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moving parts operating the lockdoors; besides they obstructed the entrance to the port by sinking
two merchantmen.
The Navy succeeded in bringing over part of her material and manpower to England.
Apart from the demolition team mentioned afore, a British detachment of the Royal Marines, at
a strength of 200 men, arrived at The Hook of Holland on May 12th. On May 13th a battalion of the
Irish Guards arrived in the same port and it was intended to land one more battalion. This could
not be effected however, because of the situation growing worse.
On May 13th H.M. the Queen and the Ministers of the Cabinet sailed for England in succession.
They went there in British warships. Numerous official personalities and refugees also left the
country from this port.
The garrison of The Hook of Holland actually came in action, when on the 10th of May German
airborne troops and enemy aircraft carrying small groups of soldiers landed at a distance of 3 to
4 miles East of The Hook of Holland and at Rozenburg Island. As a result of the offensive actions,
the enemy was either driven away or taken prisoner.
In the morning of May 10th a destroyer had been sent from The Hook of Holland to Rotterdam
to take an active part in the battle of Rotterdam. After having fulfilled her mission successfully she
returned unscathed to The Hook of Holland. Thereupon a second destroyer was sent in the di
rection of Rotterdam the same afternoon. This vessel however was not so lucky; off Vlaardingen
she was attacked by German aircraft and so severely damaged that the crew was forced to beach her.
Meanwhile, two warships had been dispatched from Flushing to The Hook of Holland, but
because of the bad experiences gained with the second destroyer, their orders to proceed to Rotter
dam were cancelled.
A Netherlands ship, carrying troops from Flushing to IJmuiden, was attacked by aircraft as she
was nearing the entrance of the New Waterway. The ship was so badly hit that the troops had to be
transferred to other ships and the trooper had to be beached.
Contrary to what happened in Amsterdam, the merchant fleet of Rotterdam was not removed in
time; this was neither the case with some warships that were being repaired or completed at Rotter
dam. The reasons why were that already on the first day of war bitter fightings raged in and around
Rotterdam while the danger of mines in the New Waterway was overestimated as a result of ex
aggerated reports about the laying of magnetic mines by enemy aircraft. Only two recently com
pleted submarines, which had not yet been commissioned, were safely transferred to Engeland.
After permission had been granted by the Commander-in-Chief of the Netherlands Armed
Forces, the British detachment, acting in cooperation with Netherlands Royal Engineers, set fire to
the oil stocks at Pernis, near Vlaardingen. The demolitions prepared by the British demolition-
party at The Hook of Holland were not executedfalse reports concerning the speedy advance of
German pantzers in the direction of The Hook of Holland caused all British troops to embark in a
hurry and to leave The Hook of Holland in the early afternoon of May 14th.
So when at last the Commander of the garrison got orders to put the prepared demolitions into
execution, he found the demolition-party gone.
Part of the Royal Netherlands Navy officers, present at The Hook of Holland on May 14th, also
left for England on board an MTB that had recently arrived from Rotterdam.
The Northern Front of the Fortress of Holland ran along the line of forts of the old fortifications
of Amsterdam, from Edam via Purmerend, Krommenie, Velsen and further via the range of dunes
bordering the Fortifications of IJmuiden to Wijk aan Zee.
This front was not manned and preparations for the defence of it had not been made.
When it turned out however that the Germans at the Eastern side of the IJssellake (the former
Zuiderzee) were preparing to cross, the front was hastily manned by depot troops and inundations
were put into effect.
With regard to Amsterdam, it must be mentioned that, after The Hague and Rotterdam had been
attacked by airborne troops, it should be taken into account that a similar attack might be made here.
An infantry regiment was therefore transferred from the Eastern Front of the Fortress of Holland
to Amsterdam. By order of the Garrison Commander of Amsterdam they took up defensive positions
in the outskirts of the city.
In these days the behaviour of the citizens of Amsterdam was strongly influenced by wild rumours
concerning airborne actions, while numerous reports of fifth column actions gave rise to uneasiness
and unrest. All these rumours and reports, when investigated, proved to be false.
The defence of the Outer IJ (Buiten IJ), i.e. that part of the river IJ bordering the IJssel Lake,
was entrusted to a Naval Commander.
