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1231:, waited until they were within 800 metres (870 yd) 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.
198:
100:
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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, though the third managed to escape. The Germans nevertheless
1212:
cannons and four heavy anti-aircraft machine guns had arrived overnight at
Kornwerderzand. 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.
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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
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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.
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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
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1044:. 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.
1082:, 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.
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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.
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first needed to cross the
Afsluitdijk, a 32-kilometer-long (20 mi) causeway and dike connecting the country's northern provinces to its western province of
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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
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1245:; approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) from the German positions. Attack coordinates were phoned in from the fortress to the Navy Command in
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1121:. In the north, German forces rapidly advanced past two thin Dutch defensive lines parallel to the border, stretching across the provinces of
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The bombardment was followed by an hour of intense howitzer fire which had little effect on the heavily protected Dutch fortifications.
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1093:. Kornwerderzand was the only line of defense that successfully withstood an enemy attack during the conflict, and was one of the few
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attack. Two got wounded while manning anti-aircraft guns. Two civilians were killed, ten were wounded, also as a result of the
1227:
As soon as the artillery barrage stopped, German shock troops advanced down the narrow dike on bicycles. The Dutch commander,
1249:, then sent by wireless radio to the gunboat. This barrage silenced the German guns in less than an hour and shocked General
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Its three main casemates were made of three metres (9.8 ft) of reinforced concrete and sheltered 230 men, twenty-one
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barrage, after which 500 soldiers would commence the assault.
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Kornwerderzand – De strijd om de afsluitdijk Mei 1940, Toen en Nu
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Battles and operations of World War II involving the
Netherlands
1111:
Nazi
Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of
1205:
Unbeknownst to the
Germans, three privately funded Swiss-made
1216:
1117:, simultaneously invading Belgium and France through the
1030:
of 12–14 May 1940 was an unsuccessful attempt by German
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decided to take the fortress and planned to call in
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Despite finding themselves outmanned and outgunned,
1315:
1301:
1289:List of German military equipment of World War II
1360:
1284:List of Dutch military equipment of World War II
447:
1311:War over Holland – May 1940: the Dutch struggle
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1074:, under the overall command of rear-Admiral
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107:forces launched their attack from the left
1384:Battles of World War II involving Germany
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
1215:
1174:
1129:, before further advancing into western
1047:To facilitate an attack from the north,
29:This article includes a list of general
1394:Germany–Netherlands military relations
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1198:strikes, before firing an extended
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359:German invasion of the Netherlands
35:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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1051:elements commanded by General
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1070:troops commanded by Captain
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1179:Fort Kornwerderzand in 1945
1042:invasion of the Netherlands
10:
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1140:—later regrouped into the
1008:Raids on the Atlantic Wall
1003:Strategic Bombing Campaign
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1028:Battle of the Afsluitdijk
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92:Battle of the Netherlands
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85:Battle of the Afsluitdijk
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1238:Johan Maurits van Nassau
1099:defeats suffered by the
119:12–14 May 1940
1379:1940 in the Netherlands
1348:April 30, 2008, at the
50:more precise citations.
1327:The north: Afsluitdijk
1324:Allert M.A. Goossens,
1224:
1180:
1136:On 12 May, the German
223:Commanders and leaders
1222:Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
1219:
1207:Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
1178:
701:Battle of Britain Day
275:Casualties and losses
1399:History of Friesland
1142:24th Panzer Division
1138:1st Cavalry Division
1091:bombing of Rotterdam
1036:forces to seize the
998:Defence of the Reich
479:The Heligoland Bight
317:2 killed, 10 wounded
301:4 aircraft destroyed
162:53.07417°N 5.33694°E
1154:Fort Kornwerderzand
1080:Fort Kornwerderzand
987:Strategic campaigns
590:Ypres–Comines Canal
313:Civilian casualties
158: /
1330:, War over Holland
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1181:
1059:and ultimately to
1013:Battle of Atlantic
1369:Conflicts in 1940
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167:53.07417; 5.33694
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1229:Christiaan Boers
1072:Christiaan Boers
1068:Royal Dutch Army
850:Atlantic Pockets
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181:Dutch victory
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1165:machine guns
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1076:Hoyte Jolles
1065:
1063:and beyond.
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452:World War II
401:
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229:Hoyte Jolles
190:Belligerents
104:
90:Part of the
77:
62:
56:October 2018
53:
34:
1236:HNLMS
1163:Schwarzlose
1040:during the
1038:Afsluitdijk
886:Blockbuster
794:Netherlands
749:Dieppe Raid
544:Afsluitdijk
469:River Forth
402:Afsluitdijk
267:69 aircraft
204:Netherlands
165: /
140:Afsluitdijk
48:introducing
1363:Categories
1352:(in Dutch)
1295:References
1251:Kurt Feldt
1247:Den Helder
1243:Wadden Sea
1107:Background
1096:Blitzkrieg
1087:IJsselmeer
1053:Kurt Feldt
893:Lumberjack
763:Baby Blitz
728:Donnerkeil
686:Kanalkampf
609:Montcornet
514:Maastricht
493:Luxembourg
463:Phoney War
397:Grebbeberg
372:Maastricht
298:25 wounded
238:Kurt Feldt
127:1940-05-14
123:1940-05-12
31:references
1272:Luftwaffe
1268:Luftwaffe
1257:Aftermath
1196:Luftwaffe
1187:Luftwaffe
1150:casemates
1146:pillboxes
1131:Friesland
1127:Groningen
1114:Fall Gelb
1101:Wehrmacht
1061:Amsterdam
1049:Wehrmacht
1033:Wehrmacht
993:The Blitz
976:Nuremberg
971:Heilbronn
956:Frankfurt
941:Paderborn
919:Undertone
872:Veritable
865:Blackcock
757:1944–1945
714:1941–1943
648:Abbeville
529:Rotterdam
524:The Hague
387:Rotterdam
382:The Hague
286:2 wounded
255:1 gunboat
153:5°20′13″E
150:53°4′27″N
105:Wehrmacht
1346:Archived
1278:See also
1274:attack.
1200:howitzer
1119:Ardennes
961:Würzburg
840:2nd Alps
834:Nordwind
776:Chastity
769:Overlord
721:Cerberus
707:Sea Lion
691:Adlertag
665:1st Alps
624:Boulogne
580:Gembloux
485:Wikinger
295:5 killed
283:1 killed
244:Strength
135:Location
125: –
1152:around
1123:Drenthe
981:Hamburg
951:TF Baum
933:Varsity
926:Plunder
904:Cologne
899:Remagen
879:Grenade
857:Germany
823:Scheldt
783:Dragoon
679:Britain
634:Dunkirk
556:Belgium
534:Zeeland
392:Zeeland
264:500 men
252:225 men
217:Germany
121: (
44:improve
1220:Dutch
1171:Battle
966:Kassel
912:Gisela
811:Aachen
640:Dynamo
629:Calais
614:Saumur
597:France
585:La Lys
568:Hannut
214:
201:
178:Result
33:, but
828:Bulge
817:Queen
659:Paula
653:Lille
619:Arras
604:Sedan
574:David
1148:and
1125:and
1026:The
946:Ruhr
519:Mill
474:Saar
377:Mill
116:Date
1365::
1335:^
1317:^
1303:^
1133:.
1103:.
441:e
434:t
427:v
349:e
342:t
335:v
129:)
69:)
63:(
58:)
54:(
40:.
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