I'm part of the Prinses Irene Brigade reenactment group in the Netherlands and we were asked if we would join a small movie about Max Wolff. It's kind of a part of Dutch history that's forgotten.
Great video. My grandfather was a Dutch Marine, stationed in Suriname when the war broke out. He landed with the English, fought for a few more days before he got badly injured and had to recover and learn to walk again in England.
Wonderful video, many thanks ! A lot of people in the comments section seem interested in what is being said in the historic footage @ 3:05 So I translated this part for you, to the best of my abilities ; 3:05 "...and they are allowed to. Because we are very aware of the experience and skills our navy accumulated in previous operations. With hearts pounding and full determination, they set out to complete the orders of military high command to the fullest. Our ship, a lady of respectable age, might have plenty of scars, but was still perfectly able to perform her duties." 3:33 "At early dawn we joined our allies at Arromanche. The sea being misty and with only a light breeze, it was paramount to be cautious. We could not have enough eyes on deck. Due to the vast amount of ships in action, the danger of collisions was great. They are raising the cannons ! It won't be long now... Get ready!...FIRE !!!" 4:12 "Hundreds of salvo's were fired. We were not distracted by hunger or thirst. For we were fully commited to the task set before us. And not us alone. There goes the unbroken chain of landing craft, small and large vessels, filled to the brim with the fearless troops of the liberation army. They keep an eye out on us. The allied navies promised to guard our men on their way to the beach. We only had two ships. The 'Soemba' and 'Flores'. Which was not much in the greater scheme of things, but that only meant we had to double our efforts. And in the end we succeeded. Because the royal dutch navy, is made out of dutch, for the dutch." - end As a dutch boy, the stories of my granny were etched into my memories. Even though I was still very young, I wanted to know what happened in WW2, so I asked her what it was like. She hesitated for a few seconds. She could not look me in the eyes, but eventually, slowly, she did start talking. She lived on a farm (near Arnhem) , a large family with many brothers and sisters. Weakened by hunger and cold, she told me they had to eat things you could not imagine. One day, a german artillery unit had suddenly occupied their barn to hide their cannons. Survival. Having to step over dead soldiers in the streets of Oosterbeek. The children spending most of their time trying to find wood to keep a fire going and scavenge for any food. Her uncle was killed at the battle of Grebbeberg. Hunger. Sickness. Despair. But in the end, of all her stories, one stuck with me the most. At early sunrise, she and her sister were send into the fields with a shovel. They had to check all the mole hills, bashing in their heads with the shovel if they surfaced and collect them, so their mother could make blankets out of their fur pelts. "...the winters in that war were very, very cold". Here in the netherlands, we teach our kids and they teach their kids, the only reason we still excist as a nation. The dutch will never forget, the sacrifices made by our allies, for our freedom.
My grandmother had a story about hiding a dog and a radio under the floor to hide from the Germans. She lived on the farm thats now of her son and my uncle and she now lives in a small house in the same town(we all live near each other so that helps). My first school i went to was used as a security building during ww2 by the Germans it had at the time prison cells too. The school has since had a makeover so you cant see the previous layout besides the roof
I was at Arromanche, on the beach in a DUKW and realised that a ceremony was being conducted in Dutch, now I know why ! It also sort of answeres the question as to why there were so many dutch there and many Dutch vehicles, including 2 DUKWs. Thank you !
Hello Hilbert, longtime fan here. My grandfather Rudolph Bolte was in the screaming eagles paratroopers 101st Airborne. He survived D-day but was killed in Market Garden, he is buried in The Netherlands
Be assured that despite the strange other comment, his sacrifice is remembered by many here still, as we are losing the generation that lived through it themselves. It is still thankfully taught to all kids. Our freedom is won through the bravery and sacrifices of many.
