DUTCH CAPITULATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 142, 16 May 1940, Page 9

DUTCH CAPITULATION.

"ONESIDED WARFARE." SURPRISE AT DECISION. LONDON, May 15. Fighting is reported to be taking place in xlollaiiu despite an order to me Dutca forces to lay down their arms. The "cease fire" order of the Dutch CoinmanUer-in-Chief (General H. G. \Viniielman). broadcast rrom Hilversum, near the south of tne Zuyder Zee, at 7 p.m. stated: "1-liis afternoon the Germans bombed Rotterdam and Utrecht was also threatened with destruction. •'•To save the civil population and to prevent further bloodshed, I feel justified in ordering the troops concerned to cease fighting and to maintain order till the arrival of the ■ German troops." Then came General Winkelman's statement that fighting in Zeeland is continuing and the apfl peal to the population to maintain dignity in the coming occupation. At 10 p.m. General Winkelman broadcast to the people from the same radio: "We have decided to lay down our arms because we must. We I had decided to defend the Fatherland to the limit. To-day that limit had been reached. We could not fight against the German air superiority." The commander added: "Wo have given up fighting. This must be a shock to you, but it is my-duty to take a decision in the country's, interest. The war was completely onesided, and its continuation would only have meant that still more innocent victims would have fallen." General Winkelman's statement was followed by a warning by the German High Command that towns throughoutl Holland would be liable to punishment if they destroyed food or other supplies. ' The German Air Attache at The Hague later broadcast from Hilversum to his Foreign Minister (Hen von Ribbentrop) saying that General Winkelman had requested the German High Command to send plenipotentiaries to The Hague to open discussions for maintaining' security and order. CONSIDERED A RUSE.

The German Official News Agency declares that the district of Zeeland obviously is no longer under General Winkelman’s command. The London Daily Telegraph’s military expert emphasises that Zeeland is important to the Allies because it includes territory at the mouth of the lliver Scheldt and so affects not only the approaclies to Antwerp but also the general defences of Belgium. The Dutch Royal Family and Cabinet were stup-fied when they heard the order to cease fire. At first thej thought the order was a fake. The Daily Mail this morning said: “It is just another ruse to confuse the defenders.” The Cabinet ‘'hastily . met while their Legation officials' frantically made efforts 1o . contact with General Winkelman. It was several hours before they were finally convinced that the news was true. General Winkelman appealed to the population to maintain a dignified attitude in the coming occupation. The fact that the Dutch general had full authority to take the decision was made clear by the proclamation issued in London by Queen Wilhelmina. One passage read: “The military authorities and, in the last resort, the Commander-in-Chief, now have to decide what measures are necessary from the military point of view.” The Dutch commander in a further statement said that the Dutch troops in Zeeland are exempt from the order to lay down their arms, since they are wholly detached. The German Consul-General broadcast from Hilversum the following message to the German Foreign Office this morning: “The Lord Mayor of Amsterdam and the commander of the Amsterdam garrison informs me that German troops will not encounter difficulties when they enter Amsterdam. The population will remain calm. Dutch officials will meet the Gernian forces on the outskirts of the city.” Paris has taken the news of the Dutch capitulation calmly, which was l not unexpected, states a message from ! the French capital. Military crcle" point out that, if (he capture of the Netherlands gives Germany a. chance of establishing new air base sl , it also | nrovides B.A.F. bombers with nearer targets and onens an air way to Westphalia and to the Ruhr.