Dutch Military Motorcyclists during Parade

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Date: Tuesday, 30 April 1940
Place: Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

A line-up of Dutch military motorcyclists led by a three-wheeled motorcycle with timpanist during an inspection, held by Major General Van Nijnatten, Commander of III Army Corps, for the birthday of Princess Juliana on April 30th, 1940. The timpanist belongs to the Hussars Motorcyclists Regiment. The picture was taken during the mobilization of the Dutch army and 10 days prior to the German invasion of The Netherlands. During the mobilization of 1939, both the 'Regiment Wielrijders' (RW) and the 'Eskadrons Wielrijders' formed war units. The number of infantrymen on the bicycle (but also on the motorcycle) was about 5600 men. In May 1940, both regiments of cyclists mainly fought in Dordrecht and the surrounding area. The squadrons of cyclists have distinguished themselves in the fighting around the 'Grebbeline'. The Dutch army confiscated many civilian motorbikes during the mobilisation in 1939. 'Anything goes' applied more or less, although according to the mobilization instructions the following brands were eligible: Indian, Harley-Davidson, Douglas, Gilette, FN, Sarolea, Ariel, BSA, Eysink, Excelsior, Simplex and Triumph. But bikes from other brands were also welcome, such as DKWs and Nortons.”

Source :
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdABVlqLJB3/

Motor Units of LSSAH at Amsterdam (1940)

Image size: 1600 x 1081 pixel. 546 KB
Date: Thursday, 16 May 1940
Place: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

On 16 May 1940, German troops marched into Amsterdam, including a Zündapp type KS 600 belong to motor units of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (motorisiert). In early 1940 the LSSAH was expanded into a full independent motorized infantry regiment and later a Sturmgeschütz (Assault Gun) battery was added to their establishment. The regiment was shifted to the Dutch border for the launch of Fall Gelb. It was to form the vanguard of the ground advance into the Netherlands, tasked with capturing a vital bridge over the IJssel, attacking the main line of defense at the Grebbeberg (the Grebbeline), and linking up with the Fallschirmjäger of Generaloberst Kurt Student's airborne forces, the 7.Flieger-Division and the 22.Luftlande-Infanterie-Division. Fall Gelb—the invasion of France and the Low Countries—was launched on 10 May 1940. On that day, the LSSAH crossed the Dutch border, covered over 75 kilometres (47 mi), and secured a crossing over the IJssel near Zutphen after discovering that their target bridge had been destroyed. Over the next four days, the LSSAH covered over 215 kilometres (134 mi), and upon entering Rotterdam, several of its soldiers accidentally shot at and seriously wounded General Student. After the surrender of Rotterdam, the LSSAH left for the Hague, which they reached on 15 May, after capturing 3,500 Dutch soldiers as prisoners of war. After the surrender of the Netherlands on 15 May, the regiment was then moved south to France through Amsterdam.

Source :
"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis

The Surrender of the Dutch Forces to the Japanese at Kalidjati

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Date: Sunday, 8 March 1942
Place: Kalidjati Airfield, Subang, West Java, Netherlands East-Indies
Photographer: Unknown

The surrender of the Netherlands East-Indies to the Japanese at Kalidjati military airport, Subang, West Java, on 8 march 1942 The Governor General of the Netherlands East-Indies had ordered to avoid armed conflict in the city of Bandung, crowded as it was with refugees. With the invading Japanese forces already in Lembang and Buitenzorg, a few miles away,  the commanding officers had no choice but to surrender. The negotiations took place on March 8, 1942 at Kalidjati airfield. Thoughtful as always the Japanese had lined the road to Kalidjati with hundreds of corpses of those killed in the defence of this airfield! Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten surrendered unconditionally to General Hitoshi Imamura and after a few more days all fighting in Java ceased. But in other places the fight went on longer. Sumatra KNIL forces capitulated on March 29 and the Australians and Dutch on Timor continued a guerrilla war for several months.

Source :

https://thejavagoldblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/the-loss-of-java-and-the-surrender/

German Convoy in Amsterdam 1940

Image size: 1154 x 1600 pixel. 768 KB
Date: Thursday, 16 May 1940
Place: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

16 May 1940. German troops, after the capitulation of the Dutch Armed Forces, on the Reguliersbreestraat and Rembrandtplein in the center of Amsterdam, on their way to Utrecht. In the background we can see the Munttoren ("Mint Tower") or Munt. It stands on the busy Muntplein square, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet, near the flower market and the eastern end of the Kalverstraat shopping street. On the left is cafeteria Heck’s Popularis. Despite being neutral, the Netherlands in World War II was invaded by Nazi Germany on 10 May 1940, under orders of Adolf Hitler. On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family saved themselves by going to London. Princess Juliana and her children moved on to Canada for additional safety. The Netherlands was placed under German occupation, which endured in some areas until the German surrender in May 1945. Active resistance was carried out by a minority, which grew in the course of the occupation. The occupiers deported the majority of the country's Jews to Nazi concentration camps.

