Liberation Route Marker 159: Village in the front line

Village in the front line
In October 1944, a 12-year-old boy witnesses the devastation wrought in his village after the Battle of the Mark Canal. Much to his surprise, his liberators are from Poland. Regrettably, there are many civilian casualties.

Along with Terheijden and Wagenberg, Den Hout was one of the villages that came to lie directly in the front line during the battle for the Mark Canal. The village was bombarded by a hail of grenades, launched by the Polish artillery. British fighters carried out air strikes. The devastation in Den Hout was enormous and there were many civilian casualties.

After the breakthrough at the Mark Canal line, Polish tanks advanced in the direction of Den Hout. There was some German resistance, but that was quickly overcome. Den Hout was liberated in the early evening of the 3rd of November 1944.

Audiospot - Village in the front line

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: Arie van Wijngaarden