Colonel Thomson and Albania (uk)

Lodewijk Willem John Karel Thomson was born on 11 June 1869. His father was a navy medical officer, his mother was a Pompe van Meerdervoort, a family of the lower nobility. The family lived in Voorschoten (left on 1). After completing the three-year pre-university high school curriculum, he enrolled in the Royal Military Academy in Breda in 1884 (2). Commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in 1888, he was posted to the Nijmegen garrison. His promotion to first lieutenant followed in 1892. In that same year, Thomson was inducted into the Order of Freemasons under the Grand East of the Netherlands. See the old lodge in Egyptian style (3). He published in military journals at an early age (4). In 1896, he married Henriëtta Slotemaker. The marriage produced two daughters, one of whom died in infancy.

1. Klein Roucoop House in Voorschoten (Municipal Archives, Voorschoten)
2. Thomson as a cadet (Institute of Military History (IMG), The Hague)
3. Old St. Lodewijk Freemason’s Lodge in Nijmegen (Prins Frederik Masonic Cultural Centre, The Hague)
4. Thomson’s article “Greasing cartridges” (Het invetten van patronen) in The Military Spectator, 1883 (IMG, The Hague)

From 1894 to 1896, Thomson was assigned to the Royal Netherlands Indies Army. Thomson took part in combat in Aceh and was decorated for courageous conduct during those actions (B). Years later in the House of Representatives, he criticised such actions to combat the Jihad against the colonial government. During the Parliamentary session of 9 November 1906, Thomson lectured the House concerning the ‘sabre regime’ of General Van Dalen and reflected critically on his own actions. In his view, only an increase in the troop strength could reduce the terror of the Dutch troops and protect the indigenous population. In 1897, his Aceh chart (1) was published for the general public. Although Thomson was a trained cartographer, the Topographical Office in Batavia (Netherlands East Indies), which was planning to publish a map of Aceh of its own, dismissed him as a ‘compiler’. The Military Guide of 1898 responded: better a temporary map than temporarily no map at all.

In 1899, he was dispatched as a military observer to the Boer War. Photograph 3 shows him among his fellow observers from the USA, Norway, France and Russia. In his Lessons from the South African War (1902), he stated that modern armaments, with rapid fire artillery, machine guns and small arms with smokeless powder required an earlier dispersion of large units than had been the case in the past. Inasmuch as that would lead to senior commanders having less contact with their troops, the initiative of lower commanders and subordinates would become very important. The strict ‘Prussian’ discipline – too strict, in Thomson’s view – of the Netherlands army should therefore make way for the training of battle-ready soldiers able to act independently within the greater whole.

1. 9 of the 16 folios of Thomson’s Chart of the occupied territory in Great Aceh (Collection G. de Vries, Heveadorp)
2. Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of William, 4th Class (IMG, The Hague)
3. Thomson as a military observer in South Africa (3rd from left) (IMG, The Hague)

Due to its dissemination of new ideas, The Military Guide magazine became the medium of choice for forward-thinking officers. Thomson’s belief (1) that excessive punishment did more to undermine military discipline than to support it brought him into conflict with his commander. Despite a poor evaluation, he was promoted (2), probably due to his competent performance during the railway strikes of 1903 when he was assigned to protect those who reported for work (3). That Thomson’s political career did not dim his fervour for military reform is clear from his passionate plea for the creation of a people’s army that would contribute to a strong national awareness (4). With the strikes still fresh in the public mind, his opponent called for a professional army that would remain loyal to authority against rebellious masses.

