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The Betuwe on the frontline

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In the autumn of 1944, Operation Market Garden got bogged down in the swampy fields of the Betuwe. At many locations, the front in this area came to a standstill. The civilians who could were evacuated to the liberated south. Others were forced to head north. Four thousand men remained behind to protect possessions. The Betuwe had become a "men's island".

The chapel or shrine on De Heuvel (the high ground) just north of Bemmel, dedicated to Maria of the Blossoming Betuwe, was built in 1946 to commemorate those who lost their lives in the fierce battles here in September and October 1944, and in the fighting which followed until the Liberation in the spring of 1945.

On September 17 1944 began Operation Market Garden, a surprise offensive by the Allied combined airborne and ground forces. The ground forces' advance did not go as fast as had been hoped, and this meant in the end that the battle for the bridge at Arnhem was lost.

Strategically located, the Hill becomes the focal point of the battle. From 26 September to 4 October 1944, man-to-man battles take place. There are also fierce tank battles. Hundreds of soldiers die. On 4 October, the German troops are driven to the north side of the river Linge. Along the Linge, the warring parties then dig in.

When it became clear that the front line had definitely come to a halt around Bemmel, everyone was ordered to leave the village. Bemmel families who lived on the 'good side' of the front lines were evacuated. Most of the men, however, stayed behind. The British area commander, responsible for safety in liberated territory, gave permission for 4,000 heads of families to remain. These men tried to protect the property of the evacuated inhabitants, and to care for the animals left behind.

It was not until the spring of 1945 that the Linge front began to move. The Allies move eastwards to clear the northern side of the Linge via Gendt and Doornenburg. It becomes eerily quiet around De Heuvel. Scattered everywhere are field graves, mines, weapons and ammunition. Broken tanks form striking silent witnesses.

The Sherman tank

Near the chapel on The Hill stands a tank. It symbolises the 1944 stranded advance in the Betuwe and the liberation delayed until 1945. Monument 'The Sherman Tank' is thus a symbol of struggle and hope. At the back is the text 'Every citizen counts', accompanied by the symbol for wartime civilians, the marigold.

Heuvelsestraat 14, Bemmel