Battle of the Afsluitdijk

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of The Afsluitdijk
partof=World War II


caption=
date=12 May - 14 May, 1940
place=Afsluitdijk, Netherlands
result=Dutch victory
combatant1=flagicon|Netherlands Netherlands
combatant2=flagicon|Nazi Germany Germany
commander1=flagicon|Netherlands Captain Boers
commander2=flagicon|Nazi Germany General Feldt
strength1=225 soldiers inside series of fortreses [http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?url=/summary_day_4_10.html War over Holland - May 1940: the Dutch struggle ] ]
strength2=500+ soldiers (1st Cavalry Divison)
69 aircraft
howitzers [http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?url=/summary_day_4_10.html War over Holland - May 1940: the Dutch struggle ] ]
casualties1=1 killed
2 wounded
2 civilians killed
10 civilians wounded [http://www.waroverholland.nl/summary_day_4_10.html Five days of war [War over Holland - May 1940: the Dutch struggle ] ]
casualties2=8 killed
25+ wounded
4 aircraft shot down [http://www.waroverholland.nl/summary_day_4_10.html Five days of war [War over Holland - May 1940: the Dutch struggle ] ]

The Battle of the Afsluitdijk was an unsuccessful attempt by the German Army to seize the Afsluitdijk in May 1940, during World War II. If the Germans had taken the dike, they could have taken North-Holland from its north. Civilian casualties could have been devastating. The Dutch troops were led by Captain Boers and the Germans by General Feldt.

Fortifications and Preparations

Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10 as part of plan Fall Gelb. They rapidly crossed two thin defence lines, the O-line and the Q-line which the Dutch had built to defend their three northern provinces.

The German 1st Cavalry Division (later reformed to the 24th Tank Division) had taken the last Dutch defences in front of the Afsluitdijk (Wonsline) on the 12th and was prepared for an assault to take the two lines of pillboxes or casemates of Fort Kornwerderzand (named after a hamlet near the dike). The eastern line was for defence eastwards, while the western line was just behind the first for threats from the rear. Altogether 17 casemates had been built. They were designed to withstand 21 cm rounds (indirect fire), and 28 cm rounds (indirect fire). The three main casemates were of 3 m reinforced concrete. The casemates sheltered 230 men, 21 heavy Schwarzlose machine guns (7.9 mm), three 5 cm guns and a naval gun of 5 cm. There were similar defences at the other end of the dike.

The Battle

Earlier in May 1940 two infantry sections (70 men) were sent to the end of the dike to prevent German landings beyond the vision of both fortresses. The Germans soon found out about these units and seven fighter aircraft strafed Dutch positions. One soldier and two civilians were killed, 10 civilians wounded. After this they were recalled to Kornwerderzand.

Until May 12, the Germans had not tried to take Fort Kornwerderzand. However, that evening three soldiers were sent to see if the fort had been abandoned. They were pinned down by machine gun fire. Two were killed, while the third escaped. The Germans decided to take the fortress. They planned to launch Luftwaffe strikes, then an extended artillery bombardment by howitzers, after which they would send 500 soldiers.

However, unknown to the Germans three 2 cm anti-air guns and 4 heavy anti-aircraft machine guns had arrived overnight at Kornwerderzand. The next day, pilots who had previously flown unchallenged were under fire. The Germans sent 62 planes to bomb the fort. The planes dropped five waves of bombs. Four planes were shot down and crashed into the sea. The bombardment was followed by an hour of heavy bombardment from the howitzers, but it had little effect on the heavily protected Dutch.

As soon as the bombing stopped the Germans advanced down the narrow dike. Captain Boers waited until they were within 800 metres, then ordered machine-gun fire, making it difficult for the Germans to withdraw. Most soldiers tried to hide, while a few managed to advance. The Germans were under constant fire for an hour and 20 minutes. When Boers ordered firing to stop, the remaining Germans withdrew - the assault had failed. During the night Boers ordered the dike to be lit by flares and search lights so the fortress could not be attacked without Dutch soldiers knowing.

On the early morning of the 14th the Germans once again fired their artillery at the fortress but overnight the Dutch had called in the gunboat HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau who returned fire with her 3 heavy 5.9" guns from her position in the Wadden Sea approximately 11 miles from the German positions. Fire directions came in from the fortress by telephone to Dutch Navy Command in Den Helder who forwarded them by radiotelegraphe to the gunboat. This barrage silenced the German guns in less than an hour and dumbfounded the German commander General Feldt who was unaware of the presence of any Dutch artillery in the area, let alone this heavy calibre.

Casualties

Local civilians said hundreds of Germans were killed, and the dike was filled with bodies. The German report says two were killed on the 12th and five on the 13th. The German wounded were officially around 25. The Dutch suffered one killed during the first attack by the Luftwaffe, two wounded during the bombing when two soldiers manning anti-aircraft guns were hit.

Aftermath

The fortress remained in Dutch hands until the surrender of Dutch forces on May 15. Boers told the men that they had fought like lions but that in other parts of the country their armies had been defeated. Boers himself led the surrender.

References

* [http://www.waroverholland.nl/ Dutch history site]