1. Thomson’s foreword in The Military Guide, 1903 (IMG, The Hague)
2. Thomson as captain of infantry (IMG, The Hague)
3. Grenadiers at The Hague Staatsspoor Station (IMG, The Hague)
4. Article by Thomson: “A people’s army” in Pro and Contra, 1912 (University of Leiden Library)

As a company commander in Leeuwarden (A), Thomson came into conflict with his regimental commander. Since his position in the armed forces had become critical, he decided to stand for parliament in the elections for the House of Representatives in 1905 for the constituency of Leeuwarden (B). The candidates he defeated included the socialist Wibaut and he took a seat in the House. Four years later, he would defeat the socialist Troelstra before the latter won the seat in 1913. Troelstra appreciated the efforts his liberal predecessor Thomson had made to introduce democratic ideals into the army. From 1909 to 1913, Thomson also sat on the city council of The Hague. Among the positions he supported were measures to use cinemas to educate students and to provide better civil service preparation for council meetings (C). To honour his efforts on behalf of the fishing port, fishing boats Scheveningen 23 (1915-1917) and, later, the Scheveningen 5 (1917-1925) were named after Thomson (D). During the government crisis of 1911, caused in part by Duymaer van Twist, Thomson was among those named as potential Minister of War, a position that eventually went to H. Colijn (E). In 1912, Colijn sent Thomson abroad as a military observer to the Balkans.

In 1878, the Turco-Russian War threatened the existence of European Turkey. In March of that year, the Treaty of San Stefano saw the creation of Greater Bulgaria, including Thrace and Macedonia. Serbia was given the district of Pristina and Montenegro was given the territory as far as Djakova in Kosovo. In the meantime, Greece had invaded the Ottoman province of Janina (Epirus Region). In order to limit Russian influence in the Balkans, and under pressure from the United Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a new treaty was concluded in Berlin under the leadership of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The Treaty of Berlin returned Kosovo, Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace to the Ottoman Empire and divided the remainder of Bulgaria into two parts (1). Several days before the Congress of Berlin, approximately 300 Albanian nationalists gathered in the Kosovar city of Prizren. The League of Prizren that resulted stated: “Just as we are not Turks, nor do we wish to be, so also shall we resist with all our strength anyone who would make of us Slavs, Austrians or Greeks; we wish to be Albanians” (2).

The League’s programme inspired Albanian magazines and schools. When the revolt in 1908 brought the Young Turks to power in Istanbul, their programme of centralisation and Turkification conflicted with the Albanian desire for autonomy. The struggle concentrated on the alphabet. The Young Turks insisted on the use of the traditional Arabic script, but, in 1909, Albanian nationalists elected to use to the Latin alphabet (3). That would allow Christians and Muslims to develop a common heritage and distinguish them from the Slavic and Greek writing style of their neighbouring countries. The Ottoman government reacted by closing Albanian newspapers, national clubs and the few Albanian schools that there were. In 1910, it led to a revolt around Priština (Kosovo) which was bloodily suppressed. A year later, the Roman Catholic Mirdit tribe took up arms against Turkish domination (4).

When the rulers of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece made secret alliances in 1912 to bring the remaining Turkish rule in the Balkans to an end (5), the First Balkan War broke out in October of that year. The Ottoman armies in Macedonia were overrun. With the Treaty of London, the Sultan lost virtually all of his territory in Europe except for a strip of land near the capital of Istanbul. The victors did everything possible to erase all traces of the ‘Ottoman yoke’. Muslim Albanians were the primary victims of executions and expulsions, but ‘ethnic cleansing’ took place elsewhere as well (6). The demand from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy that there should be an independent Albania reinforced the differences concerning the division of the conquered territories. That led to the Second Balkan War of 1913, in which everyone turned against Bulgaria.

1. Map of the Balkans. (Source: Beekman & Schuiling, School Atlas of the Whole World, ± 1900 Steegh/Teunissen (S/T) Collection, Leiden)
2. League of Prizren, painting (via Albanian Embassy in the Netherlands)
3. List of Decisions of the Congress of Monastir (via the Albanian Embassy)
4. Armed Mirdites, Northern Albania (S/T Collection, Leiden)
5. The rulers of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece threaten Turkey in Europe (S/T Collection, Leiden)
6. Muslim refugees in Macedonia (A. Kahn Museum, Paris)
7. Muslim refugees in Macedonia (A. Kahn Museum, Paris)