Hello Hilbert. My dad joined up a year after this, but served in RN with sailors who described having been shocked at going right in towards shore and blasting their guns at German land positions, rather than sea battles they expected.
to be honest, the Flores and Soemba were always meant to do shore bombardments, they were performing the role they were designed for, at D-Day and at Sicily. They got the 15cm guns from the Sumatra (which was intentionally sunk at D-Day as part of the artificial harbour) as they had worn out the barrels of their original guns at Sicily Btw, that where they picked up the monicker 'Terrible Twins', not at Overlord
My grandfather was in the resistance but never talked about be it ; but him on his bike cycled along the Dutch coast to get the V1/2 sites on mapped. Meer weet ik niet.
@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo Dutch and other European restitance groups dit have a vital role during the war. They gathered intelligence and sabbotaged. They also took care of civilians and militaire personell stranded in Europe. After the battle for the Arnhem bridge in september 1944 Dutch resistence hid many Englisch soldiers and managed to get them back to liberated parts of Holland. Try to get your hands on the book I was a stranger by Brigadier Sean Hacket. It might be an eye opener for you.
It's well known that British Canadian Commonwealth forces American forces land on D-Day and they get most of the attention I really hope you do more similar videos about the other Allied forces that fought on D-Day..
My grandfather also played a part. He was a normal Dutch citizen at the time and got conscripted by the Germans in the civilian workforce to construct part of the Atlantic Wall. Now, the timeline is a little muddled (he died in 1973), but his story, the way my mother told me, is that after a while he figured he didn't want to "get stuck" between the "moffen" behind him and the "tommies" in front of him, so one day he decided to just walk back home.
@@StuartAnderson-xl4boThe Dutch completed their main goal of giving the royal family and government time to escape. They gave the German Fallschirmjäger a foretaste of Crete by inflicting pretty serious losses on them, and the airforce, despite being outnumbered, fought to the bitter end, actually destroying more German planes than they had in their own airforce. The Germans initially thought the Dutch would choose the path of the Danish and surrender within one day. The bombing of Rotterdam was in large part the result of German frustration with the resistance of the Dutch Army, who after 4 days of fighting still hadn't submitted, and it was only the threat to level more Dutch cities that convinced Winkelman, the Dutch commanding officer, that further resistance served no purpose. Even then resistance continued in Zeeland for another 2 weeks with aid of British and French forces. Personally, I rank Dutch resistance in 1940 above Belgian resistance, as they mostly just got aid from France to allow them to keep up the fight. They folded quickly, perhaps, but not without a fight.
D-Day was a code for the date. The name of the landings was Operation Overlord. All beach landings happens on a D-day at H-hour. Which could be any day at any hour. Only the people involved at the particular operation knew. The D-Day landings of Normandy are only the most well know, that's why most (European) people call it that way.
The Dutch royal family spent the remainder of the war in Canada. To this day, Ottawa is a sea of tulips every spring thanks to the Dutch presence there.
Not true. Dutch royals did hide in Canada but the tulip festival relates to bulbs sent every year since 1945 by then Dutch government as thank you to Canadian military fore liberation of Canada. Do people really think royalty went there and started planting flowers?😅
I believe the tulips gift is in thanks for Canada's hospitality towards the Princess and her family and arranging to preserve the potential inheritance right of the princess' third child as a future Dutch heir (through needing to be born on Dutch territory) by making the Ottawa hospital maternity room a temporary territory of The Netherlands for the duration of the birth. Canada also were later involved in liberating The Netherlands from the Nazis. This further strengthened the affection between the two nations.
The Dutch Coup in 1688/89 in England and Scotland changed everything. It introduced constitutional monarchy, agricultural improvement, national debt, the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange, improved Navy, 125 year War with France, a new Royal family,the Act of Union,canals and Gin.
Some left out info: No.2 Dutch troop (predecessor of the morden day KCT) was part of the British inter-allied commando, a special forces unit that conducted operations on the night of D-day and many more. The inter-allied commando was part of the 1st special service brigade which together with the SAS were the first special forces units in the world.
