Hechtel-Eksel () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018 it had a total population of 12,290 an area of 76.70 km² giving a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 150 inhabitants per km². The municipality was created in January 1977 as a merger of the two former municipalities Hechtel and Eksel.

Events

Hechtel was home to the "

KBC Night of Athletics The KBC Night of Athletics () is an annual athletics event at the Stadium De Veen in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. It is officially presented and sponsored by the KBC Bank KBC Group N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing ...

", a yearly international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

meeting and the annual International Airshow at Sanicole Airport, taking place in September.

Battle of Hechtel

For seven days during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, from 6 to 12 September 1944, the town of Hechtel became the front line between German and British troops in what is known as the battle of Hechtel. German troops consisted of the 2nd Hermann Göring Tank Regiment. The 1st battalion was in Hechtel, with the 2nd placed 2km to the east in

Wijchmaal Wijchmaal is a village in the province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Belgium, which since 1977 has been a subdivision of the municipality of Peer, Belgium, Peer. It is located on the low Campine, Kempen plateau and has predominantly sandy soil. T ...

. British forces were from the 1st and 2nd Battalion

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

'X'-Company,

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

and other supporting units. During the battle, 62 British and 127 German soldiers were killed with another 250 captured. Thirty-five civilians also lost their lives with most being executed by German troops. The town centre was heavily damaged. The battle ended on 12 September when the Irish Guards flanked the Germans, took a strategic bridge isolating the German forces. A German

Jagdpanther The (German: "hunting Panther"), Sd.Kfz. 173, was a tank destroyer (, a self-propelled anti-tank gun) built by Germany during World War II. The combined the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, similar to the main gun of the Tiger II, with the armor ...

tank destroyer knocked out during this battle in on display at the

Imperial War Museum Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford, also known as IWM Duxford or simply Duxford, is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Duxford, Britain's largest aviation museum, houses exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraf ...

- although its exact provenance is uncertain, it is claimed to be one knocked out by Hugh Griffiths and was previously at the

Imperial War Museum London The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civi ...

. The battle is commemorated every year on the 2nd Sunday of September.The annual Liberation of Hechtel commemorations
/ref> Hechtel was the site of the death of the famous Anglican priest Hugh Lister, who served as a combatant officer in the

References

2 “Hugh Lister (1901–44): Priest, Labor Leader, Combatant Officer.” ''Anglican and Episcopal History'' 70 (2001): 353–74.

External links

*
Map of Hechtel-EkselOfficial website
- Available only in Dutch
Sanicole Airshow official website
Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium) {{LimburgBE-geo-stub