Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1156

 1104 NETHERLANDS

other resident in the Netherlands, is liable to personal service in the army (or navy) from the age of 19 up to 40. Actual service in the ranks is determined by lot, but substitution is not permitted. The maximum strength of the annual contingent is fixed at 25,500 (including 600 for the sea service).

The conscripted militiamen belong to the active army for 6 years for the unmounted corps, and 8 years for the mounted corps (sea service 5 years). The 'full' training time is 8£ months in the infantry, engineers, and garrison artillery (under certain circumstances 6£ months), and 24 months in the cavalry, horse and field artillery. A certain proportion of the full-course men of the infantry and garrison artillery (between 3,800 and 4,500 men, designed by lot) are retained for an additional 44 months. The full-course men are called up in two batches, two-thirds in January (March), one-third in October.

With regard to further training, men belonging to mounted corps are liable to be called out once in their army service for 4 weeks ; the others, once for 4 and the second time for 3 weeks.

After having fulfilled their active service the militiamen pass to the ' landwecr ' for 5 years ; they can be called out once in their 5 years, for 6 days. Men of mounted corps and of the navy are excused from landweer service. Men after they have completed their landweer service belong to the ' landstorm ' up to the age of 40, together with all men who have not passed through the ranks.

The landweer forces are organised in units corresponding to those of the first line, except that there are no mounted troops. Cadres are maintained in time of peace for the landweer formations.

The field army consists of 4 divisions and an independent cavalry brigade. A division contains 3 brigades of infantry each consisting of 2 regiments of 3 battalions, 1 squadron, a field artillery regiment (16 three-gun batteries, 48 guns), a group of 2 four-gun batteries of heavy artillery, 2 companies of cyclists, 54 machine guns, and 2 companies of engineers. The total strength of a division in the field, with staff, would be about 20,000 officers and men. The cavalry brigade has 4 regiments, each of 3 squadrons, 4 com- panies of cyclists and 4 three-gun batteries of horse artillery. There are also G6 battalions of army troops, of which 48 are Landweer battalions. The landweer troops, with the fortress artillery of the active army, would hold the fortresses.

The peace strength of the Netherlands army, including the ' landwetrs,' was on April 2, 1920, 7,961 officers and 262,304 men, and comprises 137,356 rirles, 156 field and 42 heavy guns. There are 156,000 additional trained men, and 250,000 untrained men available for mobilisation. Military budget for 1921 was 73,701,075 florins. A Bill has been passed to spend about two millions sterling on the coast defences, including armament.

The Netherlands infautry is armed with the Mannlicher magazine rifle, model 95. Cavalry and engineers carry the Mannlicher carbine. The field artillery, including the horse batteries, is armed with a shielded Q.F. Krnpp gun of 7 '5 cm.

III. Navy.

The Navy is maintained for a double purpose — viz. the protection of the Dutch waters and coast, and the defence of the Kast Indian possessions. These latter contribute to the maintenance of that division of it known as the Indian Marine.