The Netherlands armed forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organizations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are part of the Ministry of Defence.
The Royal Marines, also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, and officially as the Corps of Royal Marines, are the United Kingdom's amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, and provide a company strength unit to the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG). The Royal Marines trace their origins back to the formation of the "Duke of York and Albany's maritime regiment of Foot" on 28 October 1664, and the first Royal Marines Commando unit was formed at Deal in Kent on 14 February 1942 and designated "The Royal Marine Commando".
The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade, the Commandos' ranks would eventually be filled by members of all branches of the British Armed Forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Norway and Poland. The United States Army Rangers and US Marine Corps Raiders, Portuguese Fuzileiros Portuguese Marine Corps were modelled on the Commandos.
The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the Regiment de Marine on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt and famous Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It is the second-oldest still-active marine corps in the world.
The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William, is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Orange. Its motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw. The chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. Comparable with the French Légion d’Honneur but far less often awarded, it is open to everyone regardless of rank or nobility—not only to Dutch military, but also to foreigners. To date, membership in the Order is extremely rarely awarded, and only for exceptional bravery in battle.
The Land Component, historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army, is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Jean-Pol Baugnée.
The Indonesian Army is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the Tentara Keamanan Rakyat (TKR) "People's Security Army" first emerged as a paramilitary and police corps.
Abraham Lamertus "Bram" van der Stok,, also known as Bob van der Stok, was a World War II fighter pilot and flying ace, and is the most decorated aviator in Dutch history.
The Marine Corps of the Republic of Indonesia , previously known as the Commando Corps of the Indonesian Navy, is an integral part of the Indonesian Navy and is sized at the military corps level unit as the naval infantry and main amphibious warfare force of Indonesia. The Marine Corps is commanded by a two-star Marine Major General.
The Bronze Lion is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created in 1944 and has since been issued 1,210 times. Proposals for an award are reviewed by the Dutch Board for Bravery Awards, which is part of the Ministry of Defence. If awarded they are enforced by a Royal Decree. The Bronze Lion has precedence after the Order of the House of Orange but is the second-highest military decoration still being awarded for bravery.
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; the army was renamed as the 'Sri Lanka Army' when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2024, the Army had approximately 150,000 personnel.
Korps Speciale Troepen was a Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) special forces unit that was established for deployment against the Indonesian revolutionaries during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was formed in 1948 with the Depot Speciale Troepen at its core and disbanded alongside the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in 1950, by which time it had been renamed to the Regiment Speciale Troepen. The DST consisted of about 570 men at its establishment in 1945 and had a precursor in the Korps Insulinde that conducted clandestine operations during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. In June 1949, 250 men of the 1st Parachute Company were integrated into the Corps. The KST, which would reach a maximum strength of 1250 men, was composed of Dutch war volunteers (OVWs), Eurasians and native soldiers, including Moluccans. The present day Korps Commandotroepen of the Royal Netherlands Army is considered a continuation of the RST.
In the Dutch honours system, most orders are the responsibility of ministers of the Netherlands Government. The house orders, however, are awarded at the discretion of the Dutch monarch alone.
No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando was a commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War, recruited largely from non-British personnel from German-occupied Europe. This unit was used to help co-ordinate attacks with other Allied forces.
The Korps Commandotroepen (KCT) is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, and the founding of the Korps Speciale Troepen during the Indonesian War of Independence. At present, the unit is tasked with conducting the full spectrum of special operations, its principal tasks being direct action, special reconnaissance, military assistance and counter-terrorism.
Ernst Willem de Jonge was a lawyer and Olympic rower who volunteered to serve in the Dutch resistance during the Second World War. He was captured in May 1942, interrogated and moved through several concentration camps. He died in a prison in German-occupied Poland in September 1944.
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mochammad Idjon Djanbi previously known as Rodes Barendrecht "Rokus" Visser, also spelled as Barendregt, was a Dutch-born Indonesian soldier who served as a Dutch commando during World War II, Korps Speciale Troepen officer and eventually became first commander of Kopassus.
The Fire Support Command is the artillery arm of the Royal Netherlands Army. The command consists of 41 Artillery Battalion, a staff, the Fire Support School and the artillery training grounds and is part of the Operational Support Command Land.
The Mariniersbrigade was a marine unit set up by the Dutch government-in-exile during World War II, which existed between 1943 and 1949. It was formed as part of the Dutch contribution to the Allied war effort against Japan and more particularly for the liberation of the Dutch East Indies. The driving force behind its creation was marine colonel M. R. de Bruyne. The Mariniersbrigade became an independently operating unit with a strength of approximately 5,000 men. Capable of amphibious landings, the unit had a core of three infantry battalions, and was further equipped with landing craft, artillery and tanks.
Lieutenant general Jan Renger (Jan) Swillens is a Royal Netherlands Army officer and Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army since 2024.
