Netherlands Marine Corps
The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the Regiment de Marine on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt and famous Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It is the second-oldest still-active marine corps in the world.
The present-day Corps is a rapid reaction force that can be deployed to any location in the world within a maximum of 48 hours. The marines are capable of operating in all environments and climates, specialising in expeditionary warfare, amphibious warfare, arctic warfare and mountain warfare. The core fighting element of the corps consists of two battalion-sized Marine Combat Groups which are supplemented by various combat support and combat service support squadrons. In addition, the Netherlands Maritime Special Operations Forces are capable of conducting the full spectrum of special operations.
Throughout its history, the Marines have seen action in a number of major conflicts including the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the War of the Spanish Succession and World War II. In recent history the Marines have regularly been deployed in stabilisation roles such as the Bosnian War, the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan and the Mali War. Additionally, the Corps conducts counterpiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and provides Vessel Protection Detachments to Dutch merchant ships. The Netherlands Marine Corps uphold close international relations with the Royal Marines, the United States Marine Corps, the Sea Battalion and the Special Operations Regiment.
History
Origins
The corps was founded on 10 December 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War by the then grand pensionary of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt, and Admiral Michiel de Ruyter as the Regiment de Marine. The first commander of the corps was Willem Joseph van Ghent. The Dutch had successfully used conventional troops embarked on ships during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The Korps Mariniers was the fifth European marine branch formed, being preceded by the Spanish Marine Infantry, Portuguese Marine Corps, France's troupes de marine and the Royal Marines, although the Dutch marines were the first to specialise in amphibious operations.The Netherlands has had several periods during which its Marine Corps were disbanded. The French occupation of The Netherlands, which lasted from 1810 until 1813, is an example of such disbandments. A new Marine unit was raised on 20 March 1801 during the time of the Batavian Republic and on 14 August 1806 the Korps Koninklijke Grenadiers van de Marine was raised under King Louis Bonaparte. The modern Korps Mariniers dates back to 1814, receiving its current name in 1817.
In 1667, led by Admiral van Ghent, and their new commander, the Englishman Colonel Thomas Dolman, the Regiment de Marine played a prominent part in the Dutch raid on the Medway in Kent. The Korps' battle honour "Chatham" is one of the few ever won on British soil by a foreign unit. The July 2nd attack on Landguard fort near Harwich, performed by 1,500 Mariniers after landing at Woodrich was defeated by the English.
The mariniers also fought in the Franco-Dutch War and Third Anglo-Dutch War. On 29 June 1672, after serving in the Battle of Solebay, two-thirds of the Marines were withdrawn from the Dutch States Navy and formed into a brigade in order to reinforce the Dutch States Army, which consisted largely of mercenaries, in anticipation of a potential English invasion. They returned to their ships in time to help prevent any such invasion by defeating an Anglo-French fleet at the Battle of Texel on 21 August 1673. Led by Gerolf van Isselmuyden, they served in the land battle of Seneffe against the French in 1674.
Dutch support for American independence led to the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, where the mariniers served at Dogger Bank.
In 1704, Marines were part of a combined English-Dutch force under Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt that captured Gibraltar and defended it successfully shortly afterwards. The cooperation with the British was repeated once again during the Bombardment of Algiers in 1816.
The Korps Mariniers served in various colonial operations of the Dutch Empire in the Dutch East Indies. The gradual conquest of the colony and operations consolidating Dutch rule lasted from the 1850s until shortly before World War I. The battle honours from the Aceh War and Bali are displayed on the Corps' colour.
World War II
During the Battle of the Netherlands in World War II, a Korps Mariniers unit in Rotterdam which was preparing to ship out to the Dutch East Indies successfully defended the bridges across the Maas, preventing German paratroopers in the centre of the city from rendez-vousing with conventional German infantry. The Germans ended the stalemate by bombing Rotterdam. The threat of an attack by Marines caused its German captain to scuttle the in Aruba in 1940.When the Dutch capitulation was declared and the Marines abandoned their positions, the German commander was surprised to encounter only a handful of troops emerge in their black uniforms. The Oberleutnant ordered his men to salute them out of respect for their bravery and labeled them die schwarzen Teufel.
During the German occupation of the Netherlands, some mariniers joined the Princess Irene Brigade to fight against the Germans. They distinguished themselves in combat near the Dutch city of Tilburg in the autumn of 1944.
