{"id":140558,"date":"1945-03-30T05:11:00","date_gmt":"1945-03-30T03:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/niet-gecategoriseerd\/the-liberation-of-aalten\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:17:04","slug":"the-liberation-of-aalten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/en\/war-resistance\/world-war-ii\/the-liberation-of-aalten\/","title":{"rendered":"The Liberation of Aalten"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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March 30th, 1945<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Liberation\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Photo: \u00a9 Collection National Hiding Museum<\/a>, photo: J.H. Bennink<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: Foto Garretsen, J. Bloemendal<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the Second World War, on Good Friday, March 30, 1945<\/strong> , Aalten was liberated by British troops. This liberation was part of the large-scale Allied advance through the eastern Netherlands, immediately after crossing the Rhine during Operation Plunder<\/a>. The liberators belonged to the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards<\/strong> and the 3rd Battalion Irish Guards<\/strong>, both part of the 32nd Guards Brigade within the Guards Armoured Division of the British Army. 1<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advance to Aalten<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the end of March 1945, the Guards entered the Achterhoek from Germany. The Grenadier Guards formed the vanguard and advanced along the Bocholtsestraatweg<\/a> towards Aalten and then on to Enschede, with the Irish Guards as mechanized infantry in their wake. 2<\/a><\/sup> The advance was hampered by destroyed bridges, minefields and fierce resistance from retreating German units. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The King’s Company<\/strong> of the Grenadier Guards was ordered to advance towards the centre of Aalten via the so-called ‘centre line’. However, important bridges turned out to have been blown up by the Germans. The bridge on the Bodendijk<\/a> was partly still intact and Major Baker, commander of the King’s Company, led his men over it. 3<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they arrived at the railway, the men encountered fierce resistance and were bombarded with mortar fire and grenades. The fight with the enemy had disastrous consequences for the liberators: several soldiers were killed, including platoon commander Andrew Duncan. 4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around midnight, another two soldiers of the Irish Guards were killed because their vehicle hit a mine in the then Dijkstraat (now Plein Zuid). The explosion led to a fierce fire in which the old caf\u00e9 Vultink<\/a> burned down completely. The next day, March 31, 1945, two engineers of the Royal Engineers were killed while clearing mines. 5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Losses and cemetery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of the total of 13 British soldiers who died, 12 are buried in the Berkenhove general cemetery<\/a> in Aalten. Platoon commander Andrew Duncan is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery<\/a> near Kleve. Thanks to historical research, photos of twelve of these soldiers have now also been found. This literally gave the liberators a face. 6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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