Battle of the Afsluitdijk
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The Battle of the Afsluitdijk of 12–14 May 1940 was an unsuccessful attempt by German ''Wehrmacht'' forces to seize the
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
during the invasion of the Netherlands. German invasion plans called for a simultaneous attack on Vesting Holland from multiple directions, expecting to capture the country's capital and most important region in a day's time. To facilitate an attack from the north, ''Wehrmacht'' elements commanded by General
Kurt Feldt __NOTOC__ Kurt Feldt (22 November 1897 – 11 March 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was the German commander in the Battle of the Afsluitdi ...
first needed to cross the Afsluitdijk, a causeway and dike connecting the country's northern provinces to its western province of
North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
and ultimately to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and beyond. Despite finding themselves outmanned and outgunned,
Royal Dutch Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutch ...
troops commanded by Captain
Christiaan Boers Christianus Franciscus Johannes Boers (24 October 1889 – 3 May 1942) was a captain in the Royal Netherlands Army during World War II who scored one of the few Allied victories during the German invasion of the Netherlands, by rallying his ...
, under the overall command of rear-Admiral
Hoyte Jolles Hoyte is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Gavin Hoyte (born 1990), Trinidadian (soccer) footballer with Eastleigh *Wendy Hoyte, née Clarke, (born 1957), British sprinter *Hoyte van Hoytema (born 1971), cinema ...
, managed to successfully hold back the attackers at Fort Kornwerderzand, protected by modernized heavily fortified defensive positions. The German Army was thus prevented from immediately concentrating its full strength on the country's most vital area. The pinned down German forces were eventually forced to retreat and subsequently routed their attack across the
IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...
, bypassing the Afsluitdijk and landing north of Amsterdam. The Dutch garrison capitulated on May 14, after the bombing of Rotterdam. Kornwerderzand was the only line of defense that successfully withstood an enemy attack during the conflict, and was one of the few ''
Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...
'' defeats suffered by the ''Wehrmacht''.


Background

Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of ''
Fall Gelb The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb) also known as Operation Sichelschnitt (german: Sichelschnittplan, from the English language, English term sickle cut), was the Military operation plan, war plan of the German Army (Wehrmacht), ...
'', simultaneously invading Belgium and France through the
Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
. In the north, German forces rapidly advanced past two thin Dutch defensive lines parallel to the border, stretching across the provinces of
Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...
and
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
, before further advancing into western
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
. On 12 May, the German 1st Cavalry Division—later regrouped into the
24th Panzer Division The 24th Panzer Division was formed in late 1941 from the 1st Cavalry Division based at Königsberg. The division fought on the Eastern Front from June 1942 to January 1943, when it was destroyed in the battle of Stalingrad. Reformed, it once ...
—had captured the last line of Dutch defences lying in front of the Afsluitdijk, and began preparing an assault on two defensive lines comprising 17
pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military), concrete dug-in guard posts * Pillbox affair The Pillbox affair, also known ...
es and
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
s around Fort Kornwerderzand, designed to withstand direct hits by 210 mm rounds and indirect hits by 280 mm rounds. Its three main casemates were made of of reinforced concrete and sheltered 230 men, twenty-one 7.92 mm ''Schwarzlose'' machine guns, three 50 mm guns, and a 50 mm shore-based naval gun, with similar defences at the Afsluitdijk's other end.


Battle

Earlier in May 1940, two infantry sections—70 men in all—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 ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' fighters strafed Dutch positions. One soldier and two civilians were killed, in addition to ten wounded civilians. The Dutch were forced to retreat to Kornwerderzand. German forces did not attempt to take Fort Kornwerderzand until 12 May. During the evening, three soldiers were sent to check whether the fort had been abandoned. They were suddenly met by machine-gun fire which caused two fatalities, allowing the third to escape. The Germans nevertheless decided to take the fortress and planned to call in ''Luftwaffe'' strikes, before firing an extended
howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
barrage, after which 500 soldiers would commence the assault. Unbeknownst to the Germans, three privately funded Swiss made Oerlikon 20 mm
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
cannons and four heavy anti-aircraft machine guns had arrived overnight at Kornwerderzand.Kornwerderzand – De strijd om de afsluitdijk Mei 1940, Toen en Nu
(in Dutch)
The next day, pilots who had previously flown unchallenged were fired upon. The Germans sent 62 planes to bomb the fort, dropping five waves of bombs. Four planes were shot down and crashed into the sea. The bombardment was followed by an hour of intense howitzer fire which had little effect on the heavily protected Dutch fortifications. As soon as it stopped, German shock troops advanced down the narrow dike on bicycles. The Dutch commander,
Christiaan Boers Christianus Franciscus Johannes Boers (24 October 1889 – 3 May 1942) was a captain in the Royal Netherlands Army during World War II who scored one of the few Allied victories during the German invasion of the Netherlands, by rallying his ...
, waited until they were within before he 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 nearly an hour and a half. Once 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 searchlights to prevent a surprise attack on their position. On the early morning of 14 May, the Germans once again fired their artillery at the fortress, but during the night Rear-Admiral Jolles had ordered the gunboat , which returned fire with her three heavy 150 mm guns from her position in the
Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...
; approximately from the German positions. Attack coordinates were phoned in from the fortress to the Navy Command in
Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...
, then sent by wireless radio to the gunboat. This barrage silenced the German guns in less than an hour and shocked General
Kurt Feldt __NOTOC__ Kurt Feldt (22 November 1897 – 11 March 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was the German commander in the Battle of the Afsluitdi ...
, who was unaware of the presence of any Dutch artillery in the area, let alone such a heavy caliber.


Aftermath

The fortress remained in Dutch hands until the surrender of Dutch forces on 15 May. Boers complimented his men by stating that although they had fought like lions, in other parts of the country their armies had been defeated. Boers himself led the surrender. Rumors among civilians quickly emerged; hundreds of Germans were killed, and the dike was filled with bodies. The German report states two were killed on the 12th, and three on the 13th, with approximately 25 wounded. The Dutch suffered one killed as a result of the first ''Luftwaffe'' attack. Two got wounded while manning anti-aircraft guns. Two civilians were killed, ten were wounded, also as a result of the ''Luftwaffe'' attack.


See also

*
List of Dutch military equipment of World War II The following is a list of Dutch military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that began in 1939 and ended in 1945. On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany, which aimed to dominate Europe, ...
*
List of German military equipment of World War II The following is a list of German military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that was under way by 1939 and ended in 1945. Following political instability build-up in Europe from ...


References

{{Authority control
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
1940 in the Netherlands
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
Germany–Netherlands military relations
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
Súdwest-Fryslân