| rdfs:comment | - The German Army under Friedrich III geared up for a new war in Europe, although they knew they would not be fighting any major enemy in the outbreak of war, they would soon come to regret it. The first assault came on June 30, when 6 German divisions, around 72,000 men, crossed the border to begin the invasion with the objective of pushing through central Netherlands in order to capture Arnhem and begin an offensive toward Amsterdam. The force managed to easily breakthrough Dutch land defences, and continued its push on into the Netherlands. Within three days, the German soldiers had reached the banks of the Nederrijn River, and had begun to seize multiple landing sights to cross the River and take Arnhem. But Dutch soldiers were not ones to give up, even though they knew that soon it woul
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| abstract | - The German Army under Friedrich III geared up for a new war in Europe, although they knew they would not be fighting any major enemy in the outbreak of war, they would soon come to regret it. The first assault came on June 30, when 6 German divisions, around 72,000 men, crossed the border to begin the invasion with the objective of pushing through central Netherlands in order to capture Arnhem and begin an offensive toward Amsterdam. The force managed to easily breakthrough Dutch land defences, and continued its push on into the Netherlands. Within three days, the German soldiers had reached the banks of the Nederrijn River, and had begun to seize multiple landing sights to cross the River and take Arnhem. But Dutch soldiers were not ones to give up, even though they knew that soon it would be ten times this number that would be crossing their borders. Soon German soldiers were crossing the river and 36,000 German soldiers crossed the river on July 30, and encircled the city of Arnhelm. The city is only defended by 8500 men, around three or so Dutch regiments, but was supported by the city's thousands of residents. They joined the first units of the town's Burger Led or citizens army, a new national militia that 12,000 Dutch citizens in Arnhem joined before the battle. But despite the best efforts of the Dutch residents of Arnhem. the German Army captured the city after a wide-scale assault on August 7, ending the battle, and putting the Nederrijn River into German hands. The capture of the river opened up much of the area to German reinforcement, and on August 10, 20,000 reinforcements German reinforcements entered the area. So with Arnhem captured, the Germans mounted a second assault into the central Netherlands, splitting the nation effectively in half, and leaving the Dutch in a tough spot. From there three more German divisions entered into the Netherlands, attacking across the Mass River, which the Germans captured on August 20, and then proceeded to cross the river. From there German soldiers attacked south toward the Dutch city of Maastricht, and cutting off the city from the main body of the Netherlands. The German Army, having control of the central Netherlands, attacked south from their central positions and sent three more divisions south from there to launch a pincer movement into the southern Netherlands. Within the massive, fast-paced German assault the German Army trapped several hundred-thousand Dutch citizens, and also within it, around twenty-thousand Dutch soldiers. Without even realizing it, a large arm of the Dutch Army had been cut off, and was effectively surrounded. The German Capture of Breda on September 1 effectively ended the massive German sweep into the Netherlands. But it was at that point an unexpected turn for the worse occurred for the Germans, the British had agreed to send an armed force across the North Sea, and to fight the Germans with Dutch help. The Germans had not accounted for this, and it was their inability to prepare for it that would determine the fate of the war.
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