Small Powers in the Age of Total War, 1900-1940

An eponymous conference held in Breda, The Netherlands in 2008 gave rise to this volume. It took place at the Netherlands Defence Academy, with which both editors are or have been affiliated. The focus is on how small countries had to try to influence strategic considerations of the big powers to their advantage without compromising neutrality, and how study of this balancing act is important for understanding neutrality as both a legal concept and a military problem. Amersfoort and Klinkert (who now teaches military history at the U. of Amsterdam) provide an introductory chapter, which is followed by 13 contributions from military historians based in The Netherlands and several other European nations, New Zealand, and the US. Among the topics: European hopes for neutrality before 1914; German offensive plans against The Netherlands and against Denmark, 1916-1818; the development of air defense of Copenhagen, the German army in the interwar years, and the development of the Swiss army's combat methods after the First World War. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Herman Amersfoort, Ph.D. (1988) in History, University of Leiden, is Professor of Military History at the Netherlands Defence Academy and at the University of Amsterdam. He has published extensively on Dutch military history in the 19th and 20th centuries.Wim Klinkert, Ph.D. (1992) in History, University of Leiden, is Associate Professor of Military History at the Netherlands Defence Academy and is Professor of Military History at the University of Amsterdam. His publications focus on Dutch military history between 1870 and 1945.