At his own request, Thomson was dispatched during the First Balkan War to follow the actions of the Greek and Montenegran armies. In November 1912, he arrived in the largely Jewish city of Saloniki, which had just been conquered by the Greeks (1). From there, he went to Epirus, where a Greek army was attempting to take the Ottoman fortifications at Bizani, which controlled the pass to Lake Pamvotis. The strong fortifications were not taken until the end of February/beginning of March 1913 (2). On 24 February of the Julian calendar (9 February in the Gregorian calendar; Greece did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1923), Thomson signed a white flag from some Turkish soldiers (3). In the meantime, the old capital city Janina had been taken (4). From there, the army entered southern Albania and determined (5) that in this area, which both Greece and Albania laid claim to, 51% of the population were Hellenes (Greeks) and 49% were Albanian. The Greek Orthodox rite is, however, widely dispersed among large groups of Albanian native-speakers in the region. And the coastal area had just been ‘purified’ of ‘Albanians’ who refused to join the Greek political military adventure.

1. Harbourfront of Saloniki 1913 (A. Kahn Museum, Paris)
2. Greek postcard, breakthrough at the Bizani fortifications (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Fragment of the white flag from the Little Bizani fort with text by Thomson (Benaki Museum, Athens)
4. Greek soldier at Lake Pamvotis near Janina, with mosque, reinforced palace and city wall (S/T Collection, Leiden)
5. Greek ethnographic map of North Epirus (Southern Albania), 1913 (S/T Collection, Leiden)

Thomson interrupted his observing duties on the Greek/Albanian front for several weeks and on 31 January 1913 arrived in Montenegro where he met the Dutch war correspondent Jan Fabius. In Montenegro, efforts were underway to bring new vigour to the ongoing siege of Scutari/Shkodër. The trading city (1) is located very strategically on the southeast point of the lake of the same name (2). The city is protected to the north by marshes, to the southeast by rivers and to the west by Mount Tarabosh, which rises approximately 600 metres from the lake (3). Fabius accompanied the division commanded by the Montenegran crown prince through the flat terrain while Thomson accompanied the coastal division en route to Tarabosh. On 9 February, the Montenegran and the Serbian support troops were again forced to suspend action, having suffered approximately 4,000 dead and wounded. The defenders of the garrison town lost more than 1,300 men, but the Turkish positions remained impregnable (4).

1. Shkodër/Scutari (S/T Collection, Leiden)
2. Fragment of an Ottoman army map, Shkodër and environs, ±1900) (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Mountain fortifications west of Shkodër (S/T Collection, Leiden)
4. Turkish positions near Shkodër (S/T Collection, Leiden)

The terrace in front of the coffee house (A) shows some of Shkodër’s more ‘folksy’ characters. Notice the bare feet. Many people apparently did not have enough money for the shoemaker (B). Although the city remained impregnable, Montenegrans (C) and Serbians increasingly cut it off from resupply. Breaking out was impossible and ammunition, fuel and food had to be rationed; horses were slaughtered for food. The city commander, Essad Pasha (D), who would later be Thomson’s adversary, was faced with a terrible dilemma: surrender or starve.

1. Coffee house in Shkodër (S/T Collection, Leiden)
2. Shoemaker’s shop in Shkodër (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Montenegran observation post near Shkodër (S/T Collection, Leiden)
4. Essad Pasha (Albania, visage des Balkans, Paris 1995)

When the heavy artillery arrived (1), the Montengran bombardment of the city and its fortifications became even more murderous. Starvation claimed dozens of lives every day. In Europe, public indignation increased, but the blockade of Montenegro by an international fleet had little effect. Essad Pasha surrendered on 23 April 1913 on condition that he and 6,000 soldiers would be allowed to leave the city with their rifles. Montenegro gained nothing from its victory. Under pressure from the great powers, it was forced to leave the city. Enraged, they burned the bazaar to the ground (2). The Montenegrans left and the peacekeeping force arrived on 14 May (3, 4).

