.

The main objective of the Germans is Flushing and the province Zeeland, not to occupy the whole Netherlands. The offensive in central Netherlands was just to protect the North flank and when the Dutch retreated behind their water line this flank was more or less secured and could be screened with relative few men, knowing the limited offensive power of the Dutch army.
The whole operation was mainly a Navy enterprise and although their will be losses in men and material, which were in short supply in Germany in 1918 it would not affect the strength on the main front much.

Probably the main problem of the Allies , after the Dutch retreat behind their defense lines, is how to feed around 3 million people and prevent that they starve. In 1917 the food rations in the Netherlands were already low which only worsen in 1918 due to the allied blockaded which also affected Dutch trade.
 
What does der Kaiser do after his abdication?

In OTL he was invited by Queen Wilhelmina, as document reveal. It was not his idea to come to the Netherlands. Hopefully for him the Swedish Royal family invite him, other wise it would probably Switzerland or an other country.
 
In order to create more pressure on the Germans, mainly the British insist on a second front in the Netherlands, main objective would be the industrial Ruhr area and the major navy base Wilhelmshafen. with the Jade estuary. The Dutch not keen on offensives finally accepted. The offensive would be a landing on the East bank of the Suyderzee and from then one front would advance South East direction Essen and one would advance North East.
From August troops, supplies and barges were transferred from the UK to the Netherlands, and at the start of October the crossing was made.
The transport barges, nothing more than river and canal cargo ships, some with own propulsion others tugged, were protected by flotilla of old, third and fourth rate, battle ships, due to their relative small sizes and torpedo boats. Many gun boats would patrol the river Rhine and Meuse to disrupt the line of communication between the South and the North.
Thanks to the ongoing offensive at the Western front and the low presence of German troops in the East of the Netherlands the offensive was a initial success. Fighting intensified when the German troops shielding the Dutch waterline made an attempt to retreat in order not to encircled and the British and Dutch troops reached the Dutch-German border near Cleve.

In January 1919 elections were held in the by now liberated country. The elections were the first with where all men above 18 year could vote. The elections resulted at the start of February, cabinet Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, with a coalition of the Catholic Party, and two Protestant parties.
It was this cabinet which send envoys to the Versailles peace conference.
 
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Due tot the British aims, reduce the German Imperial fleet were ever possible, the British insist that East Frisai and Jever, with the German main North sea naval base Wilhelmshaven would be ceded to the Netherlands.
The Dutch envoy, initially only demanded payment for the war damage and remain a formal relation as far as possible, in order to return to normal economic relations.
Further the Dutch envoy were present to defend any Belgian claims of dutch territory.
In the Netherlands the Liberals and Socialist were against any annexations, while the Catholic party was devided. The Protestant parties however, more the orthodox ones, were in favor of annexation, and even demand Bentheim, since this would enlarge their demographic position in favor of the Catholics. Bentheim was Calvinistic and around 1900 the church services were held in Dutch.
General Snijders and many other officers even favored a complete shift of the border more East, along the line Eems river, Cleve and former county Jullich, or even the former county of Loon, Province Belgian Limburg.
The pro annexation factions, with high placed members of society, even started a propaganda campaign.
The annexation plans were just annexation, nothing was mentioned of removing the population (as was part of the OTL 1945 plans). The annexation plans were still ideas rooted in the 19th and 18th century, as was the general thinking of most members of the Versailles conference.
 
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The Dutch envoy to Versailles originally had as main task to get war repayments and ensure the Belgian envoy did not succeed in their claim of Dutch province of Limburg and the Southern shore of the river Schelde, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.
Soon they were confronted by the British to claim East-Frisia and Jever with he German Naval base Wilhelmshafen, which fit the British in their war aims.
From the Netherlands, especially from the Protestant parties and the military come the demand to claim more. Reluctant the envoy issued a request to annex three more regions. One was based on the Napoleonic Duchy of Aremberg, the second on the County of Bentheim and the third, was based on parts of the County of Cleve and Upper Gelre. This would increase the Protestant, Calvinist in Bentheim and the city of Emden and the rest Luther considerable. Cleve would enlarge the Catholic population a bit.
The whole annexation was rejected by the Socialist and the Liberals, who how ever did not form a majority in parliament.
More over the envoy was confident the whole endeavor did not succeed. However the plan was backed by the French which war aim was to reduce and weaken Germany as much as possible.
To the surprise of the Dutch envoy and much to the chagrin of the Belgian the annexation plans were copied in the end treaty. The demand of the Belgians for Limburg and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen fell on deaf ears whit the Great Powers. This was mainly the fault of the Belgian Secretary of foreign affairs. The Great powers did demand free passage of the Schelde river to Antwerp at all time by the Great Powers and the concession of the Netherlands to improve the water and railway connections between Antwerp and Germany.
Belgium only got Malmedy and in Africa former German colonies, Burundi-Urundi and Togoland. The last turn to be a Solomon's judgement since France and Great Britain could not agree on the borders of this former German territory.
 
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