Liberation Route Marker 170: Monty’s HQ, just for a short while

Monty’s HQ, just for a short while
For one month, between 7 February and 10 March 1945, the British Field Marshal Montgomery had his advanced headquarters at Nieuwendijk number 52 and 46. He received other allied leaders here, such as the American commander-inchief Eisenhower and the British prime minister Churchill.

During the military operations in Europe Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery followed his troops in a mobile headquarters. It consisted of a number of caravans specially equipped for this purpose. His mobile office housed large portraits of his German opponents. The walls were covered with maps on which he could plot the troop movements and show the progress to important visitors, such as King George VI.

On 7 February 1945 the headquarters moved to Geldrop. Monty moved into villa De Leeuwerik at Nieuwendijk 52. His staff was housed at number 46 in Villa Nova. Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower visited Montgomery here. The American general had a heavily armoured train at his disposal, which spent a few days at Geldrop station. The English Prime Minister Winston Churchill also visited Geldrop in March 1945 and addressed the troops. These events made a big impression on the people of Geldrop.

Audiospot - Monty’s HQ, just for a short while

Liberation Route Europe is a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. With hundreds of sites and stories in nine European countries, the route links the main regions along the advance of the Allied Forces in 1943-1945.
The entire route consists of themed routes that can be travelled by by hiking, walking, cycling and car. These routes pass numerous historical and interesting sites and tell stories from a multitude of perspectives that were important in the final phase of World War II.
Many routes feature listening spots, offering the opportunity to listen to a historical story at a location. In addition, many ‘Vectors of Memory’ have been placed, indicating that the passer-by is on one of the Liberation Routes.
The routes can be found on the Liberation Route Europe website or in the app through which many stories can also be listened to.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Liberation Route Europe
• Photos: Jeroen Koppes