1. Serbian cannons near Shkodër (Serbia and Montenegro in the Balkan Wars, 1912-1913, Belgrade 1972)
2. Shkodër’s burnt-out bazaar (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Departure of Montenegran troops, arrival of the peacekeeping force (S/T Collection, Leiden)
4. Reception of Admiral Burney (S/T Collection, Leiden)

As the hope of remaining neutral evaporated, Albanian independence was declared in Valona/Vlorë on 28 November 1912. The diplomat Ismail Qemal (1) formed a provisional government with claims for a Greater Albania (2). The Triple Entente of Russia, the United Kingdom and France, by contrast, proposed a rump state that would allow Serbia and Greece to retain a great deal of the territory they had conquered. At the Conference of London (May 1913), the independence was recognised, but even Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not propose including Kosovo. Albania was forced to become a neutral principality. By means of an International Control Commission (ICC), the European Great Powers attempted to restore order. The ICC established itself in Vlorë (3).

Thomson and De Veer were assigned to investigate how a gendarmerie could be set up. Their 150-page classified report, describing geography, composition of the population, history and the development of state institutions, was issued at the beginning of 1914 (4). The organisation and remuneration of approximately 5,000 gendarmes was also discussed. Inquiries had already been made to the Dutch government to provide officers to lead the gendarmerie force. On 24 February, the following people arrived in Vlorë (5): Captain Fabius, Major Kroon, Major De Waal (briefly visible), Major Sluys, Captain Doorman, Major Roelfsema, Dr. De Groot (in civilian clothes), Captain Sar, Major Verhulst, Major Snellen van Vollenhoven and, far right, First Lieutenant Mallinckrodt. The others are Albanian officers. Captains Reimers and Sonne arrived with the next boat. The Dutch officers were organised into pairs and deployed across the country.

1. Ismail Qemal (Guide of Albanian History and Cultural Heritage, Tirana 2000)
2. Borders of the new Albania, various proposals, Petermanns Mittheilungen 59, 1913 (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Vlorë/Valona (S/T Collection, Leiden)
4. Report of the Albanian Expedition (National Archives, The Hague)
5. Arrival of the Dutch expedition in Albania (IMG, The Hague)

The ancient harbour town of Durazzo/Durrës (1 and 2) was chosen as the new capital of the Principality of Albania. As monarch (m’bret), the European Great Powers selected the 37-year-old German officer Wilhelm zu Wied from a number of candidates. This Protestant prince was a charming man with no political experience or familiarity with Albania, but he was the nephew of both Queen Wilhelmina (Netherlands) and Queen Elisabeth (Romania). De Veer and Thomson, who had joined the service of the Albanian government and had been promoted to Major General and Lieutenant Colonel respectively, were not able to welcome the new prince until the beginning of March 1914 (3 and 4). Wilhelm I and Sophie took up residence at the palace on the coast. In theory, he was monarch of all of Albania (5). In fact, however, Serbian troops in the north and Greek guerrilla fighters in the south continued to make those regions unsafe. Beys (Muslims with large landholdings) and imams (religious leaders) in Central Albania would have preferred an Islamic monarch, however, and many of the mountain dwellers cherished their traditional tribal laws. The central government under the octagenarian Premier Turkhan Pasha was strongly divided internally. Essad Pasha, Minister of Internal Affairs and of War, was the most powerful figure in the cabinet. Essad, who owned large tracts of land in the Durrës and Tirana regions, had his own troops.

1. View over Durrës (S/T Collection, Leiden)
2. Customs jetty at Durrës (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Reception by De Veer and Thomson (IMG, The Hague)
4. Entry of Wilhelm and Sophie zu Wied (S/T Collection, Leiden)
5. Albania on the map of Southeast Europe (De Grote Bosatlas 2001)

In December 1913, the European Great Powers signed the Protocol of Florence that included a more precise definition of the southern border of Albania. Greece was given Epirus but had to withdraw its forces from Saranda, Gjirokastër/Argyrokastro and Korçë/Koritza. Some of those troops deserted, taking their weapons with them, and joined the Greek guerrilla bands, known as comitadjis (irregular armed bands). Zu Wied’s first order of business was to restore order in South Albania. The Dutch officers were faced with an almost impossible task. Within a very short time, they had to train Albanian gendarmes and non-commissioned officers and, with the help of guides and interpreters, lead them through mountainous country that was unfamiliar to them (1). The virtual total lack of paved roads and an equal absence of railways, meant that ammunition and other supplies had to be transported by horse and mule (2). Communication with Major General De Veer and the central signalman of the Dutch mission in Vlorë, Mallinckrodt, was difficult. Although telegraph lines were repaired rapidly, the telegraphers were almost all former Ottoman civil servants (3). To prevent espionage, important messages were sent in Dutch, but the text was sometimes distorted beyond recognition (4).

