Recommended reading on the Allied and Neutral States

[jwsleser]

The official history for the Netherlands, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog is available as .pdf downloads. In Dutch, this series consists of 12 books with a total of 26 parts. The invasion of the Netherlands is covered in Deel 3, the invasion of the Dutch East Indies is Deel XI in four parts. The first list of downloads are B&W, the second set of downloads are in color.

Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog

Pista! Jeff

[jwsleser]

The best book in English on the German invasion of the Netherlands is Amersfoort and Kamphuis's May 1940. This is a translation of their Mei 1940. The book covers the prewar years, discussing both the political and military aspects in the lead-up to war. The campaign is well covered, addressing the various parts of the invasion by sector of operations. Detailed and colorful maps accompany the text. If you are truly interested in this campaign, the book is well worth the price (which is a bit steep).

Pista! Jeff

[jwsleser]

There are two books in English that cover the Dutch East Indies campaign.

The first book is Boer's The Loss of Java. This book is mainly focused at the air campaign against western Java from Feb 42 to the fall of the island in March. What is valuable is that ground operations in the western part of the island are cover in some detail. As such, it offers information not found elsewhere, but is in the end it is an incomplete history of the campaign (I will note that the author didn't plan to write a complete history of the campaign).

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The second book is The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies by the Japanese War History Office. This is a complete translation of volume 3 of the Senshi Sōsho. As such, it is quite invaluable for any research into this campaign.

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This book is available as a .pdf on the web here
The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies

or just search using the title and links to the .pdf will appear.

[jwsleser]

An excellent book on the German airborne operation against the Netherlands and the Dutch reaction is Brongers' The Battle for the Hague 1940. Lieutenant Colonel Brongers has written quite a number of books covering all sectors of the German invasion in 1940. Some of his conclusions are controversial, but his history is solid. Sadly only this book of the eleven he has written that cover the campaign has been translated.

This volume covers all the German airborne/air-landing operation in the Netherlands except the landings securing the bridges over the Maas and at Moerdijk (these are covered in Opmars naar Rotterdam, deel I. De luchtlanding). The book discusses the German and Dutch plans, and the fighting over the five days of the invasion. The detail is excellent, especially for the coverage of the Dutch troops. It does present the Dutch Army in a better light than most other sources. Note that this is not a apologia account as Brongers does highlight the failings of the Dutch Army, but it does bring a better balance to understand the events of May 1940.

Pista! Jeff

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[OpanaPointer]

Hyperwar has a few things.