Joe's Bridge
Joe's Bridge is the name of the bridge with the number 9 on the Maas-Scheldt Canal in the Belgian city of Lommel . The bridge was named by British troops in September 1944. Joe's Bridge was a week later, the springboard for the ground offensive of Operation Market Garden of the Allied forces.
Surname
The bridge in the Barrier district of Lommel was captured by the Irish Guards on September 10, 1944 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vandeleur in a lightning operation, while the German occupiers twelve kilometers south in the Battle of Hechtel fought hard against the Welsh Guards for a few days . The Irish Guards had left Hechtel on the left and had reached the Maas-Scheldt Canal in a direct northeastern movement via the villages of Eksel , Overpelt and Neerpelt . From the site of the zinc factory in Overpelt, the British managed to get their hands on the mined bridge undamaged. The conquest of the bridge partially encircled the German combat troops in Hechtel and made their withdrawal difficult. For a few days, German units tried to recapture the bridge, which also resulted in bayonet fighting . The Irish Guards named the bridge Joe's Bridge after its leader, J ohn O rmsby E velyn Vandeleur. In the center of Lommel, three kilometers further away, SS troops have now put 40 randomly selected citizens on the street as a living sign, their machine guns at the ready. Rapid intervention by the British liberators from the eastern district of Barrier prevented a bloodbath. The German occupying forces should keep you occupied until 17 September, the north side of the Meuse-Scheldt channel until the bridgehead Joe's Bridge.
Operation Market Garden
Joe's Bridge was used on September 17th by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery as a springboard for Operation Market Garden's ground offensive, as the route across the bridge leads to Valkenswaard in the Netherlands, 15 km away, and on to Eindhoven .
literature
- J. Israël: De Brug tot Market Garden; Met de bevrijding van Lommel, Overpelt, Neerpelt en Valkenswaard . Lommel, Verlag Lokalhistorisches Museum, Kempenland 1992
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 14 ′ 22 " N , 5 ° 22 ′ 42.8" E