Source :

"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munttoren

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_World_War_II

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/49047083425596505/

Dutch SS Ceremony in Utrecht

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Date: Sunday, 11 May 1941
Place: Utrecht, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

Dutch SS ceremony in Utrecht, 11 May 1941. On 11 September 1940 the NSB (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland) formed the Nederlandsche SS (Dutch SS), it had up to 7,000 members. Himmler's vision for a Germanic SS started with grouping the Netherlands, Belgium and north-east France together into a western-Germanic state called Burgundia which would be policed by the SS as a security buffer for Germany. In 1940, the first manifestation of the Germanic SS appeared in Flanders as the Allgemeene SS Vlaanderen to be joined two-months later by the Dutch Nederlandsche SS and in May 1941 the Norwegian Norges SS was formed. The final nation to contribute to the Germanic SS was Denmark, whose Germansk Korpet (later called the Schalburg Corps) came into being in April 1943. For the SS, they did not think of their compatriots in terms of national borders but in terms of Germanic racial makeup, known conceptually to them as Deutschtum, a greater idea which transcended traditional political boundaries. While the SS leadership foresaw an imperialistic and semi-autonomous relationship for the Nordic/Germanic countries like Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway as co-bearers of a greater Germanic empire, Hitler refused to grant them the same degree of independence despite ongoing pressure from ranking members of the SS.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_SS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Movement_in_the_Netherlands
http://virepicf.pw/Image-Dutch-SS-in-Utrecht-11-May-1941-History-World-War-II.html

British War Correspondent in Holland (1944)

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Date: Sunday, 29 October 1944
Place: Tilburg, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

This picture shows a photographer accompanying the British 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division at Tilburg, Netherlands, 29 October 1944. He wore the British Cap (Service Cap) with the British badge for war correspondents. For his pants, he wore a Battledress 37/40 Pattern 37/40 with the British Army leggings and boots. He also wore a USA M1942 parachute jacket in ocher color, shoulder pads with sleeves that bear the insignia with the letters "British War Correspondent". The camera is a German photographic Rolleiflex Automat Type 1B or Type 2 with lens hood attached to the lens. The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. In World War I the 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Western Front. The division was later disbanded, after the war, in 1919. In World War II it was reformed as the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in the United Kingdom and later North-West Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_(Scottish)_Infantry_Division
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page4

Bombing of Blauwburgwal Amsterdam (1940)

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Date: Friday, 11 May 1940
Place: Blauwburgwal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photographer: Cas Oorthuys

This picture shows the building in Blauwburgwal that was struck by a bomb causing severe structural damage. The bomb came from a German Aircraft which was hit by flak over Sloterdijk. It continued its flight, but The pilot decided to release two bombs in case the plane crashed. One of the bombs bounced over the bridge into the water of the Blauwburgwal, the other hit the houses on the corner. Twelve buildings were destroyed and forty-four people lost their lives. This was very much a one-off: the speed of the German occupation meant that Central Amsterdam was hardly damaged at all, though the incident at Blauwburgwal alone cost 44 lives. Blauwburgwal is Amsterdam shortest canal, no more than 100 meters in length and connects the two innermost canals, Singel and Herengracht

Source :
"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis
"The Rough Guide to Amsterdam" by Rough Guide
https://www.amsterdamforvisitors.com/blauwburgwal-amsterdams-shortest-canal/
https://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/timeline/1940/126122-german-bombardement-in-amsterdam.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13185747@N02/3300948489
https://nimh-beeldbank.defensie.nl/memorix/7f6b169c-1f51-9e86-6455-52dfa6c38086
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/node/1309751

Dutch Soldiers Surrender at Lutterhoofdwijk (1940)

Image size: 1600 x 922 pixel. 428 KB
Date: Friday, 10 May 1940
Place: Lutterhoofdwijk Canal, Drenthe, Netherlands
Photographer: S. Pfitzer

Exhausted Dutch soldiers from 2e Compagnie / eerste Grensbataljon - who fought in the casemate 3056 at the 'Goseling' bridge over the Lutterhoofdwijk Canal - surrender to the Germans after heroic defense on 10 May 1940. From left to the right: privates Martinus Vugteveen, Sipke Beetstra, Barend Schuiling, and Sergeant Klaas van der Baaren. The sergeant in the background is equipped with the hemet M.27, while the other three soldiers in the front wear the helmet M.34. Sergeant K. van de Baaren and three of his men succeeded in surprising and halting a German reconnaissance group from a well camouflaged casemate at the Lutterhoofdwijk Canal on the southernmost tip of the Q Line. They were able to hold out for nearly four hours against a force of up to three squadrons of the reconnaisance group from 1. Kavallerie-Division. After the four exhausted defenders had finally surrendered, a further drama was only narrowly avoided. The irritated Germans, who had seen a well-loved officer killed, wanted to put them up against the wall as they had apparently misused the white flag during the battle. Luckily, the local innkeeper reported that he had waved a white cushion out of fear. The mayor of Coevorden, who happened to be passing, was able to convince the German officers that the defenders could not have seen the white flag from their casemate. The incident blew over. This picture was taken by S. Pfitzer and later published in the German magazine "Die Woche" for propaganda purposes.

