Cornelis Jacobus Snijders
Commander-in-chief of the Armed forces
In office
31 July 1914  9 November 1918
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLieutenant general Willem Frederik Pop
Personal details
Born(1852-09-29)September 29, 1852
Nieuwe-Tonge, Netherlands
DiedMay 26, 1939(1939-05-26) (aged 86)
Hilversum, Netherlands
Military service
Allegiance Netherlands
Branch/service Royal Netherlands Army
Rank General

Cornelis Jacobus Snijders (29 September 1852 - 26 May 1939) was a Dutch military leader. He was born in Nieuwe Tonge on 29 September 1852.[1] In 1865, he went to study in Middelburg but did not finish his education there.[1] 1869 he joined the Royal Military Academy in Breda, becoming an engineer.[1] In 1883, he married Johanna Adriana Everdina.[2]

On 1 July 1910, he was made chief of the general staff.[1] He was a proponent of military aviation.[1] In 1913, Snijders created the Aviation Department.[1][3] Later the navy received an airforce as well.[4] Snijders was also First Chairman of the Dutch Association for Aviation.[4]

When tensions grew in anticipation of World War I, he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.[1] Shortly afterward, he was promoted to full general.[1]

In April 1918, one month after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which freed Germany on its Eastern Front, he opposed war with Germany, making clear that if war was to be fought, he preferred to fight for the Entente.[1]

He died in Hilversum on 26 May 1939.[1]

Military decorations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 owner, No (12 January 2015). "bwn3". resources.huygens.knaw.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. "Cornelis Snijders". www.myheritage.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. owner, No (12 November 2013). "bwn5". resources.huygens.knaw.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  4. 1 2 De Jong, A. P. (1988). Vlucht door de tijd : 75 jaar Nederlandse luchtmacht (in Dutch). Royal Netherlands Air Force. Unieboek b.v. p. 23.

Further reading

  • Van den Berg, D. (1945) Cornelis Jacobus Snijders (1852-1939). Een leven in dienst van zijn land en zijn volk. (In Dutch)
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