Dutch West Indies WW2

[nuyt]

Hello, some interesting stuff can be found on the Dutch National Archives section regarding WW2 military vehicles in the Dutch West Indies (Surinam and the Antilles: Curacao and Aruba).
Small armies were raised there during WW2 as part of KNIL, the Dutch East-Indies Army. After the fall of the Dutch East Indies, the other colonies could choose what they want from the large undelivered orders of KNIL. MH tanks, tractors and trucks saw service in Suriname as well as a small samples of lesser known vehicles.
Especially the army in Surinam (some 5000 strong) gives an indication of what KNIL might have looked like if more or all orders had been fullfilled in time. Later the Dutch forces received small amounts of Lend-lease equipment.

Here is a nice picture to start with: Marmon-Herrington tanks and Ford GTB's (one with winch, four with pedestal mounted watercooled Colt-Browning .50's) in the main barracks of Paramaribo (capital). Pic no 252-6341.

Enjoy
Nuyt

[nuyt]

here they are, pic no 935-1406
Enjoy
Nuyt

[nuyt]

I think it is a Dodge WC7, agreed? On Curacao as well.
Pic no 935-1232
Nuyt

[nuyt]

and a Marmon-Herrington convertible in Surinam.
Pic no252-6338
Nuyt

[nuyt]

do you recognise this vehicle, Hanno?
Nuyt

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by ericnuyt
do you recognise this vehicle, Hanno?

Looks like one of those Ford/Marmon-Herrington MGT's to me, Nuyt

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by ericnuyt
Especially the army in Surinam (some 5000 strong) gives an indication of what KNIL might have looked like if more or all orders had been fullfilled in time. Later the Dutch forces received small amounts of Lend-lease equipment.

Don't forget it was of vital importance to the Allies to have a defence force stationed in Surinam (Dutch Guiana). It was of strategic importance, not so much geographically but for its natural resources: throughout WW-II the Dutch Guiana mines produced 50% of the total U.S. demand for bauxite (raw material for the aluminium industry). Read more in Marmon-Herrington tanks: The Dutch Connection.

[nuyt]

Thanks Hanno,

There were also some US forces stationed in Surinam. I have no details, but they must have been engineers (to build an airbase) and airforce (to operate it). Allegedly some unit was Puertorican, don't know which one. Interesting to know what stuff these units had brought (and may have left behind). The US forces already entered Surinam in 1941 (under a, let's say, "unclear" political arrangement with the Dutch govt in exile). They came before the US entered WW2, to make sure the bauxite was safe and to send a message to neighbouring French Guyana (at that moment loyal to Vichy) as well as authoritarian Brazil, of which the international orientation was a bit misty at the beginning of the war. The commanding US colonel was bluffed into submission by the Dutch governor Kielstra, though, and the arrival of US forces went smoothly.

Your theory about the MH tanks shipped to Indonesia makes sense: there were several MH mg tanks that survived the war and it is more likely that these were pictured. On the other hand, there is no definite proof that the gun tanks did arrive in Java?

Building up a large force in Surinam had not only to do with guarding bauxite, though. These were the only citizens left to the Dutch govt from which to recruit (apart from Dutch emigrants and expats).
It was intended to train and ship a battalion to the Far East to participate in the war against Japan, and troops were envisaged for the liberation of Holland as well.
In the end a small battalion was sent to Australia to be incorporated in the Dutch Indies forces in that country. Also Surinamese served in the Dutch merchant fleet as gunners and a Women's unit was stationed in London.

Nuyt

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Well-known picture of Marmon-Herrington tanks in Surinam, as used in Marmon-Herrington literature. The original International News Photo was captioned as follows:

DUTCH TANKS DEFEND SURINAM...
PARIMARIBO, SURINAM.--THESE TANKS, MANNED BY DUTCH MARINES, ARE PART OF THE DEFENSE FORCES OF SURINAM, WHERE DUTCH FORCES COOPERATE WITH AMERICAN FORCES IN PROTECTION OF THE COLONY. SURINAM IS THE SOURCE OF MOST OF THE BAUXITE ON WHICH THE U.S. DEPENDS FOR ALUMINUM.
1030PM.

Note: no date was on the caption, but based on other photos, it was taken sometime in 1942.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Some screen shots from KNIL units training in Surinam:



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