Holland 1940-1945

[patrick h]

You don't like mine, dennisb

[dennisb]

You don't like mine, dennisb

How could I forget.. I actually really like it!
Somehow I really like FLAK related documents. I also have a nice FLAK group related to Market Garden.

[patrick h]

Okay! The reason i asked is that maybe you saw something not right on the soldbuch.

[Tim DC]

Great thread guys, let's keep them coming. Here's a Holland 1944 Wehrpass related to a different area than most of the booklets shown here - the liberation of Zeeland. Theodor Brinkmann was a veteran of the 1940 campaign in Holland and earned the EK2 and Sturmabzeichen on the Eastern Front. End of 1943, he was promoted to Leutnant and transferred to the artillery regiment of the 712. Infanterie-Division, active on the Belgian coast. On 14th of September 1944, the 712. ID was positioned along the Dutch-Belgian border between the provinces East-Flanders and Zeeland to secure the escape of other divisions from the Westerschelde. The Polish liberators penetrated this defense line and hard combat was seen along the Axel-Hulst canal. It must be in the area of Axel - Kijkuit that Leutnant Brinkmann was shot several times by an MG in his thighs on the 16th of September 1944. There are no further entries in the Wehrpass, but having retrieved his family, I can say that he survived the war. He started a construction company, but was unfortunately killed in a car accident in the 1950's.

[Tim DC]

Units, promotions and awards.

[Tim DC]

Lots of training!

[Tim DC]

And last, his Holland wound.

[patrick h]

That's a nice one too, Tim!

[patrick h]

Leaflet shot with grenate to the frontline of the Germans, telling about Dutch soldiers of Landstorm Nederland to surrender:

[Erwin L]

That's an interesting piece of paper Patrick. I haven't seen that before.


Regards

E

[bkossen]

And this was the Landstorm's reply...





Shot over to the British lines after a successful raid on the farm "De Hoeven" near Randwijk on February 22nd, 1945.

Regards,
Bert

[patrick h]

Know that's a nice one

[Erwin L]

And this was the Landstorm's reply...





Shot over to the British lines after a successful raid on the farm "De Hoeven" near Randwijk on February 22nd, 1945.

Regards,
Bert

Great Bert That's a real nice one! Do you have more info about that raid?

Thanks for yiur contribution

Regards

Erwin

[dennisb]

Thanks for sharing Patrick and Bert!
Both very interesting leaflets!

[bkossen]

Hello Erwin,

I have always been intrigued by this leaflet and from different sources managed to get a pretty complete picture about this raid. I posted below story on another Forum a couple of weeks ago:

Wenn the newly formed 34. SS-Freiwilligen Grenadier Division "Landstorm Nederland" took their battle positions in the Nederrijn area in February 1945, it found a desolate and flooded landscape. Combat during the February / March period was limited to regular patrols and small scale skirmishes. The farms in the area were wanted objects as they were mostly positioned on higher - and therefore dry! - ground. They provided cover and excellent observing positions.

One of these farms was "De Hoeve", located to the southwest of Randwijk. During the night of February 22nd 1945 a small drama took place here.

By mid-February, The Hallamshire Battalion of the 49th Division (better known as the Polar Bear Division) received orders to occupy De Hoeve. According to british sources the farm was located in "the middle of a veritable sea of water anything up to 4 to 5 ft. deep, approachable only by boat and only then at night, with great difficulty and danger".

During the night of February 18, the II. Battalion of the 84. Rgt "Landstorm Nederland" send out a Spähtrupp (reconnaissance squad) to reconnoitre the situation around the farm. The Spähtrupp was easily beaten off by the Hallamshires after throwing a couple of handgrenades.

The Germans (and Dutch for that matter) now decided to take more drastic action; in the early evening of February 22nd, grenades began to fall in the surrounding area of De Hoeve. These were fired by the 1st battery of de SS-Polizei Artillerie Abteilung "Nordwest" that supported the "Landstorm" from Wageningen. With intervals, the bombardment lasted the whole evening but then suddenly ceased. When at 02:00 the Brits were relieved by another patrol, the bombardment started again whereupon at 02:40 the farm was taken under heavy machinegun fire.

In the meantime, a 13-men strong Stosstrupp from the 5. Kompanie Rgt. 84 "Landstorm", set off from an orchard in two canoes and a rowing boat, had landed under cover from this fire. They took the farm under concentrated fire with machinepistols and Panzerfausts. From the English positions, mortar and artillery fire was being directed to De Hoeve but it was already too late as 8 men of the occupying patrol had already been wounded and the remainder was forced to surrender. This way, the Hallamshire Battalion lost a whole platoon of 31 men in one night.

The website Sheffield at War reports about the incident:

"communications with the outpost had then gone dead and soon after 4 o'clock the farm was seen in flames. with ammunition exploding.

A recce patrol went out in the morning and found only a burnt-out building. Thirty-one men, including Sergeants Newman and Potter, were missing.

Not until after the German capitulation was the mystery solved. Then among liberated prisoners came Sgt. Potter, who explained that after taking over the positions from the out-going platoon at De Hoeven they posted seven sentries and all was quiet. Suddenly, however, intense fire from close range was directed at the house from all sides, much of it coming through the windows.

Eight of the patrol were wounded. Including the leader. Sgt. Newman. Sgt. Potter dashed towards the window in time to see a German aiming a bazooka through it. The bomb struck beside him and wounded him, so that he remembered little more except that Dutch S.S. men broke in, took the survivors prisoners and then fired the house.

The loss of the platoon was a sad blow to the Hallams, but the effect was not so much to depress them as to infuriate them. They wanted revenge, and on March 1st a patrol went out to De Hoeven again and drove out the enemy".

The mentioned Sergeant Joseph Newman succumbed of his wounds and was burried at the Jonkerbos War Cemetery near Nijmegen. Apparently another of the Hallamshires was either KIA or went missing as the Germans later reported 29 POW's.

The German 625. Propaganda Einsatz Staffel (under supervision of the SS driven "Skorpion West") based at Hilversum had a field day. Even at this late stage in the war, the German propaganda machine proved efficient and the above leaflet was fired to the British positions a couple of days later.

The below pictures were taken after the action by PK-Berichter and published in the Dutch WA-magazine "De Zwarte Soldaat" (sorry for the poor quality: they come from scans):





And this is the farm nowadays (on the left side of the picture); little reminds of the dramatic incident that took place here 67 years ago...



Sergeant Newman was one of the more than 6700 Brits that died for the liberation of my country. He will be remembered.

Kind regards,

Bert Kossen