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Henri Gerard Winkelman
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Henri Gerard Winkelman

Dutch military officer
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Born:
Aug. 17, 1876, Maastricht, Neth.
Died:
Dec. 27, 1952, Soesterberg (aged 76)

Henri Gerard Winkelman (born Aug. 17, 1876, Maastricht, Neth.—died Dec. 27, 1952, Soesterberg) was a general who commanded the armed forces of the Netherlands during the German invasion in May 1940.

A career officer from 1896 until his retirement, with the rank of general, in 1934, Winkelman was recalled to duty and appointed commander in chief of the army and navy after the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He directed the defense of the nation during the Nazi invasion (May 10–15, 1940), and, when the royal family and the Cabinet fled to England (May 13, 1940), he was left in charge of the country, with orders to continue fighting as long as resistance was purposeful. To stop the injury and death of civilians resulting from the bombardment and destruction of Dutch towns, he surrendered on May 15, 1940. Because the people rallied around him as a hero, he was arrested as a prisoner of war on July 2, 1940, and not released until May 12, 1945.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.