Liberation Route Marker 374: Amber Beach

Amber Beach
In the early morning of October 26, the first units of the Scottish 156th Infantry Brigade landed on Amber Beach, just south of Baarland. During this landing, which was codenamed Operation Vitality II, Buffalo amphibious vehicles were used.

Without too much resistance, they soon managed to create a bridgehead and connect it with the bridgehead at the second landing area, called Green Beach, just south of Hoedekenskerke, around 10 am. At that time, the first reinforcements arrived with amphibious vehicles and the first wounded soldiers and German prisoners of war had already been taken to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The German defences were surprised, but reacted quickly.

From the island of Walcheren, German troops attacked the landing areas using artillery and mortars, causing a number of vessels to sink. Before the end of the morning, German troops organised a counter-attack. They wanted to drive the Scots back at all costs. However, the Scottish 156th Infantry Brigade managed to hold their position and take Baarland and Oudelande. Now the Scots were able to prepare themselves for the bloody struggle for the Walcheren causeway.

Audiospot - Amber Beach

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: Arjan Vrieze