At 6:00 AM (Amsterdam Time) on 10 May 1940, during the Battle of the Netherlands, the German envoy Count Zech von Burkensroda gave Dutch minister of foreign affairs Van Kleffens the German declaration of war. It was only later interpreted as such by the Dutch; from the German side it was at the time seen as a mere warning, hopefully intimidating the Dutch enough to accept German military protection. At this moment the German troops had already transgressed the Dutch border.