D
Dutch Grenadier
Guest
What a beautifil day it is today. A nice day to take the kids out with the bike. It is 11:02h (GMT+1) when I leave home, 25 degrees Celcius (that is 77F for my friends across the big pond) and a clear sky. So I took my camera along and shot some pictures.
It is also a good opportunity to talk about the history involving my hometown. I live in the town of Cuijk, the Netherlands. This is a medium sized town with about 26.000 people living here. The reason you all should know the area is because 7 kilometers (4.35 mile) from here lies the town of Grave. Here the US 82nd Airborne landed during operation Market Garden in September 1944. Their task was to capture the Grave bridge for 30th Corps so they could advance towards the city of Nijmegen (12 kilometers / 7.46 mile) from here. Look At map below.
1: Grave bridge
2: Grave town
3: Nijmegen city
4: Cuijk (where I live)
5: Mookerheide
6: Groesbeek
7: German border and Germany
Near the place Cuijck at the River Maas in the province Noord-Brabant you can find a village called Katwijk. This is not the same as the place Katwijk at the coast of Zuid-Holland.
Along the bikepath on top of the dyke of the River Maas the Dutch army established a defense line just before the outbreak of the war. They made several small bunkers of the type "rivierkazemat" (river-casemate) in different designs.
In the village Katwijk you can find at the beginning of the dyke a map with the defense line in that area. The casemate being knocked out by a German heavy gun in Katwijk is one of the nine remaining river casemates in the Netherlands with two or three floors. The bunker was built in 1936.
Function of this bunker was defending the bridge over the Meuse river at Katwijk.
This bunker had access to a gun of the type 5L50 and a water-cooled heavy machine gun of the type Schwarz Lose 08/15.
The crew consisted of members of the Police Corps Troops.
On May 10, 1940 the German army invaded our country and was faced with a unusable railway bridge near the town of Katwijk. German units in rubber boats cross the river Meuse. They found this much resistance from the Dutch bunkers that a major German gun was needed to combat Dutch bunkers outside.
One of the German shells landed in the gun room of the South River casemate and sowed death and destruction among the crew. The entire crew of the gun chamber composed of six corporals of the Police Corps troops was killed. Three of them have found their final resting place in the cemetery of Katwijk.
Present day railbridge.
The casemate being destroyed by the German heavy gun.
View from the casemate. Across is the town of Mook
German troops crossing the Meuse river. Actual picture taken of the crossing here.
Memorial for the Dutch troops killed here. I'm also a member of the organisation who arange the memorial each year.
The dyke with 2 more casemates
Mookerheide. Here German troops dug in in September 1944 and shelled Cuijk.
We took the pont to cross the river.
View from the other side. You see the Martinus church.
More casemates.
This is where we came from. The text says: “Towards Grave”.
The text says: “Towards Germany”.
The Martinus church still has the battle scars.
During Operation Market Garden on September 17, 1944 a plane crashed at the edge of Linden 1 kilometer from Cuijk. Killing five young American soldiers. One of the planes of the 508th regiment was directed by Lieutenant-pilot James Martin.
He was ordered to drop his paratroopers near Groesbeek. The para’s had the task to capture Devil's Peak at Berg en Dal.
The plane was already tipsy over Vught. Despite Martin could continue the flight and the paratroopers were sent to the place of their destination.
In return, the plane came for the second time under German fire. The plane lost a wing, it catched fire and crashed moments later down in Linden. There were no civilian casualties.
The five soldiers killed are buried in the cemetery in Linden.
Actual picture of the burial on September the 20th 1944.
Memorial of this plane crash.
We remember these brave soldiers each year on the Sunday closest to September the 17th. The old guys in this picture are Dutch WW2 veterans.
I’m also part of the group that arranges this memorial.
The graves of the 5 soldiers. The text says: “Pray for the soul of James Martin and his comrades who died here on September 17th 1944”.
Actual story on 17th of September 1944 told by a Dutch member or the resistance:
“Two boys working on the farm of Theo Nabuurs saw two paratroopers land on the field about 100 meters from them. The 2 US paratroopers are picked up by the Dutch resistance and taken to a hide out. Here they will spend the night. The paratroopers are the brothers Smith and belonged to the H-company / 505th P.I.R. / 82nd Airborne.
Actual story on 18th of September 1944 told by a Dutch member or the resistance:
“The next day the two paratroopers come in to action. They are escorted by members of the Dutch underground resistance. They move through the Van Sasselaan, passing the mill they cross the Grotestraat into the Pieter Groenstraat. They approach a casemate occupied by a German heavy machinegun crew. They fire a few rounds and the Germans think they are surrounded and surrender.
Cuijk is now officially free of German troops”.
So Cuijk is liberated by two US soldiers who accidently landed on the wrong spot. The paratroopers tell the Dutch resistance that they want to get back to their unit. The Dutch resistance help them get back and say goodbye. During the late days of September there will be many heavy fighting in and around Cuijk. The Germans shell Cuijk causing many civilian casualties.