1. Advancing Albanian gendarmes in South Albania (IMG, The Hague)
2. Packhorses and mules carrying supplies (IMG, The Hague)
3. Signals unit with telegraph (IMG, The Hague)
4. Telegram in distorted Dutch (IMG, The Hague)

The district of Korçë/Koritza was conquered by Greece in December 1912 (1). In accordance with the Protocol of Florence, the Greek army was supposed to leave the city and the region, however. The expectations had been set high. At the end of February, Major Snellen van Vollenhoven wrote to the Netherlands from Vlorë/Valona (2): “I have been assigned as commander of the healthiest district, Koreza, which is still occupied by the Greeks, but which they, willingly or unwillingly, will have to leave. I look forward to various adventures ….” On 3 March 1914, the Greek military did begin to leave the city. On 5 March, an Albanian gendarmerie corps, led by Snellen van Vollenhoven and Doorman, arrived and placed the city under military administration in the name of the Albanian government. They immediately commissioned an official seal containing the text “Commission de controle provisoire Korca” (Provisional Control Commission Korçë), with an Albanian double-headed eagle in the centre (3). Greek guerrilla fighters repeatedly attacked the city and received support from the Greek Orthodox bishop of Koritza (4). With the help of volunteers, the gendarmerie was initially succesful in repelling them. The reinforcements from Durrës promised by Essad Pasha, however, were noticeable by their absence. On 4 July, Snellen received an ultimatum from a provisional government put together by the comitadjis who asserted that they had come to protect the Christians in the city against rebellious Turks. After three days of battle, Korçë fell and the “ethnic cleansing” began. The Dutch officers were able to escape to Durrës.

1. Panoramic view of Korçë/Koritza (S/T Collection, Leiden)
2. Postcard from Major Snellen van Vollenhoven (Dr. J. Koopmans Collection, Amstelveen)
3. Postal stamp of the military administration in Korçë with the signature of Snellen van Vollenhoven on the back (Dr. J. Koopmans Collection, Amstelveen)
4. Greek Orthodox cathedral of Korçë/Koritza (S/T Collection, Leiden)

Bektashi tekkes were regularly used as barracks by the comitadjis, as happened with the Asim Baba tekke of Gjirokastër (1). In this tekke, which is combination of a cloister and a lodge, Bektashi sufis gathered. The Bektashi sufi order, which was very influential in South Albania, preaches a remarkable teaching that combines shamanistic, jewish and christian customs with muslim traditions. The headdress of Bektashi babas (2), a position similar to Freemason Masters and religious abbots, has twelve folds. They represent the twelve imams of Shia Islam, but also refer to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of Christianity. At 15% of the population, Bektashis are the third largest religious community of Albania, after the Sunni (more than 50%) and the Eastern Orthodox (20%) but ahead of the Roman Catholics (10%). This Sufi order was a unifiying factor between muslims and christians. Bektashis played a leading role in the fight for Albania’s independence. For that reason, the order was targeted by comitadjis. The Dutch officers had no idea of those spiritual and political relationships in Albania, however.

At the end of February 1914, a provisional government of North Epirus was formed in Gjirokastër/Argyrokastro (3), under the leadership of Georghios Christaki Zographos. Zographos, who had been Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared that the North Epirotes would fight on, despite the (formal) opposition of the Greek government, which gave priority to its claims on islands in the Aegean Sea. Zu Wied immediately attempted to calm tensions in South Albania. He appointed Thomson as government commissar and sent him to Corfu in March (4) to negotiate with representatives of Zographos in order to create the conditions for the establishment of Albanian-Greek administrations in Korçë/Koritza and Gjirokastër/Argyrokastro. In those districts, however, the conflict flared up again; at the same time, Thomson was accused by the government in Durrës of having made too many concessions to Zographos. On 17 May, an agreement was finally reached on Corfu, but just before the First World War started, the rebellion against Durrës reshuffled the cards.

