German soldiers in Rhenen, May 14th 1940. The man in the front is carrying a Spandau MG08 machine gun. Near Rhenen the Battle of the Grebbeberg was fought. In the background German vehicals drive to the west (source).
May 10, 1940. Our German neighbours decide en masse to visit the Dutch beaches...
Fall Gelb
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow (German: Fall Gelb), the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and France during World War II (starting May 10th, 1940). German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and surround the Allied units that had advanced into Belgium.
Fall Rot
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and many French soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk (Duinkerke) in Operation Dynamo. After the success of Fall Gelb the Germans launched Fall Rot (Case Red); the attack on mainland France.
next episode: civil war beard competition
Almost didn't comment on this post because it's such a sad time, but I did appreciate the line "Our German neighbours decide en masse to visit the Dutch beaches."
ReplyDelete... to dig holes! (They still do BTW).
ReplyDeletehttp://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2011/12/12/jokes-about-germans/