** World War II Liberation of the Netherlands Allies southern Netherlands








World War II: The Allies Reach the Dutch -- Liberating the Southeastern Netherlands (September-December 1944)


Figure 1.--The Germans began building an airbase at Volkel in North Barbant after their 1940 occupation of the Nelherlands. They expanded it to serve as part of the Kanhuber Line air defense of the Reich (1943). The Allies bombed it heavily before D-Day. It was located between Eindhovenr and Nijmegen. The Allies over ran it during Market Garden (Septembe 1944). The British RAF used it as a forwad base for ground support aircraft, Hawker Typhoons and Hawker Tempests. The plane here looks like a Tempest. A CIH reader thinks it may be Typhoon or Supermarine Spitfire. It is a little difficult to tell with seeing so little of the plane. We see British Airman Fred Frazan playing Santa Clause for Dutch children who had spent 4 years under NAZI occupation. Notice the wooden shoes. By 1944, leather shoes were no longer avilable. The photograph was taken December 13, 1944. Just 3 days later the German struck in the Ardennes to the south.

With the failure of Market Garden, the Allied hope of crossing the Rhine and ending the War before Christmas ended. The Allied forces in the Netherlands set about on routing out the Germans still south of the Rhine. This meant primarily Zeeland, North Brabant and northern Linburg. There were also slivers of South Holland and Gekerland located south of the Rhine. Of course the cut off German units in the western areas could only holdout so long without reenforcements and supply. Instead of fighting, many of the Germans here chose to move north across the Rhine which stopped the Allies. There was one exception, the units in Zeeland (the Schedldt) were ordered to stand and fight. This effectively kept the all important port of Antwerp closed. And it required the Battle of the Scheldt to clear the channels to Antwerp. As a result, although Antwerp was liberated at the beginning of September and the port was not destroyed by the Germans, it was almost December before Allied casrgo ships could begin to unlosd supplies. The Germans in the western areas of the Netherlands adjacent to the German Rhineland could continue resisting and holdout longer.

North Barbant

Many areas of Western Europe after the Normandy breakout (late-July 1944) were liberated after the Germans fled back hehind the West Wall. North Barbant was not one of them. There was fierce fighting for the southern Dutch provimce. The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established (1183). This is rationalization for German nationalists in the 19th and 20th century to make the Netherlnds part of Germany. The Dutchy developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands (from 1430) and of the Habsburg Netherlands (from 1482), It was partitioned as part of the Dutch War for independence. Modern North (Noord) Brabant (Staats-Brabant) was ceded to the Generality Lands of the Dutch Republic as a result of the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The the reduced duchy remained part of the Southern or Spanish Netherlands until it was conquered by French Revolutionary (1794). The Duchy's former territories, apart from exclaves, are now part of Belgiu, except the Dutch province of North Brabant. North Narbant is located in the south central part of the Netherlands on the Belgian border. The largest city in North Barbant is Eindhoven which is the is the fifth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands. The city was largely untouched by the war until RAF bombers with Mosquito bombers attacked the Philips electronics factory (December 6, 1942). The low-flying Mosquitos were used because they ewre more accurate than high alditude heavy bombers sand it was a Sunday attack. Still 148 civilians wre killed. North Barbant changed from quiet sectir of the War, to a key lovation when FieldMzrshal Montgomery chose Eindhoven as the southern jumping off point for his Market Garden drive north to Arnhem and a Rhine Crossing. Market Garden would cut through Nord/North Brabant. Einhoven was the first large Dutch city liberated (September 19). There was widespread rejoicing and dancing in the streets when he Allies reached Eindhoven, but the inhabitants paid a heavy price. There was firce fighting around the city. Field Marshal Model just receiving commznd of the zrea, and not anticipating a major action had chosen Eindhoven and Arnem as safe resting points for German reinfocemnts arriving in the area. [Harclerode, pp. 455-56.] An importasnt Bailey bridhe was errected which the Germans targdted. In Eindhoven the 101st Airborn and the Welsh Guards were active. Allied tanks and trucks moved into and through the city. Tht night 78 German bombers attacked Eindhoven (September 19-20). The Allies had no anti-aircraft guns in the city and the nightime attack meant that there was no Allied fighter cover. The Germans droped 'a clear golden cluster of parachute flares' and sucessfully bomb Eindhoven without losing any of their bombers. The city center was shattered and the city water system filed. More than 200 houses were gutted and some 9,000 buildings were damaged. There were over 1,000 civilian casualties, including 227 prople killed. An Allied ammunition convoy and trucks carrying gasoline were hit. General Matthew Ridgway of the 101 Airbiorn was in Eindhoven during the attack. He described the attack, "Great fires were burning everywhere, ammo trucks were exploding, gasoline trucks were on fire, and debris from wrecked houses clogged the streets." Elements of his Diviionm in and around the city, witnessed the attack, by as they were outside the city were unhirt. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment came to the rescue oif the burning city during the night. One historim pointds out that it was 'the only large, long-range air strike by German bombers during the fall of 1944". [Atkinson, p.278.] Givern the Alloed militaey activity in the city, the case can be made that it was a legitimate target. But the nature of the attack suggests more thn a few hours planning. The Germans were very bitter toward the Dutch. Given their basically Germnic ethnicity, many considered them tritors rther gthn enrmy sliens. Even after Einfhoven was secured, the Germans still controlled substantial areas of North Brbabt. Much of he southern Netherlands is North Brabant. After the failure of Market Garden, the British launched Operation Pheasant (October 20). This was the beginning of the liberation of central and western Noord-Barbant Province. All but the far eastern area of North-Brabant was liberatred during and immediately after Market Garden. The first Canadian Army attacked from Belgium and the British Second Army attacked from the eastern Netherlands. The 51st Highland Division drove to Schijndel village (October 23). Far eastern North Brabant was liberated after the Bulge.