1. Bektashi tekke of Gjirokastër (S/T Collection, Leiden)
2. Bektashi holy man, 1913 (A. Kahn Museum, Paris)
3. Gjirokastër Citadel (S/T Collection, Leiden)
4. Corfu harbour (S/T Collection, Leiden)

The inital positive feelings of many Albanians towards the government of Zu Wied turned to resentment as a result of the failure of the christian ruler to establish order. He was thought to be too positive towards the roman catholic Austrians and the eastern orthodox Greeks. Public demonstrations in the form of visits to mosques (1) no longer made any impression and in Tirana (2), calls went up for a circumcised (i.e. muslim) ruler. In that atmosphere, the rivalry between the Dutch officers who led the Albanian gendarmerie, on the one hand, and the Minister of Internal Affairs and War (who still had hundreds of armed reservists at his disposal), on the other hand, broke out into open conflict. Major Sluys was able to convince Zu Wied that Essad Pasha was conspiring with Serbs and Greeks. Essad Pasha was also said to be the evil genius behind rebellious farmers in the countryside between Shijak and Tirana (3). On 20 May, the roof of Essad’s palace in Durrës was destroyed by shellfire and he was arrested (4). Essad Pasha was banished to Italy, where he was welcomed as a hero!

Two days later, Captain Sar departed with one hundred gendarmes and a light cannon to investigate reports of a rebellion. Sar posted volunteers from the mountains at the bridge near Shijak (5) to cover his route of retreat. En route to Tirana, he encountered a furious demonstration. When Sar tried to disarm the farmers, a firefight ensued with deaths on both sides. The volunteers at the bridge deserted because Sar had broken their code of honour: to disarm a man is to emasculate him. Sar was forced to surrender along with forty gendarmes. A delegation of rebels (6), along with a Bektashi Baba, the Mufti of Tirana and prominent beys, negotiated with Zu Wied the release of the prisoners in exchange for general amnesty.

1. Zu Wied visits a mosque in Durrës (S/T Collection, Leiden)
2. Tirana with bazaar, city tower and mosque (S/T Collection, Leiden)
3. Durrës-Tirana on topographical map, 1902 (S/T Collection, Leiden)
4. Essad Pasha arrested (S/T Collection, Leiden)
5. The bridge at Shijak (S/T Collection, Leiden)
6. Deputation of rebels (IMG, The Hague)

The rebellion expanded; the leaders included strong opponents of Essad Pasha. Calls were heard to restore the sovereignty of the Sultan. Durrës was now seriously under threat. In the meantime, Thomson had been named ‘director of the army’. His appointment made his already difficult relationship with De Veer even more tense. The city is located at the end of a peninsula and was separated by a swamp from the ridge where the rebels had taken up position. Thomson proclaimed martial law and quickly turned the city into a fortress. The gendarmes and adventurers, both local and foreign, were given intensive training. Fabius formed an artillery unit of volunteers (1). On 10 June, Zu Wied inspected the troops (2) and Thomson gave the royal family a tour of the new defensive positions (3). At critical moments, the palace was also placed in a state of defence (4).

The Malisors, paid volunteers from the mountain tribes of North Albania, grew to include 1,000 men (5). They were not commanded by Dutch officers; they obeyed their clan chief and followed ‘that terrible but great Kanun’. The Kanun is a strict code of conduct for the Albanian mountain tribes. It regulates everything from blood feuds to divorce. The writer Edith Durham was one of the few Westerners who was reasonably aware of these tribal laws. In Durrës, she was primarily busy with nursing duties. Early in the morning of 15 June, the city was surprised by an attack from the hills beyond the swamp. The artillery, according to plan, then went into action (6). At the moment that Thomson called on the clan chiefs to order their men into the trenches, he was hit in the chest, although the attack was taking place behind him.

