Background to the battle:
On May 10,1940 the Germans had began to start invading the Netherlands. The Dutch began to resist to the German army.The Germans threatened to bomb Rotterdam the second largest city in the Netherlands.The Dutch surrendered on May 14,1940. Rotterdam was still bombed very heavily, due to the Luftwaffe miscommunication.
Outcome of first Battle of Netherlands:
The battle of the Netherlands caused 2,300 killed and wounded 7,000 dutch soldiers and killed 3,000 innocent civilians. The Germans had lost 2,200 soldiers and roughly 7,000 were wounded and at least 700 troops were reported missing and 1,300 had been captured and sent to Britain. The Germans had occupied the Netherlands. They either killed or captured all the Jews. The Dutch men were forced to do hard labour in German factories that had been setup in the Netherlands. The Dutch people were fed rations of food via rationing card. More than 18,000 Dutch had starved to death and a majority of the population had malnutrition.
The Second Battle and Liberation:
One of the main causes of Liberation of Netherlands was the successful outcome of “D Day”. The Allies attacked the beaches in France and had defeated the German fronts and captivated countries on the way to Netherlands. The Battle of Netherlands was a fight between the Allies and the Axis forces.In the middle of this fight were the Canadian troops, who did most of the damage. At the end of the battle German troops were surrounded and decided to lay down their arms and surrender. On May 5, 1945 it was the official day that the Germans had surrendered and the next day the Germans had stated that the Netherlands to be captivated and freed from the German army.When the Dutch were free from the Germans control the Dutch citizens praised the Canadian army for there work clearing the Germans out and restoring the freedom in the Netherlands. Canadians still to this day are remembered and praised for their hard work and how the helped in the Liberation of the Netherlands.
Quick Time Line:
1940-Germans first invade Netherlands
1940-Germans bomb Rotterdam, destroying the whole city
1940-1944- Germans control the Netherlands, slave up the Dutch and build/use Dutch war factories
1944-Allies begin freeing countries from German control
1945-Canadian troops battle the Axis forces in Netherlands
1945- Canadian army defeats and forces the Germans to surrender.
1945- Germany officially surrender and free the Netherlands
1945- Netherlands were officially liberated from Germans
Video(follow the link):
Picture links:
http://www.bydewey.com/rotterdam1940.jpg (Rotterdam after bombing)
http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/media/edu/EN/uploads/image/LO6_54196.jpg (Dutch citizens celebrating liberation beside an Ally tank)
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/featuremedia/feature46/holland01.jpg (Dutch people celebarting with Canadians)
Wikipedia.” Liberation of the Netherlands. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011..
