The Dutch Maréchaussée Sword a.k.a. the Dutch Klewang

[Ian]

I have been much fascinated by the “Dutch klewang” as a hybrid of European and local Indonesian design. It was born out of the need to arm native police (the maréchaussée) with a suitable sword to use in Sumatra, notably in Aceh, when combating local insurgents. Over the winter break I have been reading an excellent account on the history of this sword (1), which prompted me to write some notes for my own reference. In looking over what I have written, it seemed some of this information might be of use to others who have an interest in these swords.

First, a word about the police and security forces who were termed marechaussee. The Corps de Maréchaussée was created by King William I in 1814 to replace the gendarmerie (a word with negative connotations at that time). The marechaussee was tasked with maintaining public order, law enforcement, and safeguarding the main roads. Although not specifically mentioned, this included police duties for the army. As such, the marechaussee was part of the national police (rijkspolitie). Similar groups were established in the Dutch colonies and were similarly titled the marechaussee. Today the Koninklijke Maréchaussée, the Royal Netherlands Maréchaussée, abbreviated to KMar (in English this translates to Royal Marshals, but commonly described as Royal Military Constabulary), is one of the four Services of the armed forces of the Netherlands. It is now a gendarmerie force performing military police and civil police duties. (2)

The Dutch klewang sword was initially developed for the Korps Mareschauuse in Atjet en Onderhoorigheden (Military Constabulary Corps in Atjeh and Dependencies). The Corps was founded in 1890 and administered as a division in the Netherlands East India (NEI) Army, and was regarded as an elite force. Aceh had been a problem area throughout the Dutch colonial period. The Acinese Wars began in 1873 and by the 1880s the area was so violent and the Dutch had so little control that they needed a special counter-guerilla group to address the violence. Between 1873 and 1891, the NEI Army had lost 235 officers and 6,039 other ranks.

The Mareschaussee were organized in brigades of 15-20 men led by a European sergeant who commanded a second sergeant, a corporal and 15 men, all non-Europeans (1). The natives were mostly from the Moluccas. The mareschaussee were initially issued a standard cavalry saber and military hacking knife (kapmes), and were permitted to carry an optional klewang and an optional keris, both of native manufacture. The regular issue sabers were found to be too heavy and cumbersome for the local natives to wield, so the optional klewang became an important weapon for them. These were mainly sikin panjang, peudeung, or rudus, essentially the same weapons thet were being used against them by the Acinese (1). The Acinese, for their part, relied heavily on surprise ambushes and their slashing swords which caused devastating wounds to their victims. The firearms of the NEI Army were rather basic and included single shot and repeating rifles, but the attacks occurred with such suddenness that there was barely time to get off a single shot let alone reload or chamber another round. Handguns were also found to be of limited value in close quarters fighting. Hence the need for a reliable sword with a decent handguard.

The first mareschaussee regulation sword was introduced in 1898. There were, however, pre-regulation patterns that were tested. The testing of these prototypes and subsequent models was documented in the Beknopte Overzichten (Concise Reviews), referred to as “BoPo.” The BoPo 1897 stated that the Marechaussee in Aceh “… were armed with a klewang with a steel blade taken from a number of Acinese blades fitted with the hilt of a cavalry sword.” Some of these makeshift swords have survived but are exceedingly rare. An example of a pre-regulation sword (Pattern I) is shown (A) in the attached Figure.

When the supply of Acinese blades proved insufficient, the NEI Army obtained further blades from a Sundanese swordsmith in Tjikeroeh. These were produced with more or less standardized blades forged at Tjikeroeh and the hilts were from NEI cavalry swords, M1846 or M 1875. An example of this pre-regulation sword (Pattern II) is shown in (B) in the attached Figure.

The sabel mareschaussee, M 1898—see (C) in the attached Figure.

The BoPo of 1897 also referred to a final prototype with a modified hilt (1):

“During a second extension of the Marechaussee Corps in 1896 the stock of cavalry sword hilts was not sufficient to manufacture a new supply of 120 klewangs. Since at that time trials were being carried out by the Inspection of Portable Arms to fit lighter hilts to the klewang blades, resulting in the weight being transferred more towards the point of the blade, it was decided to introduce these hilts in the Corps on a trial basis. The result of these trials will be published in a later report.”

