During the cold war, the Dutch army consisted mainly of conscripts.In the event of war, mobilisation had to be quick, which led to the construction of secret mobilisation complexes on several sites around the country, including the one at Alverna.These sites were easily accessible and usually hidden in wooded areas.
MOB complexes
The Dutch army built around 50 mobilisation complexes during the Cold War. Each complex had to have easy access to a major road it had to be hidden in a wooded area and it had to be remote from habitation. MOB complexes stored large quantities of supplies, vehicles, tanks, artillery, firearms and ammunition. Arms and ammunition were usually kept in semi-subterranean bunkers and technical staff worked in onsite maintenance workshops to ensure that all of the equipment was kept in good working order, all of the time. The secret MOB complexes were also heavily guarded.
In wartime, a military force of around 200,000 troops could be assembled in just a couple of weeks’ time.
Alverna
The MOB complex at Alverna was built on 20 hectares of land and consisted of warehouses, maintenance workshops, fuel storage areas, three bunkers and two staff residences. In total, there were 33 buildings hidden in a wooded area.
The buildings were constructed more or less in a straight line along a wide, curving, one-way road. There was plenty of parking so that traffic could be kept moving and congestion could be avoided during mobilisation. For a long time, the army also stored supplies here that were needed for the Nijmegen Four Days Marches.
Returning to public use
Despite the large-scale infrastructure and the number of buildings constructed on the site, the former MOB complex at Alverna has remained a place of natural beauty.
In 2005, the site was abandoned by the Ministry of Defence, and under the auspices of the Dutch State Forestry Service (Staatsbosbeheer) and the municipality of Wijchen, has been cleaned up and is open to the public for the first time. Part of the site has been designated to a new housing development and the bunkers and firing range are being preserved to keep the memory of the Cold War alive.
