Belgian War Grave Belgisch Gijzenzele

Gijzenzele cemetery contains the grave of four war victims under a green park.
There is a plate between the plants:

"Died here for the Fatherland and buried
For the 6th Line Regiment
Eduard BRAET - ° 9 May 1919 - + 21 May 1940
Karel DONCKERS - ° 9 August 1918 - + 21 May 1940
Henri SELS - July 31, 1919 - + May 21, 1940
Civilian
Walter VERHAEGEN - ° 23 July 1866 - + 21 May 1940 "

Gijzenzele and Kwatrecht were part of the defense line that had to repel enemy attacks from the Upper Scheldt in Kwatrecht to the Leie near Astene.

From May 19 to May 21, 1940 there was fierce fighting in Gijzenzele and Kwatrecht.
Violent attacks by well-prepared German troops had to be met. It became one of the most persistent battles of WWII.
The Sixth Line fought hard for the unity in Gijzenzele.
On May 21, 1940, the heaviest day of the fighting, the intention was to recapture the bunkers occupied by the Germans together with other combat troops.
The forest and the sheep barn bunker were recaptured. Only when the order came from above to withdraw, after very courageous defense, the fifth Line (Kwatrecht) and the sixth Line (Gijzenzele) left the positions Bruggenhoofd Gent.
There were many dead on both sides. Most of the Belgian soldiers killed were in their early twenties.
The inhabitants of these villages also had to flee the violence. In the afternoon enemy artillery bombarded the village en masse, while Stukas (German dive bombers) carried out some murderous dives on Gijzenzele and the Betsberg.