File No. 763.72/9744

The Ambassador in France ( Sharp ) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]

3737. Referring to the Department’s No. 3712.1 Following from General Bliss:

1.
On April 23 the British military representative presented to his colleagues at Versailles a statement from British War Cabinet of which following is a résumé.
2.
British Government had learned from its Minister at The Hague that German Minister there had received definite instructions from his Government to make the following demands on Holland:
(1)
New boots, clothes, etc., taken from Holland by persons traveling to Germany to be allowed to pass the frontier more freely;
(2)
Civilian goods to be given free transit over the Limburg railway into Belgium;
(3)
Holland to recognize the right of Germany to transport every class of commodity, in accordance with the terms of the Rhine Convention;
(4)
The transit without any restrictions of sand and gravel to Belgium via Lobith to be resumed, Germany to be permitted to send up to 200,000 tons a month, and 250,000 tons a month to be exported from Holland to Belgium.
(5)
Troops and ammunition to be given free passage over the Limburg railway.
3.
Referring to the foregoing, British War Cabinet states in substance as follows: that so far only the first four demands had been communicated to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the first two demands have been accepted; that the German Minister did not appear to have communicated fifth demand, as he is opposed to the policy which dictates this demand; that the German Minister at The Hague was instructed to demand that the passage of sand and gravel through Holland should be resumed without conditions by 1st of May next; that he was instructed to state that if Netherlands Government resisted this demand, the German Government is prepared to use force; that it appears that this traffic in sand and gravel is intended to take place by railway through Limburg, not via Lobith; that German Minister appears to have merely communicated the gist of these instructions, verbally, to the First Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs as he feared if an ultimatum of this nature was presented, war must result; that the Dutch Foreign [Page 1801] Minister informed the German Minister that his Government could not reopen the question unless a Dutch commission was permitted to make a thorough inquiry of the use to which sand and gravel were being put in Belgium; that the German Minister refused to accept any such proposal; that Minister for Foreign Affairs, who showed no signs of yielding to German demands, expressed the opinion that it was merely a question of intimidation on the part of Germany, and that he did not anticipate any serious trouble to arise from his refusal to accede thereto; that it is difficult to say what motive Germany can have for forcing Holland into war and it may be that it is merely a question of intimidation; that it is possible, however, that Germany’s action may be connected with certain contemplated fleet movements in conjunction with the endeavor now being made on the western front to reach the French coast ports.
4.
The British War Cabinet asked the views of the military representatives on the military aspects of the case and whether Holland should be advised by the Allies to submit to the German demands or resist even to the point of war.
5.
After prolonged consideration, the military representatives, the British representative concurring, advised the latter to communicate to his Government the following general views:
(a)
The military occupation of Holland by Germany would give the latter decided advantages, first, from the economic point of view, a source of supply in cattle and agricultural products for its armies; second, can procure base for their submarines, and the port of Antwerp; third, from the political point of view, a pledge of the greatest importance when the time comes for settling accounts.
(b)
Notwithstanding foregoing the military representatives are of opinion that—
(1)
Holland with her own forces is not in a position to give military resistance to Germany;
(2)
The Allies in view of the present situation on Western front are for the time unable to assist Holland by furnishing her necessary military support.
6.
To avoid giving Germany the advantages that would respond under sub-paragraph (a) above, the military representatives are of the opinion that for the moment the interests of the Allies are best served by Holland remaining neutral if it is possible for her rulers providing Germany makes no further demands upon her.

I have been unable to assemble my colleagues for conference today, Sunday, on the subject of Secretary of State’s telegram No. 3712, but have conferred with British representative and the following are our personal views.

[Page 1802]

If Germany makes further demands and insists on being given free access to all parts of Holland, it should be pointed out to the Dutch Government that such a demand means the abdication by Holland of her position as an independent state. If Holland accords to Germany the most extreme demands of free access to all parts of Holland, the Allies [should] proceed to seize positions on Dutch soil where small forces can be supported and from which the means of all access to the open sea can be completely controlled. Bliss.

Sharp
  1. See footnote 1, ante, p. 1798.