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The Royal Netherlands Army (Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.
[edit] Short HistoryThe Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to 1572, when the so-called Staatse Leger was raised. This army of the Dutch Republic was one of the best organized and well- trained armies of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, and saw actions in the Eighty Year's War, the Northern War, the Franco-Dutch War, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of Austrian Succession, and the French Revolutionary Wars until the French captured the Netherlands in early 1795. The Staatse Leger was replaced by the army of the Batavian Republic in 1795 which in its turn was replaced by the army of the Kingdom of Holland in 1806. It fought alongside the French in the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland in 1799 and several campaigns in Germany, Austria and Spain between 1800 and 1810. Most notable were the engagements of the Horse Artillery Korps Rijdende Artillerie at the battle of Friedland in 1807, the capture of the city ofStralsund in 1807 and 1809 and the participation of the Dutch Brigade in the Peninsular War between 1808 and 1810. The independent army was disbanded in 1810 when Napoleon decided to 'reunite' Holland into France (La Hollande est reunie à l'Empire). The army units became part of the Grande Armée. The present day French 126th Infantry Regiment has Dutch origins. Dutch army elements participated in the French invasion of Russia in 1812. Most notable were the actions of the pontonniers company under captain Benthien at the Berezina river (Battle of Berezina). Since 1814 (elements of) the army have been involved in several military conflicts (Waterloo campaign 1815, several colonial wars 1825-1925, the Belgian Revolution 1830-1832, the Second World War 1940-1945, the Indonesian War of Independence 1945-1949, and the Nieuw-Guinea insurgency 1960-1962). Nowadays the army concentrates on peace-keeping and peace-enforcing operations and has been involved in several operations (in Lebanon between 1979-1985, and the former Yougoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Kosovo) 1991-present, but also in Cambodja 1992-1994, Haiti 1995-1996, Cyprus 1998-1999, Eritrea and Ethiopia 2001, and most recent in Iraq 2003-2005, Afghanistan 2002-present, and Chad 2008-2009). [edit] Service academyThe service academy of the Royal Netherlands Army is the Koninklijke Militaire Academie. [edit] Structure of the ArmyThe core fighting element of the army consists of a single division sized element divided into three separate brigades: two mechanised brigades and one airborne brigade. The number of full-time professional personnel is 27,000. The Royal Netherlands Army is a volunteer force; compulsory military service has not been abolished but has been suspended. The other three services (Royal Netherlands Navy; Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee) are fully volunteer forces as well.  [edit] Units of the Royal Netherlands Army[edit] Cavalry
A fourth regiment, the Regiment Huzaren Prins Alexander, was disbanded in November 2007 due to budget cuts. This regiment represents the former 3rd Hussars Regiment, formed in 1814 (origins date back to 1672). It was known as the Red (because of the red colour on their uniform) or Guards Hussars, but was never really a Guards regiment. [edit] InfantryEach infantry regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army consists of a single battalion. The staff support compagnies of 11th Air Mobile Brigade, 13th Mechanized Brigade en 43rd Mechanized Brigade are part of the Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers, the Garderegiment Fusiliers Prinses Irene and Regiment Infanterie Johan Willem Friso respectively. [edit] Guards  
[edit] Line Infantry
The Regiment Limburgse Jagers and Regiment Infanterie Oranje Gelderland guard the traditions of the former 6th and 8th Infantry Regiment respectively. In the near future, the traditions of the Regiment Infanterie Menno van Coehoorn (former 3rd Infantry regiment, disbanded 1995) will be guarded by the Regiment Infantry Johan Willem Friso. The 4th Infantry Regiment (disbanded 1950) and the Regiment Infanterie Chassé (former 7th Infantry Regiment, disbanded 1995) remain disbanded. [edit] Special Forces
[edit] Support Arms
[edit] Services
[edit] Army ReserveKorps Nationale Reserve - five mixed regional oriented battalions (mainly infantry with a light role), similar to UK Territorial Army. The battalions are placed under command of three Regional Support Commands, that will be integrated with the 11th Air Mobile Brigade, 13th Mechanized Brigade and 43rd Mechanized Brigade by 2008. [edit] Bi-national Army CorpsThe Netherlands and Germany work together in a Bi-national Army Corps structure, the I. German/Dutch Corps. This is a rapid deployable Army Corps headquarters which can be deployed in the frame of the NATO Response Force. The permanent elements of this corps are a bi-national Staff Support Battalion and a bi-national Communications and Informations Battalion. The Staff Support Battalion consists of a bi-national staff support company and a logistics company. The battalion is based at Münster (Germany) and Eibergen (the Netherlands). The 101 Communications and Informations Battalion is based in Eibergen and Garderen. [edit] Equipment[edit] ArmourTracked
Wheeled
[edit] Other armoured vehicles
[edit] Other vehiclesThere are thousands of vehicles in several versions:
[edit] Unmanned Aerial Vehicles[edit] Artillery
[edit] Personal weapons
[edit] Rank structureSee Military ranks of the Dutch armed forces. [edit] Recent deployments[edit] Bosnia-HerzegovinaDutch army troops have deployed as part of an international protection force since early 1992. [edit] KosovoDutch army troops have deployed as part of the NATO Kosovo Force since 1999. [edit] IraqA contingent of 1,345 troops (comprising Landmacht 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 June 1, 2004, the Dutch government renewed their stay through 2005. The Algemeen Dagblad reported on October 21, 2004, that the Netherlands would pull its troops out of Iraq in March 2005, which it did, leaving half a dozen liaison officers until late 2005. The Dutch Government reportedly turned down an Iraqi Government request to extend the Dutch contingent for another year. The Netherlands lost 2 soldiers in separate attacks. [edit] AfghanistanIn mid 2006, Dutch Special Forces Korps Commandotroepen teams deployed successfully to Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan, to lay the ground for the increasing numbers of engineers who were building a vast base there. At the same time other special forces units from other nations deployed throughout the area, and worked closely together in this volatile area. By August 2006 the Netherlands deployed the majority of 1,400 troops to Uruzgan province at southern Afghanistan at Tarin Kowt (1,200), at Kamp Holland, and Deh Rahwod (200). [1] The soldiers of Task Force Uruzgan were mostly from the Regiment Van Heutsz, supplemented with soldiers from 44 Pantserinfanteriebataljon Regiment Johan Willem Friso and the 42 Tankbataljon Regiment Huzaren Prins van Oranje. PzH 2000 self propelled artillery pieces have been deployed and used in combat for the first time. Since 2006, Dutch forces have been involved in some of the more intensive combat operations in southern Afghanistan, including Operation Medusa and the Battle of Chora. As of 10 August 2008, The Netherlands had a total of 1,770 troops in Afghanistan not including special forces troops. [edit] References[edit] External links
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