February 19, 1945, Kessel Netherlands: The Maas River

Posted on by Thor

On February 19th 1945 the 75th Infantry arrived at the Maas River in the Netherlands. Right to the west of Panningen Netherlands is Helden Netherlands where the 75th Infantry had improvised facilities for billeting. The Heidenweg road from Helden leads straight south west to Kessel on the Maas River. The 75th occupied a 24 mile stretch of the river. That is where I got to hike along the Maas River and do a sketch. 75th Infantry Division troops held this as a defense area from February 15th to February 23rd when OPERATION GRENADE began,

The Parish Church of Our Lady of the Nativity, was right on the Maas River with a staircase down to the waters edge. There was a walking trail all along the banks. It was a beautiful spot. Walking down those stone steps, I saw the Maas River for the first time. It is rather wide, maybe 100 yards or so. The river flowed swiftly. Ducks flapped their wings taking a bath.

Just 25 yards up river from the staircase there was a destroyed casement made of cement and stone. A couple sat on a bench next to the destruction and ate lunch. I sketched with my back to the Maas River and looked up at the church tower. I had a pear to eat, so the couple didn’t get spooked that I was staring at them.

The Dutch 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Company of the Netherlands 41st Infantry was tasked with defending this area before WWII. Along the river there were 16 of these casements constructed of steel and porcupine light reinforced concrete. Each had 3 port holes for a field of view of 190 degrees. This casement was number S76.

The port holes are made for machine gun placements. The casements were often referred to as spider head because of the large protruding hooks used for attaching camouflage netting. This casement was built starting in March 1939 and completed in August 1939. The machine guns could fire 450 rounds per minute.

Three soldiers manned the casement. When war broke out on May 10, 1940, this casement was destroyed from a direct hit from a German anti tank gun. The shell went right into one of the portholes. Two of the soldiers inside were seriously injured. 8 Dutch soldiers and 6 German soldiers were killed on May 10th between Kessel and Kessel-Elk. After midnight, the last casement was attacked from behind by the Germans and destroyed.

As Germans retreated back across the Maas River in 1944 they destroyed the Parish Church of our Lady of Nativity. They didn’t want the Allies to have the advantage of using the bell tower to view German encampments on the opposite side of the river. Locals speculate that the Germans melted the Bells to make more weapons.

At the end of November 1944, Panningen, Helden, Maasbree, Kessel and Barlow Netherlands were liberated by the Allies. The devistation as the Allies pushed the Germans back east was immense. Many buildings and churches were destroyed by bombs. Families had to flee their homes.

This casement would have stood where it is, in its destroyed state when the 75th infantry set up to defend the West Bank of the River Maas

Museum Peel & Maas, Helden Netherlands

Posted on by Thor

After assembling in Panningen Netherlands, the 75th Infantry troops were then transported to Helden Netherlands, near the Maas River. Translated, Helden means “Hero’s”. The 75th took up defensive positions on the Maas River to keep the Germans from crossing over. The 75th was under the command of the British Second Army’s VIII Corps, 21st Army group under Field Marshall Montgomery.

1st Lieutenant Dick Sassin outlined the situation, “We wound up in Holland right next to the British. There was harassing mortar fire and artillery from across the river. There was intensive training on assault boat techniques. C-Company was again at full strength due to replacements and returns from hospital stays.”  1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was one of the replacements Sassin was referring I sketched the Peel and Maas Museum since it had an exhibit on World War II. The building was constructed in 1929 as a Roman Catholic a parish of Saint Lambertus Helden. It was built for the sisters of Divine Providence who settled in Helden in 1879. The building would have been here when the 75th Infantry was assigned to defend the country.

After the invasion of Normandy, on June 6, 1944, people in the Netherlands hoped that freedom would come in a matter of weeks.  They would have to endure 5 more months before complete liberation. On October 8, 1944, a month before liberation, the Germans captured 2000 men and boys on the West Bank of the Maas during Sunday services. Men tried to hide in between the pipes of the organ. During the following week, another 1000 were captured. Of these ca-turned men 836 were from Peel and Mass. In the years 1940 to 1945, 299 residents of Peel and Maas lost their lives due to the war, and the bombing destruction that accompanied the war.

Frits Bruijnen remembered… “It’s foggy at Christmas. We are on the train going towards Watenstedt and the Herman Goring Works. At factory Aktion 88 I usually at night had to stack shells on train wagons without rest. So we stack hundreds every night. The shells were likely fired at Limburg our home Provence. In Watenstadt there was little to live for. Every week we got 1200 grams of bread that needed to last the week. After being liberated, I walked home. My mother asked ‘who are you?’ She didn’t recognize me.”

February 20, 1945: Panningen Netherlands

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February 20, 1945 was the beginning of the VENLO, LIMBURG + NETHERLANDS CAMPAIGN. The 75th Infantry was sent to an assembly area near Panningen Netherlands to relive the British 6th Armored Division. I am fairly certain that 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have joined C-Company here or the next town they were moved to.

1st Lieutenant Dick Sassin explained the move this way, “ We’re going to move in at night. They are going to move out. We aren’t under fire.” The 75th infantry division was to operate under the command of the British Second Army’s VIII Corps, 21st Army Group under Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. The division was to take up a defensive position along the West Bank of the Maas River. German troops were well entrenched on the East bank. The river is about 100 yards wide at the location I saw. Germans would often fire harassing mortar rounds to the far shore of the Maas River.

Panningen played a significant role in the closing stages of World War II. It became a defensive position for the Allies along the West Bank of the Maas River. Nightly patrols across the mass were a critical cactivity for the troops stationed in Panningen.

I decided to sketch the Monument Deportation Everlo. It is a memorial in remembrance of the fallen and missing residents from Panningen. In the autumn of 1944, over 1,000 boys and men in the region between the Maas and Peel rivers were rounded up by the Nazis in raids and deported to Germany for forced labor. These events cost the lives of 120 men and left lasting scars on survivors and those left behind.

There were also three metal plaques that had engravings of the names of Canadian and Royal Air Force Pilots who had crashed in the area. Also listed were names of soldiers who had died from the 15th Scottish Division, the 49th West Riding Division, the 51st Highlands Division. In all, the names of 54 soldiers were listed as fallen hero’s to the town of Panningen Netherlands.

The trip to Panningen Netherlands for the 75th Infantry troops was accomplished in weather that had turned for the better. The box cars were not a hellish ride. 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken would have been taking a similar ride on his own or with other replacements to join the 75th Infantry troops in the Netherlands.