The Battle of the Capelsche Veer (Fall Braun)
Sprang-Capelle, Netherlands

A small strip of land along the banks of the river Maas, between Sprang Capelle and Dussen.

At the end of 1944, thing didn’t look to good for the Germans. Hitler ordered the preparation for a large offensive in the west. The main objective of this offensive was to capture the port of Antwerp and to cut the Allied force in two parts. The main German advance route was through the Belgium Ardennes. This operation was called "Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein". Later this became know as the Battle of the Bulge. Look at this map to get a complet view.

What is now known to may people, that there was a operation that should support the main German attack through the Belgium Ardennes. This support operation was know as "Fall Braun". Therefore the Germans gathered a large force, north of the river Maas. When the operation started, the German troops advanced through the south of the Netherlands to Antwerp. There was one small problem for the Germans. The river Maas acted as a natural barrier between the Germans in the North and Allied troops in the south. The Germans had three small bridgeheads, south of the river Maas. One of the bridgehead was near a place called "Capelsche Veer". Named after a small ferry, that crossed the river Maas near that point. The bridgehead was heavily defended and had to face a large Allied force in the south of the Netherlands. The bridgehead was mainly occupied by German paratroopers.

At the end of 1944, the preparations of Fall Braun went on and on. But when the Battle of the Bulge started, Hitler decided that the forces of Fall Braun had to go to the area of the Bulge for support. At the end there were very little amount of German forces left in the building up area of Fall Braun.

The Allies then started to attack the bridgehead along the river Maas. The Germans held here positions and the Allied attack failed. German forces in the bridgehead got new supplies from the German forces at the north side. This cycle went on and on for several time.
In January 1945, the Germans decided to leave the bridgehead at the Capelsche veer. The German forces were evacuated to the north bank of the river.

The Dutch resistance played an important role in history of this part of the Netherlands. During the build up of German forces in the area of Fall Braun, members of the Dutch resistance group "Andre" passed on information about German troop concentrations to the liberated south. One of the people who operated in that area was Jan de Rooy. He transmitted valuable information about the German troops to the liberated south of the Netherlands. One day, the Germans found out that someone was transmitting information to the Allies. But they didn’t know who. Shortly afterwards, the German’s took a number of hostages and threaten to kill them if the radio operator didn’t turn himself in. Jan de Rooy decided to turn himself in to the Germans. He was shot in January 1945 in Amsterdam. He is now buried in a municipal cemetery in Sprang Capelle. Close to his grave, a monument was build to honor Jan de Rooy.

Current status:

Although it was a relatively small battle, the Allied forces suffered very heavy casualties. The German dug themselves in very well the bridgehead, that it proved to be almost impossible to get them out of the positions. During the attack waves, the allied forces had 572 casualties. On the German side there 243.

In the mid 90's there were flood risks at the Dutch rivers. The government decided to raise the dikes along the rivers. In August 1999, they started with preparations of dikes raising. At a spot near the Fall Braun battlefield, they found 6 German soldiers and large quantities of ammunition.

The ferry still exists today. The area of the bridgehead is again, a small piece of peaceful land!

		When the German started the buildup of forces on the north bank of the river Maas, they painted a number of texts on Dutch houses. These texts all had a heroic character. Today some of these texts are still there. Although quality is getting less and less every year, it is still good recognizable.
		This particular text can be found in Eethen. Is says: "Glauben, Kampfen, Siegen" (Believe, Fight, Conquer)

		The famous tree. The centerpoint of German bridgehead on the south bank of the river Maas. Near the tree was a house were the ferryman used to live. This is completely destroyed during the battle.

		A small monument at the foot of the tree. The monument describes the history of the battle in Dutch. On you left you see a plaque of the Lincoln & Welland Regiment, who fought here during the battle. On you right there is a small plaque, commemorating Belgium soldier who were present here during that time.

		Overview of the bridgehead. You see the tree on your right.
		Overview of the bridgehead. You see the tree on your right.

		Overview of the bridgehead, from the river Maas.
		Overview of the bridgehead, from the river Maas.

		The River Maas.

		The monument of Jan de Rooy in Sprang Capelle.

		Jan de Rooy’s grave on a municipal cemetery in Sprang Capelle.

		Detail of Jan de Rooy’s grave.
		Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures.