The First Division 7 December ( nl, Eerste Divisie "7 December") was a division of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dut ...

, active from at least 1946 to 2004. It was sent to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in 1946 to restore "peace, order and security" after the

proclamation of Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of t ...

in 1945.

History

The division was named after the speech of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 7 December 1942: "I imagine, without prejudice to the government conference's advice, that they will focus on a National Association, which the Netherlands,

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coas ...

will have participated together, while each in itself, its own autonomy in internal affairs and drawing on their own, but together with the will to assist, will represent. It will be difference of treatment based on race or national character have no place, but will only have the personal ability of citizens and the needs of different populations for the decisive policy of the Government." The division was withdrawn from the East Indies in 1949–1950 and spent the remainder of the Cold War as part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Northern Army Group The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Army Group headquarters was established o ...

's I (Netherlands) Corps as a deterrent against a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

attack on

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In 1985, it had its headquarters at Schaarsbergen, and divisional troops included the 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion (maintained through the Dutch mobilisation system RIM) at Hoogland. The 11th Mechanised Brigade included the 12th and 48th Mechanised Battalions, the 101st Tank Battalion, and the 11th Field Artillery Battalion. The 12th Mechanised Brigade was headquartered at Nunspeet and the 13th Armoured Brigade was at Oirschot. After the end of the Cold War, it became part of the I. German/Dutch Corps for a period. The division was disbanded on 1 January 2004 and the title of '7 December' was transferred to the ''11 Luchtmobiele Brigade'' ( 11th Airmobile Brigade).

Divisional Organization 1989

05-12-2008-herdenking-7-december-divisie

* 1e Divisie "7 December" (Mechanized),

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It i ...

, NL ** Staff and Staff Company, Arnhem ** 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion ''"Huzaren van Boreel"'',

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the secon ...

(18 x Leopard 1V, 48 x M113-Command & Reconnaissance) ** 11e Pantserinfanteriebrigade, Arnhem, NL *** Staff and Staff Company, Arnhem *** 101st Pantser Battalion ''"Regiment Huzaren Prins Alexander"'',

Soesterberg Soesterberg is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Soest, and lies about 5 km northeast of Zeist, on the road between Amersfoort and Utrecht. It was the location of Soesterberg Air Base Histor ...

(61 x Leopard 1V, 12 x YPR-765) *** 12th Pantserinfanterie Battalion ''"Garde Regiment Jagers"'', Arnhem (70 x YPR-765, 16 x YPR-765 PRAT) *** 48th Pantserinfanterie Battalion ''"Regiment van Heutsz"'',

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

(70 x YPR-765, 16 x YPR-765 PRAT) *** 11th Horse Artillery Battalion ''"Gele Rijders"'', Arnhem (20 x M109A3) *** 11th Armored Anti-Tank Company, Ermelo (AIFV, YPR-765 PRAT) *** 11th Armored Engineer Company, Ermelo *** 11th Brigade Supply Company,

Stroe Stroe may refer to: Places * Stroe, Gelderland, a village in the Netherlands * Stroe, North Holland, a village in the Netherlands * Stroe, a tributary of the river Nechit in Romania Name Romanian surname * Aurel Stroe (1932–2008) * Cor ...

*** 11th Brigade Maintenance Company, Arnhem *** 11th Brigade Medical Company, Stroe ** 12e Pantserinfanteriebrigade, Vierhouten, NL *** Staff and Staff Company, Vierhouten *** 59th Pantser Battalion ''"Regiment Huzaren Prins Oranje"'', 't Harde (61 x Leopard 1V, 12 x YPR-765) *** 11th Pantserinfanterie Battalion ''"Garde Regiment Grenadiers"'', Arnhem (70 x YPR-765, 16 x YPR-765 PRAT) *** 13th Pantserinfanterie Battalion ''"Garde Fusiliers Princess Irene"'', Schalkhaar (70 x YPR-765, 16 x YPR-765 PRAT) *** 14th Field Artillery Battalion (Reserve), Vierhouten (20 x M109A3) *** 12th Armored Anti-Tank Company, Vierhouten (YPR-765 PRAT) *** 12th Armored Engineer Company, Vierhouten *** 13th Brigade Supply Company, Vierhouten *** 12th Brigade Maintenance Company, Uddel *** 12th Brigade Medical Company, Vierhouten ** 13e Pantserbrigade, Oirschot, NL *** Staff and Staff Company, Oirschot *** 11th Pantser Battalion ''"Huzaren van Sytzama"'', Oirschot (52 x Leopard 1V, 12 YPR-765) *** 49th Pantser Battalion (Reserve) ''"Huzaren van Sytzama"'', Oirschot (52 x Leopard 1V, 12 x YPR-765) *** 17th Pantserinfanterie Battalion ''"Regiment Infanterie Chasse"'', Oirschot (70 x YPR-765, 16 x YPR-765 PRAT) *** 12th Field Artillery Battalion, Oirschot (20 x M109A3) *** 13th Armored Engineer Company, Oirschot *** 12th Brigade Supply Company, Oirschot *** 13th Brigade Maintenance Company, Oirschot *** 13th Brigade Medical Company, Oirschot

References

Sources

* Alfred van Sprang ''Wij werden geroepen : de geschiedenis van de 7 December Divisie, met zweten en zwoegen geschreven door twintigduizend Nederlandse mannen'' (1949) * ''Herinneringsalbum 1e infanterie brigadegroep C Divisie "7 December"'' 1e deel 1 September 1946 - 1 mrt. 1947, 2e deel mrt. 1947 - sept 1947, 3e deel sept. 1947 - mrt. 1948 en 4e deel 1 mrt. 1948 – Demobilisatie. Uitgegeven door A. W. Sijthoff's uitgeversmij N.V. te Leiden * Arthur ten Cate ''De laatste divisie : de geschiedenis van 1 Divisie '7 December' na de val van de Muur 1989-2004'' (2004)

External links

Blog Indonesië 1947 - 1950

7 December Divisie in Nederlands-Indië van 1946-1950

{{commons category Army units and formations of the Netherlands Indonesian National Revolution Military units and formations established in 1946 Military units and formations disestablished in 2004