page_title: Royal Netherlands Army
section_title: Cold War
hierarchical_section_title: Royal Netherlands Army / History / Decolonisation and Cold War (1945–1991) / Cold War
caption_attribution_description: English: Each year on Prinsjesdag (day of the 'Prince lings' or Day of the Queen’s Speech) Dutch queen Beatrix addresses a joint session of the Houses of Parliament in the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) in The Hague. Today the final rehearsal for the equestrian escort on the beach of Scheveningen.
context_page_description: The Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.
  Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the Staatse Leger was raised – making the Dutch standing army one of the oldest in the world. It fought in the Napoleonic Wars, World War II, the Indonesian War of Independence, and the Korean War and served with NATO on the Cold War frontiers in West-Germany from the 1950s to the 1990s.
  Since 1990, the army has been sent into the Iraqi War and into the War in Afghanistan, as well as deployed in several United Nations' peacekeeping missions.
  The tasks of the Royal Netherlands Army are laid out in the Constitution of the Netherlands: defend the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and of its allies, protect and advance the international legal order and to support the government in law enforcement, disaster relief and humanitarian aid, both nationally and internationally. The supreme authority over the armed forces of the Netherlands is exercised by the government; there is thus no constitutional supreme commander. However, army personnel does swear allegiance to the Dutch monarch.
context_section_description: Army personnel was part of the 4,748 men strong Nederlands Detachement Verenigde Naties during the Korea War (1950–1953). This detachment was comprised of personnel of the army, the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps, and fought against the communist troops of the People's Republic of China and North Korea. 122 soldiers were killed in action, 3 soldier went missing in action.
  The I (Netherlands) Corps stood watch alongside its NATO allies in Germany during the Cold War. The corps consisted of three divisions during the 1980s, the 1st, 4th, and 5th (reserve) divisions. It was part of the NATO Northern Army Group. The corps's war assignment, as formulated by Commander, Northern Army Group (COMNORTHAG), would be to:
  Assume responsibility for its corps sector and relieve 1st German Corps forces as soon as possible.
  Fight the covering force battle in accordance with COMNORTHAG's concept of operations.
  In the main defensive battle: (1) hold and destroy the forces of the enemy's leading armies conventionally as far east as possible, maintaining cohesion with 1 (GE) Corps; (2) in the event of a major penetration affecting 1 (NL) Corps sector, be prepared to hold the area between the roads A7 and B3 and to conduct a counterattack according to COMNORTHAG's concept of operations.
  Maintain cohesion with LANDJUT and secure NORTHAG's left flank in the Forward Combat Zone.
  Dutch army troops have deployed to Lebanon as part of an international protection force since 1979 War in Lebanon, 1979–1985 UNIFIL. Of the 9,084 soldiers who served in Lebanon, 9 soldiers were killed in action.
caption: Dutch Leopard 2 main battle tank on the beach of Scheveningen, 2008.
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