Source :
"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis
"The Dutch Steel Helmet 1916-1946" by Kevin de Joode
http://www.drentheindeoorlog.nl/?pid=45&Duitse%20inval

Dutch Soldier Negotiating the Capitulation in 1940

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Date: Tuesday, 14 May 1940
Place: Willemstad, North Brabant, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

A Dutch officer equipped with the M.27 helmet negotiating the capitulation with a German officer in Willemstad on 14 May 1940. After the devastating bombing of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on that fateful day, the Germans threatened to bomb other Dutch cities if the Dutch forces refused to surrender. The General Staff knew it could not stop the bombers and ordered the Dutch army to cease hostilities. At 1900 hrs all hostilities were ceased, except in the province Zeeland. The battle of Holland had ended.

Source :
"The Dutch Steel Helmet 1916-1946" by Kevin de Joode
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Netherlands
http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=part-iii-capitulation

Dutch Civilian Load a Canadian Truck with Food

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Date: Thursday, 3 May 1945
Place: Wageningen, Netherlands
Photographer: Alex Stirton

Along the Rhenen-Wageningen road, Netherlands: Dutch civilians unloading food from a Canadian truck to the town dump, following agreement amongst Germans, Dutch and Canadians about the ground distribution of food to the Dutch population. 3 May 1945. Air drops of food by the British and United States had started on April 29th and lasted till May 8th. At the meeting in Achterveld on April 30 both sides decided that the transport by air alone would not suffice. A second operation, codenamed Faust, would also be launched. Two hundred allied trucks from the 21st Army Group would bring food to Rhenen, starting May 2nd.  Rhenen was at that moment a city on the German side of the frontline. In Rhenen the trucks would go over in the hands of Dutch truck drivers, who would take the food further into occupied Holland. According to the plan, 1000 tons of food would be transported daily by the Wageningen - Rhenen road. This photograph was taken by Alex Stirton.

Source :
http://operationmanna.secondworldwar.nl/foodtrucks.php
http://www.mapleleafup.ca/ve1.html

Food Negotiations Between German and the Canadians

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Date: Monday, 30 April 1945
Place: Achterveld, Netherlands
Photographer: Ernest DeGuire

Food negotiations begin. German and Canadian negotiators arrive at a schoolhouse, where they secretly discuss supplying food to the starving Dutch people still in German-held areas. While 2nd Corps of the 1st Canadian Army was crossing the Rhine River in late March 1945, 1st Corps was on a massive redeployment from the Italian front — through the Mediterranean and up through the south of France — to join the 1st Canadian Army advance into Germany and The Netherlands. Moving into northern Netherlands the Canadians effectively cut off the 117,000 German troops in western Holland, leaving them with no means of escape. The Germans were defeated and the exhausted Canadian soldiers could see the end. Nobody wanted to be the last man killed in this war in the cold bleak months of early 1945. But the occupying Germans were still fighting, and the occupied Dutch were still suffering serious privation under them. The oppressors had flooded the farmlands of western Netherlands and blockaded food and supplies to civilians. The abject neglect of the Dutch by the occupying Germans caused the death of at least 18,000 civilians in the terrible famine known as the Hunger Winter. The picture was taken by Ernest DeGuire on 30 April 1945 at Achterveld, Netherlands.

Source :
http://www.mapleleafup.ca/ve1.html

Canadian Soldiers with Their Dutch Girlfriends

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Date: Friday, 16 November 1945
Place: Amersfoort, Netherlands
Photographer: Ken Bell

16 November 1945: Though the victory against the German in Europe came in May 1945, some of the young Canadian soldiers would live in The Netherlands well in to 1946 before becoming eligible to come home to Canada. Here, personnel of 4th Canadian Armoured Division and their Dutch fiancées.Left to right: Grenadier W.G. Dobbin with Wilhelmina De Groot, Grenadier R.A. Jennings with Rita Nies, Corporal E.P. Weiss with Nancy Raven, and Private N. Landry with Aaltaga Berends. It is estimated that approximately 43,500 war brides went to Canada following the demobilization of Canadian troops. Accompanying them were some 21,000 children born to European mothers and Canadian military fathers. The picture was taken by photographer Ken Bell at Amersfoort, Netherlands. Now becoming the collection of Library and Archives Canada No. a140422.

Source :
http://histomil.com/viewtopic.php?t=3918&start=4850

http://www.mapleleafup.ca/ve2.html