Overloon Netherlands: Museum44

Posted on by Thor

Overloon is the town just west of Born, Netherlands where the 290th Infantry, 75th Infantry division was stationed for a short time in the Netherlands. Overloon was the site of a large tank battle back in 1944. A lot of stuff from that battle was left behind. Overloon was liberated on the 18th of September and the 19th of September 1944. The River Maas is right next to the museum. A small battle group of about 80 German soldiers made it across the river to the Belgian side at night. The Americans decided to fall back to avoid casualties that night. The Air Force was useless at night, the same with artillery and tanks, they could not fight an enemy they could not see.  There is a bridge less than a quarter mile north of Overloon which I had driven by when trying to get to the museum. That bridge was there in 1945 and the Germans wanted to keep it open for an attack west towards the Netherlands.

The next morning there was light and good weather conditions. The Americans moved back forward into Overloon, but the Germans had already retreated back across the river. So the town was liberated twice. There was a German anti tank gun next to the chapel in Overloon. It knocked out 2 or 3 Sherman tanks. The crews survived. The curator recovered some of the Sherman tracks a few yards from the museum. The were less than a foot under ground.

The museum building was occupied by Germans. The tall chimney of the building has bricks which allow footholds for a cleaner to climb inside. Wedged in the top of the chimney was a bottom plate of a German trench periscope. A German must have been sitting in the chimney to watch the surrounding landscape. Rather than take it down, it is still wedged in the chimney. It is part of the museum’s history.

The British who had liberated Overloon halted their advance. Because of this stall, the Germans were able to dig in. They also placed a large amount of land mines. There were more land mines placed north east of Overloon than 0n the beaches of a Normandy.

The 75th Infantry Division had a field artillery battalion with them, the 75th Field Artillery Brigade. They fired from Overloon. The Americans could not advance but they could offer support. The 75th was stationed in tents but if a private residence was made available it was a priority. The museum director’s grand parents hosted some British soldiers in the attic. One soldier got a serious fever. The grandmother told home to come downstairs to sleep on a proper bed instead of the hay upstairs. A British office found out and said there was no need for the soldiers to sleep in the bed. Grandma held her ground saying it was her house, so the soldier stayed in bed. She overruled the officer.

Cases of foot powder were left behind for the American soldiers feet. They had the same socks for over 4 months and their socks got crusty and wet, which would cause trench foot, which would result in bleeding blisters. Once a soldier got trench foot they could not fight. On my trek to sketch the 75th Infantry division I am having to find ways to dry my sock each night.

All the American soldiers were volunteers. There was no draft at the time. People back then were most concerned about what they could do for the country. Now Americans are more self centered. The only/ concern is what is in it for me? That is part of the reason I went on this trip to focus on a time when Americans had different ideals. Today there is no space for dialogue, only fighting. When I look at Social media on X, I turn it off any time I see someone throwing a sucker punch. I tend to not look at social media as much because of this refusal to watch senseless violence.

 

 

Overloon Netherlands: Museum 44

Posted on by Thor

In the town right next to Born Netherlands where the 75th Infantry was stationed is Overloon Netherlands. Although not a town 1st Leutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have been to, it had a World War II museum that I could not resist seeing. I called a head of time but didn’t get through to anyone directly. I decided to go, in the rare hope that messages had been checked and they might be expecting me.

The big blue wooden front doors were locked. There was no answer. To keep the morning from being a complete loss. I set up across the street and drew the building, called Grevenbicht, which was once a corn mill. The water from the Meuse River still flows under the building for powering the grist mill stone.

Demolition was happening on the building across from the museum. Young men would come down periodically and throw cinder blocks and other building materials in the dumpster. A Virgin Mary had her own little diorama box on Grevenbicht. Grape vines were hanging on to the gutters and building facade. The tall industrial chimney often had pigeons. At the base of the chimney were some tank treads. The director of the museum is an avid collector of WWII memorabilia and he often scours the countryside with a metal detector finding such things as the abandoned tank treads, butter shells, buttons and coins.

After my sketch was done I started to pack up. I gave the front door one more try, but no luck. Then a woman looking over a fence introduced herself. I let her know I was hoping to get into the museum and it turned out she is the wife of the museum director. He was away at a collectors convention of some kind, looking for more items for the museum, I am sure.

I showed her the sketch I had done, and she was delighted. She invited me into the back yard for a coffee. They have a beautiful garden in back and she had been working on it all morning. She called her husband and we arranged to meet at the museum the next day.

The Battle of Overloon happened between September 30 and October 18th of 1944, before the 75th Infantry Division was in the area in early March 1945. The primary American army unit that took place in the battle of Overloon was the 7th Armored Division. On the flank was the 29th Infantry Division, but most of the fighting was carried out by the 7th Armored.

Over coffee I learned quite a bit about the museum but we needed a translator. The woman’s son spoke English quite well, to be honest, so did she. The son said he should be allowed to give tours of the museum, but his dad hadn’t approved the idea yet. I was given advice to sketch a memorial just past the river going back towards Born Netherlands. She even gave me a dive on where to park. I had another sketch opportunity and the next day I could see the museum.