November 19, 2003 Some of the defenses along the Dutch frontier in April 1940. Note the pillbox to the left, and the barbed-wire entanglements on the concrete wall. The original caption (optimistically) states "Holland Defences Might Now Prove Too Formidable For Invader." The photo is dated April 15, 1940 — less than a month later, Germany had completely conquered Holland.