The Dutch-German cooperation is often exaggerated while:
- Franco-German cooperation (Maybe you’re also aware of the Franco-German Brigade? )
- BeNeLux naval integration (BeNeSam = Belgian and Dutch navy admirality since 1948 pre-NATO)
- Nordic defense integration (almost all North sea bordering Nations)
- Belgian-Dutch special forces integration
- Belgian-Dutch decades of on-and-off merged fighter pilot training
are conveniently ignored
Historically, the Dutch armed forces have never been a subordinate force to Germany in doctrine, command structure, or long-term strategic planning. Even during tight Cold War NATO integration, the Netherlands maintained an independent military doctrine, procurement policy, and deployment authority. Integration within NATO frameworks does not equate to absorption into another nation’s military ecosystem, otherwise most NATO nations would lose their national trees entirely. It is explicitly said so in 1 (German/Netherlands) Corps | Koninklijke Landmacht | Defensie.nl.
If War Thunder starts assigning tech trees solely based on temporary multinational integration, then countries like Norway, France, Turkey, Denmark, Canada, Austria, Greece, Belgium, and even Poland could be similarly absorbed into larger neighbors, which would be both historically inaccurate and gameplay-destructive in most cases.
Procurement ≠ political or military subordination
Leasing or purchasing German equipment (e.g., Leopard MBTs or FOKKER triplans) is a budgetary and logistical decision, not a declaration of military dependency. By that logic:
- Many nations using F-16s or F-35s would belong to a US tech tree
- Nations operating Soviet/Russian tanks would belong to the Russian tree
- Nations using British naval weapons would belong to the UK
War Thunder has never applied this logic consistently elsewhere. And the netherlands also used mostly US, British and funnily also Canadian vehicles more than any german or coincidentally dutch-german projects.
The Netherlands:
- Fought against Germany in WWII
- Was occupied by Germany
- Rebuilt its armed forces explicitly to deter Germany and the Warsaw Pact
- Joined NATO as a founding member in 1949
Placing Dutch vehicles inside the German tree creates a direct historical contradiction:
You would be researching Dutch WWII resistance vehicles inside the same tree that previously invaded and occupied them. This is thematic nonsense from a historical progression standpoint. At least in France we don’t have that drivel.
TL;DR:
Placing the Dutch in the German tech tree is:
- Historically inaccurate
- Logically inconsistent
- Selective in its application
- Damaging to gameplay diversity
- Disrespectful to national military identity