[Note: This reference is the only time the word klewang is used in an official document until 1940; the sword is consistently termed the marechausseesabel during the period 1897–1940 (1).]

No mention was made in the BoPo 1897 of the development of the new blade, and Puype & de Stühler Boekwijt (1) found “… no evidence as to where it was developed, by whom and after which example, despite an intensive search of the records. For we are clearly dealing with an entirely new designed blade. The only official clue is the drawing added to BoPo 1898 … [which] shows the principal characteristics of the new marechausseesabel M 1898.”

For various reasons, the marechaussee M 1898 swords were supplied by German manufacturers (Lüneschloss, Solingen and Rheinische Metallwaaren- und Maschinefabrik [RMM], Sömmerda). Other Solingen companies, including August & Albert Schnitzler, were sub-contracted to provide separate sword blades. Most scabbards were made in the Construction Workshops of the Artillerie Inrichtingen, the Ordinance or Artillery Works at Surabaya (1).

Production of marechaussee sword M 1898

Lüneschoss....................... 800 complete swords
Lüneschoss and RMM... 2,800 sword blades
RMM.............................. 4,200 complete swords
.......................................... 150 separate hilts
.......................................... 650 grips

Puype & de Stühler Boekwijt (1) note that the size of these orders likely exceeded the needs of the marechaussee corps, and that from 1905 onward the NEI Army started to use the sword as well.

The mareschausseesabel, M 1905—see (D) in the attached Figure.

Complaints were soon forthcoming about the deficiencies of the M 1898 sword. Of particular concern was the relatively narrow tang of the blade, which was only riveted to the top of the backstrap, and its tendency to break under heavy use. This resulted in a modification whereby the backstrap was screwed to the end of the tang (replacing the prior use of rivet), which was a considerable improvement because the seating of the hilt could be tightened when the latter became loose with the wear and tear of heavy use.

Important changes were also occurring at this time in the NEI ordinance organization. The Artillerie Inrichtingen (State Ordinance or Artillery Works) did not have the drop forges needed to make these swords, hence the dependence on German manufacturers. In 1898 the Ordinance Works moved from Delft to new factories near the Hem Bridge across the North Sea Canal between Amsterdam and Zaandam. As a result, the Ordinance Works came to use the trade name HEMBRUG on all their products made there. It would be some time before the Ordinance Works acquired the necessary forges to produce their swords, and they were largely restricted to making grips, hilt baskets, backstraps, and grip ferrules. An important function was to rigorously test the sword blades coming from Germany, and many of these were found to be faulty, with hair cracks being detected in large numbers.

With improved quality control and a slightly modified hilt, the mareschausseesabel M 1905 was a better and more reliable sword than the original M 1898. In total, about 2,600 of the M 1905 were produced, and many of these found their way to non-rifle bearing soldiers in the NEI Army as well as to the colonial marechaussee (1).

The mareschausseesabel, M 1911—see (E) in the attached Figure.

The M 1905 was a small incremental improvement, but the M 1911 had a redesigned grip and a new blade-tang. The backstrap was removed from the grip and the tang was widened to the width of the blade. The screwed tang mounting was retained, two wooden scales were riveted to the tang, and the sheet-steel hilt basket of the M 1898 was retained. Most marechaussee swords M 1911 bear the maker’s name of HEMBRUG but a few unmarked blades are found and are presumed to be of German manufacture (1).

The M 1911 pattern also came with a newly designed scabbard (see attached Figure). Changes to the chape included a slight lengthening and straightening, and a further lengthening in 1932.

Production of the mareschausseesabel M 1911 at Hem Bridge continued until Holland was overrun by Germany in May 1940. Puype & de Stühler Boekwijt (1) report that 26,172 swords were produced at Hem Bridge in the period 1911–1940. In 1939 a total of 7,000 complete swords, plus 2,500 blades and 3,000 hilts were produced—of these about half were shipped to the Netherlands East Indies just before the German occupation in 1940.