Gelderland

North of North Brabant is Gelderland. The Rhine cuts across Gelderland. The goal of Market Garden was to seize the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. Nijmegen on the Waal River and the biggest bridge in Europe was road to Arnhem. Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, the first to be recognized in Roman times. The Allies reached Nijmegen on the Rhine during Market Garden. A major Market Garden battle was fought there. The Germans slowed the Allies at Nijmegen and the Allies could not get across the Rhine to Arnhem. The cities and bridge were very close to the German border.

Limburg

East of North Barbant was Limburg. the southern part of Linberg projected far south of the rest of the Netherlands, an artifact of the resistance of Maastricht to Spanish armies during the Dutch war of independence (16th century). The Americans liberated southern Limburg at about the same time as Market Garden (Seotember 1944). The norther part of the province above the waist, proved much more difficult. The final step in liberating the Netherland south of the Rhine was Canadian and American operations which succeeded in entering northeast Limburg and then finally the Reich--the German Rhineland.

Zeeland: Battle of the Sheldt (October-November1944)

Zeeland isnot a name that immediately comes to mind in World War II histories, but actually it was the scene of avery important battle--the Battle of the Scheldt. Zeeland is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands along the southwestern North Sea coast. The provinceconsists of a number of islands and peninsulas which why the Sutch named it 'Sealand'. There is also a mainland strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. Field Marshal Montgomery focused his forces on Market Garden and a narrow front advance north to the Rhine. He ignored Zeeland leaving it in German hands. This may not have been imporant. The islands themslves have no inherent salue. The Scheldt estuary is the southern branch of the 'Golden Delta' formed by the rivers Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt Rivers and actually was of enormous strategic value. Thus while Montgomery launched Market Garden, the Germans flooded the estuary and established fortified strong points on the islands and peninsulas. The reason for this was that control of the Scheldt meaning Zeeland effectively closed off the all important port of Antwerp. Without the Scheldt, Antwerp, vital for Allied logstics, was useless. As a result, British, Canadian, and Polish units were forced to conduct costly amphibious operations to clear the Scheldt. Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds commanded the Allied force (October 2 to November 8, 1944). Another 3 weeks were needed to clear minesthat the Germans had deployed in the Schedlt. The first Allied supply ships reached Antwerp (November 29, 1944). Two weeks later the Germans struck in the Ardennes and Antwerp was their objective.

Sources

Atkinson, Rick. The Guns at Last Light (New York: Henry Holt, 2013).

Harclerode, Peter. Wings Of War: Airborne Warfare 1918–1945 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson: 2005). -







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Created: 12:07 PM 7/17/2017
Last updated: 6:57 AM 2/10/2019