Liberation Route Marker 158: Twice conquered

Twice conquered
In October 1944, the fighting in and around the village of Dorst is so fierce the Poles of the 1st Polish Armoured Division are forced to liberate it twice. A rain of artillery shells lands on Dorst and in the streets firefights break out, as several eyewitnesses recall.

On the 28th of October 1944, the Dragon battle group from the 1st Polish Armoured Division liberated the village of Dorst. After an earlier artillery barrage, at eight o'clock in the evening the Poles surprised the Germans in Dorst who were still preparing their evening meal.

But it wasn’t over yet. The next morning, supported by artillery, German troops, launched a counter attack and fighting broke out in in four different places in the village. The alarm was raised at Polish headquarters. They realised the planned liberation of Breda was at risk. Sherman tanks were immediately sent to Dorst.

After a fierce battle, in which both sides suffered losses, Polish tanks took out the German artillery and Dorst was liberated for the second time.

Audiospot - Twice conquered

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.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Liberation Route Europe
• Photos: Nanny Bierkens-Brouwers