Battle of the Afsluitdijk

Part of World War II

Date	12–14 May 1940
Location	Afsluitdijk, Netherlands
Result	Dutch victory

Belligerents

Netherlands

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Christiaan Boers

Kurt Feldt

Strength

225 soldiers inside series of fortresses
1 gunboat

500+ soldiers (1st Cavalry Division)
69 aircraft
howitzers

Casualties and losses

1 killed
2 wounded
2 civilians killed
10 civilians wounded

5+ killed
25+ wounded
4 aircraft shot down

The Battle of the Afsluitdijk was an unsuccessful attempt by the German Army to seize the Afsluitdijk in May 1940, during World War II. If the Germans had taken the dam, they could have taken North Holland from its north. The Dutch troops were led by Captain Christiaan Boers and the Germans by General Kurt Feldt.

Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of plan Fall Gelb. They rapidly crossed two thin defence lines, the O-line and the Q-line, which the Dutch had built to defend their three northern provinces.

The German 1st Cavalry Division—later reformed to the 24. Panzerdivision—had taken the last Dutch defences in front of the Afsluitdijk (Wonsline) on 12 May and was prepared for an assault to take the two lines of pillboxes or casemates of Fort Kornwerderzand (named after a hamlet near the dyke). The eastern line was for defence eastward, while the western line was just behind the first for threats from the rear. Altogether, 17 casemates had been built. They were designed to withstand 210 mm (8 in) rounds (direct fire), and 280 mm (11 in) rounds (indirect fire). The three main casemates were made of 3 m (9.8 ft) of reinforced concrete. The casemates sheltered 230 men, twenty-one 7.9 mm (0.311 in) Schwarzlose machine guns, three 50 mm (1.97 in) guns and a 50 mm shore-based naval gun. There were similar defences at the other end of the dyke.

Earlier in May 1940, two infantry sections—70 men in all—were sent to the end of the dyke to prevent German landings beyond the vision of both fortresses. The Germans soon found out about these units, and seven Luftwaffe fighters strafed Dutch positions. One soldier and two civilians were killed, and 10 civilians wounded. After this, they were recalled to Kornwerderzand.

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Wikipedia