Holland has at present no standing army, but a cadre of officers and non-commissioned officers (establishment about 2,200) for training the forces embodied.

The Landwehr, which has replaced the old Schutterij, received its first contingent recently, and the country has been divided into 48 Landwehr districts. The corresponding battalions cannot, however, be formed before 1909. The Landwehr and Landsturm to which men are to be transferred will have a peace strength of about 20,000, and a volunteer establishment in time of war, the militia to be increased to 12,300, to be permanently embodied, with 5,200 more to be called up for short periods; and the reorganization is being proceeded with. The total armed strength is estimated at 69,000.

The army of the Dutch East Indies numbers about 35,000 officers and men, recruited voluntarily, one-half of the men natives, and a plan of mobilization for war has recently been adopted.