Starting in 1943, the United States Marine Corps trained and equipped a new brigade, the Mariniersbrigade, of the Korps Mariniers at Camp Lejeune and Camp Davis in North Carolina in preparation for amphibious landings against the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese surrendered before such landings were needed, but the Mariniersbrigade, fully trained and equipped, left North Carolina in six transports in 1945 and fought against Indonesian insurgents in the Indonesian War of Independence. The mariniers were part of the A Division, which was itself commanded by a Korps Mariniers officer. The brigade was disbanded in 1949.
The Dutch maintained control over Western New Guinea after the Indonesian War of Independence and the Korps Mariniers served there until 1962 when the colony in the course of the West New Guinea dispute was handed over to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority.
Recent history
Terrorism during the 1970s
On 11 June 1977, the Bijzondere Bijstandseenheid Mariniers of the Dutch Marine Corps stormed a train that was being held hostage since 23 May by armed South Moluccan nationalists in the village of De Punt, in the province of Drenthe. Six Royal Netherlands Air Force F-104 Starfighters buzzed the train as a diversion just before the assault. Six terrorists and two hostages were killed during the assault.Cambodia
From 18 February 1992 to 18 November 1993, three battalions of Marines and a Navy field hospital were stationed in Cambodia as part of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. The marines were deployed following the 1991 Paris peace treaty when the civil war was ended, they were tasked with providing safe passage to refugees, disarming rebel groups and organising fair elections.Former Yugoslavia
Marines have deployed to Former Yugoslavia during multiple deployments, including in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Marines of 1st Mortars Company were deployed near Sarajevo in 1995 with their MO-120 RT 120mm mortars in order to neutralise Serbian mortar and artillery positions. The Marines were part of multinational brigade. For example, Marine Special Forces were tasked with the arrest of Yugoslavian war criminals, other Marine units have deployed to accompany and protect refugee convoys in Kosovo.Iraq
In 1991, 400 marines in addition 600 personnel of the Royal Netherlands Army were deployed to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as part Operation Provide Comfort. The detachment of Marines consisted of a staff company, a support company and two infantry companies. The units constructed three refugee camps which were later transferred to civilian organisations. The last marines returned in July 1991.In 2003 and 2004, two battalions of Marines were deployed to Iraq as part of the Stabilisation Force Iraq. They were stationed in the province of Al-Muthanna where they operated under British command. Their main base was located at Camp Smitty in As Samawah. One company of marines was located at the village of Ar Rumaythah and one at the village of Al Khidr.
Since 2015, Marines have contributed to Operation Inherent Resolve by providing training to the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Special Operations Forces as part of the International military intervention against ISIL. A&A teams cooperated with the Korps Commandotroepen by providing advice and assistance to Iraqi troops in the fight against ISIL.
Liberia
From 18 November 2003 until 19 February 2004, one platoon of Dutch Marines was deployed on board, a Landing platform dock of the Royal Netherlands Navy to provide logistical support for United Nations Mission in Liberia.Congo
Between 2005 and 2006, Major General of the Marines Patrick Cammaert was appointed division commander of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by UN secretary general Kofi Annan.Afghanistan
From 11 January 2002 to July 2010, marines were deployed in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force. The second battalion and the field hospital were deployed in Mazar-e Sharif in 2005 to provide security during the elections. Marines and Navy personnel were also stationed in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in pol-e-Khomri, province of Baghlan. They took over from the Dutch Air force and Army in 2005 and were relieved in October 2006 when Hungarian forces took over. Formerly Marines have served in Uruzgan as the NLD Operational Mentor and Liaisons Team, for recruiting and training new military personnel of the Afghan National Army in the Uruzgan province. Training took place at Kamp Holland, Tarin Kowt. A reinforced company was deployed in the Deh Rashan area of Uruzgan province. Two marines were killed on April 17 of 2010 when their Bv S10 Viking was hit by an IED. Teams of NLMARSOF cooperated with operators of the Korps Commandotroepen in the Special Operations Task Groups Orange, Task Force Viper and Task Force 55 from 2006 until 2010.C-Squadron of NLMARSOF has deployed to Afghanistan since 2018 as part of the Resolute Support Mission. Together with KCT operators they form the Special Operations Advisory Team, which is tasked with providing training and assistance to the Afghan police tactical unit Afghan Territorial Force 888 of the Afghan National Police.