1. Skoda artillery being brought into position (E. van der Hoeven Collection, Bergschenhoek)
2. Inspection of the troops by Zu Wied (E. van der Hoeven Collection, Bergschenhoek)
3. The royal couple on tour, guided by Thomson (IMG, The Hague)
4. Palace during the defence (IMG, The Hague)
5. Miss Edith Durham (?) with Malisors in trench (E. van der Hoeven Collection, Bergschenhoek)
6. Artillery in action (IMG, The Hague)

The defenders were able to repel the attack, but the rebellion continued. It did not look good for the government of Zu Wied. Beyond Durrës and Vlorë, the government no longer controlled Albania. In addition, the coalition of Austro-Hungary and Italy, which had worked for an independent Albania from the beginning, was broken. This area shows how the vicissitudes of the conflict around the Dutch officers in Durrës were presented to the Dutch population and how much the people empathised with them. The background of the conflict and the increasing criticism of the effectiveness of the peace mission was not a matter for discussion, however. Two pages from De Prins der geïllustreerde bladen (The Prince of illustrated Weeklies) were selected from all the weekly magazines from 1914 that were dedicated to Thomson’s death (1) and funeral. On 16 June, the funeral cortège with bier drove through the city; Princess Zu Wied personally placed a wreath on his coffin. He was given a temporary grave in Durrës (2).

The coffin containing his remains was transported to the Netherlands on board the cruiser HMNLS Noord Brabant. There, Thomson’s final journey took on the trappings of a state funeral (3). By the time he was buried in Groningen on 15 July (4), Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already been murdered. With the help of a foreign legion, Wilhelm Zu Wied was able to hold on in Albania until September. In the south, however, Greek guerillas had taken the region and commenced ‘cleansing’ actions, while Serbian troops were again active in the north. Most of the personnel attached to the “Mission Néerlandaise en Albanie” had since returned to the Netherlands. The last two, Majors Verhulst and Reimers, who had been taken prisoner, were only released on 19 September. The First World War had meanwhile commenced in all its fury.

1. Photo-report by De Prins following the death of Thomson (Leiden University Library)
2. Thomson’s grave in Durrës (IMG, The Hague)
3. Photo-report by De Prins of Thomson’s state funeral (Leiden University Library)
4. Thomson’s funeral in Groningen (IMG, The Hague)

In her speech to officers and other ranks on 1 July 1914 in Groningen, Queen Wilhelmina mentioned Thomson in the same breath with Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the founder of Batavia in the Netherlands East Indies and Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, naval hero and founder of the modern Dutch navy (1). In spite of the threat that the Dutch peacekeeping mission in Albania would fail, inspiration was drawn from the courageous actions of the Dutch officers in the service of civilisation. Hero worship can, however, blind one to the historical context of their mission and even twist the facts. Eyewitnesses, for example, reported that Thomson was hit in the front although he was behind the front line and with his back to the trench, but the Life (Het Leven) reported, he died in the front line (2). In Durrës, an Italian sniper was suspected; in a popular Italian publication, he died in the saddle, hit by an Albanian bullet (3). Our picture of the mission appears to be at least partly determined by the creation of half truths. That led to the historical myth of the Dutch hero Thomson and his comrades versus the perfidious Albanian traitor Essad Pasha and his henchmen.

Nevertheless, it is good to pause to reflect by the Thomson monuments. The statue in Durrës (4) was unfortunately taken down in the early days of the Albanian cultural revolution. Today a bronze duplicate of his bust in Groningen (5) stands on the spot. The Thomson monument in the eponymous square in The Hague (6), that underscores the unity of people and army, happily again became a place of remembrance in 2004. To mark that occasion, the exhibition “Colonel Thomson and Albania” presents a provisional view of a Dutch peacekeeping mission in the Balkans, 1913-1914.  Provisional because we do not yet know enough about the internal Albanian relationships in those ‘dark years’. It certainly gives one something to think about in relation to Dutch peacekeeping missions in the Balkans and elsewhere.