In circumstances reminiscent of the Great War the British plodded further across the heavily mined Loobeek which they finally took on October, 16th. Panzerbrigade.īetween September,30th and October 14th, 1944 a bloody battle raged around the village of Overloon. SS-Panzerdivision Frundsberg and a Luftwaffe 88 mm battalion. Regiment, a battalion sized unit from the 10. On the defending side was the German Kampfgruppe Walther consisting of paratroopers from the 21. The operation was conducted by the US 7th Armored Division and later British 3rd Infantry and 11th Armoured Divisions. The troops themselves called it "Second Caen", because of the ferocity and unforgiving nature of the fighting. Hence "forgotten battle" or "battle in the shadow". Preceded by Market-Garden and followed by the Ardennes offensive and because of its dismal nature, heavy losses and lack of success it has been somewhat forgotten in history. In the autumn of 1944, in a remote area of the Netherlands known as de Peel, a vicious battle was fought to reduce a German bridgehead west of the Meuse near the German border. It was a tearing sound that is unforgettable. It was just as though a large giant had torn steel in two. The noise of the shell penetration was horrendous. I could only see an inferno of burning and smoke. "The concussion had blown me to the floor of the turret of our Churchill tank. "Overloon, it’s mines, mud and woods, stiff with the enemy all the way!"
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