The marechausseesabel, M 1940, M 1941—see (F) and (G) in the attached Figure

With the occupation of Holland by Germany in 1940, the supply of swords to the NEI Army and the Marechaussee Corps came to a halt. Alternative sources were needed for defense of the NEI, and to supply the expansion of defense forces in the event of a Pacific war. The colonial Artillery Works at Bandung, Java began to assemble swords in 1940, initially from parts sent from Holland and later from swords entirely produced in the NEI. The latter became known as the M 1940 (see (F) in attached figure) and differed from the M 1911 in several ways: the grip scales were made of black Bakelite instead of wood; the blade was of a different steel, with an entirely different shape of the edge; no maker’s mark; all of the brass scabbard mounts were blackened (see attached Figure).

Supplies produced in the NEI could not keep up with the local demand. The only potential source for these was the USA. The U.S. Naval Cutlass Model 1917 was derived from the marechausseesabel M 1911 but the hilt and scabbard differed. It had a solid cup guard instead of a basket, blackened checkered hand grips, and the blade was stamped “USN.” A variant of this sword, identified as the marechausseesabel M 1911, was produced by the US Navy in 1941 to equip its own ships (1).

In 1941, Dutch interests in New York were able to commission and send 2,950 swords and 500 sword blades to the NEI. These were provided by the VINCE Fencing Equipment Inc, NY and the blades were produced by Lilley-Ames. The marechausseesabel produced in the US for the NEI has been titled Klewang O.I., M 1941 (O.I. standing for Ost Indies)—see (G) in the attached Figure. This sword differed from the M 1911 in the apertures between the bars of the basket hilt—these are missing the characteristic “broken corners” found on the European hilts. The scabbards also differed in that they were heavier and more crudely finished than the M 1911 and M 1940.

The Military Saddlery Company (MILSCO), Milwaukee, Wisconsin produced at least 40,000 klewang starting in 1946, and supplied these to the Dutch East Indies until the time of Indonesian independence in 1949. Pupye & de Stühler Boekwijt (1) suspect that many of the 40,000 klewang ordered by the NEI Army in 1946 may not have reached the Dutch East Indies before Indonesian independence. This may explain the presence on the surplus market from 1950 onwards of a large number of MILSCO klewangs, many still wrapped in their factory-supplied greased paper. Some MILSCO klewangs also ended up with the US Army.

Because all of the MILSCO swords were produced from 1946, none of these saw action in WWII. They are the most common form of these swords seen on the market today and are often mistaken for the original Dutch sword.

Summary of distinguishing features of the major marechausseesabel models

Model 1898 Original model. Cavalry hilt with sheet steel basket and backstrap secured by rivet to the tang.

Model 1905 Same as original model but sheet steel basket modified with backstrap of guard secured with a screw. Quality control exercised by the Ordinance Office and blades stamped with HEMBRUG. Minor changes to scabbard.

Model 1911 Completely redesigned hilt-tang: hilt of two wood slabs riveted to the tang; full width tang; elimination of backstrap and securing of sheet metal basket with a screw to the end of the tang. Modified scabbard, further changed in 1932 by lengthening the chape.

Model 1940 Manufactured in Netherlands East Indies. No manufacturer’s markings. Blade made of different steel and edge grind different. Blackened scabbard fittings. Black Bakelite grip scales.

Model 1941 Entirely US made. Slightly different basket style. Heavier scabbards stitched along the edge rather than centrally on the back. Blued blade and basket hilt. Made by VINCE or MILSCO.

References

(1) Puype, JP & de Stürler Boekwijt, RJ. Klewang. Catalogus van het Legermuseum (Catalogue of the Dutch Army Museum). KNIL, Landmacht, Zeemacht, Marechaussee en Politie. Royal Netherlands Army and Arms Museum: Delft, 2001, pp 344.
[An excellent account of the Dutch Klewang. A must have reference for anyone interested in these swords. Copies can be purchased online from The Netherlands.]

(2) Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marechaussee


Figure. Styles of marechausseesabel

A = Pre-regulation sword (Pattern I); B = Pre-regulation sword (Pattern II);
C = Model 1898; D = Model 1905; E = Model 1911;
F = Model 1940; G = Model 1941; H = Unidentified model
(from Puype & de Stürler Boekwijt [1])