It is also a good opportunity to talk about the history involving my hometown. I live in the town of Cuijk, the Netherlands. This is a medium sized town with about 26.000 people living here. The reason you all should know the area is because 7 kilometers (4.35 mile) from here lies the town of Grave. Here the US 82nd Airborne landed during operation Market Garden in September 1944. Their task was to capture the Grave bridge for 30th Corps so they could advance towards the city of Nijmegen (12 kilometers / 7.46 mile) from here. Look At map below.
1: Grave bridge
2: Grave town
3: Nijmegen city
4: Cuijk (where I live)
5: Mookerheide
6: Groesbeek
7: German border and Germany
Near the place Cuijck at the River Maas in the province Noord-Brabant you can find a village called Katwijk. This is not the same as the place Katwijk at the coast of Zuid-Holland.
Along the bikepath on top of the dyke of the River Maas the Dutch army established a defense line just before the outbreak of the war. They made several small bunkers of the type "rivierkazemat" (river-casemate) in different designs.
In the village Katwijk you can find at the beginning of the dyke a map with the defense line in that area. The casemate being knocked out by a German heavy gun in Katwijk is one of the nine remaining river casemates in the Netherlands with two or three floors. The bunker was built in 1936.
Function of this bunker was defending the bridge over the Meuse river at Katwijk.
This bunker had access to a gun of the type 5L50 and a water-cooled heavy machine gun of the type Schwarz Lose 08/15.
The crew consisted of members of the Police Corps Troops.
On May 10, 1940 the German army invaded our country and was faced with a unusable railway bridge near the town of Katwijk. German units in rubber boats cross the river Meuse. They found this much resistance from the Dutch bunkers that a major German gun was needed to combat Dutch bunkers outside.
One of the German shells landed in the gun room of the South River casemate and sowed death and destruction among the crew. The entire crew of the gun chamber composed of six corporals of the Police Corps troops was killed. Three of them have found their final resting place in the cemetery of Katwijk.
Present day railbridge.
The casemate being destroyed by the German heavy gun.
View from the casemate. Across is the town of Mook
German troops crossing the Meuse river. Actual picture taken of the crossing here.
Memorial for the Dutch troops killed here. I'm also a member of the organisation who arange the memorial each year.
The dyke with 2 more casemates
Mookerheide. Here German troops dug in in September 1944 and shelled Cuijk.
We took the pont to cross the river.
View from the other side. You see the Martinus church.
More casemates.
This is where we came from. The text says: “Towards Grave”.
The text says: “Towards Germany”.
The Martinus church still has the battle scars.
During Operation Market Garden on September 17, 1944 a plane crashed at the edge of Linden 1 kilometer from Cuijk. Killing five young American soldiers. One of the planes of the 508th regiment was directed by Lieutenant-pilot James Martin.
He was ordered to drop his paratroopers near Groesbeek. The para’s had the task to capture Devil's Peak at Berg en Dal.
The plane was already tipsy over Vught. Despite Martin could continue the flight and the paratroopers were sent to the place of their destination.
In return, the plane came for the second time under German fire. The plane lost a wing, it catched fire and crashed moments later down in Linden. There were no civilian casualties.
The five soldiers killed are buried in the cemetery in Linden.
Actual picture of the burial on September the 20th 1944.
Memorial of this plane crash.
We remember these brave soldiers each year on the Sunday closest to September the 17th. The old guys in this picture are Dutch WW2 veterans.
I’m also part of the group that arranges this memorial.
The graves of the 5 soldiers. The text says: “Pray for the soul of James Martin and his comrades who died here on September 17th 1944”.
Actual story on 17th of September 1944 told by a Dutch member or the resistance:
“Two boys working on the farm of Theo Nabuurs saw two paratroopers land on the field about 100 meters from them. The 2 US paratroopers are picked up by the Dutch resistance and taken to a hide out. Here they will spend the night. The paratroopers are the brothers Smith and belonged to the H-company / 505th P.I.R. / 82nd Airborne.
Actual story on 18th of September 1944 told by a Dutch member or the resistance:
“The next day the two paratroopers come in to action. They are escorted by members of the Dutch underground resistance. They move through the Van Sasselaan, passing the mill they cross the Grotestraat into the Pieter Groenstraat. They approach a casemate occupied by a German heavy machinegun crew. They fire a few rounds and the Germans think they are surrounded and surrender.
Cuijk is now officially free of German troops”.
So Cuijk is liberated by two US soldiers who accidently landed on the wrong spot. The paratroopers tell the Dutch resistance that they want to get back to their unit. The Dutch resistance help them get back and say goodbye. During the late days of September there will be many heavy fighting in and around Cuijk. The Germans shell Cuijk causing many civilian casualties.
