WW2 Dutch Soldier Minifigure
During WW2 plans were made for Germany to invade the Low Countries in order to use them as a base against Great Britain, as well as to pre-empt a similar attack by the Allies which would threaten the vital Ruhr Area. While the Dutch had begun to re-arm, along with their neighbors, when Hitler came to power it was done slowly and with great care not to provoke a German response. When Germany did invade the Dutch Army was poorly armed and equipped to contend with their opposition. The centuries old Dutch tactic of flooding part of the countryside to protect the major western cities from invasion, the Holland Water Line, was modernized with fortresses and pillboxes. Despite Dutch efforts the German advance was all but inevitable, with superior ground forces, use of paratroopers, and devastating Luftwaffe bombing raids, the nation was quickly overrun and forced to surrender.