@@Krijgshistorie The inter-allied commando was there on d-day, if No.2 Dutch Troop was there, idk ain’t specified. But all I said was that the unit was there never did I specify No.2 specifically being there, just that they are part of the unit as a whole, which I believe shouldn’t be forgotten
@@oddlobster. “special forces” is a broad term and many special missions have been done in the past, however the first “modern” special forces units as we now know as of today started with the SAS, even though the 1st special service brigade included commandos who performed such special operations, traditionally the SAS are considered the first instead of the 1st special service brigade because they established the foundation of todays SOF
Being born in 1977 I am thankfull that I have met so many people of the greatest generation in history. As a kid I was always intrigued by their stories and as an adult the respect I have for these brave heroes only got stronger.🧡
There are also quotes about the two gunboats on d-day, that they were coming so close to the beach to fire more effectively that they almost grounded themselves, and were very accurate.
Flores and Soemba had seen action in shore bombarments off Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Garigliano and Gaeta, so their crews had gotten their fair share of experience in shore bombardment. The commenter said: "It was little (we could contribute), but because of that, it had to be double-good. And it was good..."
I myself live in Arnhem and didn't know about Max Wolff even thought I have been interested by WW2 since I was young (27years old now). I knew that Dutch ships took part in the D-Day landing operations but never knew to what extend. nice to see we took a great part in our own liberation. Really great video learned a lot, keep it up!!
Great small piece if history that doesn't get talked about enough in dutch history classes. It's more or less the story of my grandfather, who fled the Netherlands as a Jewish refugee through Belgium and ending up in England. There joined the Dutch forces serving on one of the ships.
How am I at 37 with a life long love of flags, maps, and history just now noticing that the diagonal red stripes on the union Jack don't like up with each other.
It's because the white diagonals represent Scotland (St Andrew's Cross) and the red diagonals represent Ireland (St Patrick's Cross). As the original Union was between Scotland and England, the white leads the red. Which is how the Union Jack can be flown upside down.
Ha! Me too. This made me look it up at the UK flag institute. I thought it may have had to do with the original flags from which it was constructed but it seems to be just for aesthetics. The first Union Flag of Scotland and England was symmetrical. I did find a fun piece of trivia though. Because of the offset the Union Jack has a right side up. "in the half of the flag nearest the flagpole, the wider diagonal white stripe must be above the red diagonal stripe, as Scotland’s St Andrew’s Cross takes precedence over Ireland’s St Patrick’s Cross. It is most improper to fly the flag upside down." (In an unexpected turn, Scotland's precedence is because that union predated the one with Ireland, not because of prejudice against the Irish (This may have been an oversight by the English, or simply the exception that confirms the rule 😜)).
D-Day logistics would never have worked without a Beach-head harbour built for the large and continous supply of fuel and ammunition for this large Allied landing force. This harbour was built using concrete Caisons designed with the help of Dutch engineers. This caison design was later used by the Dutch Waterstaat to close seaways especially with the closing of the Veerse Gat in Zeeland part of the massive 'Deltawerken', . Dutch cargo ships participated in the Atlantic crossings with cargo ship convoys from the USA to Europe that were constantly attacked by German U-boats.
I was told my grandfather was part of the Prinses Irene Brigade during the liberation. Unfortunately he died 1984 when I was 7 years old. I can remember he was a great granddad. I wish he’d have lived some more years. Would have loved talking about his years in the dutch Army, because I served a couple of years as well. Proud of him 💪🏼🙌🏻
Last week I was at the D-Day remembrance at Gold beach. There was the current Irene brigade and they had a ceremony for a real Dutch Irene brigade veteran! Now I see it again in the video, very cool! I didn't know that they were still alive!
Could you do a video on the the dutch Caribbean and Suriman during the second world war, I've always wondered what happened to the last of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
It's interesting to see you used the new flags of Zimbabwe and South Africa and the old flag of Greece. I am guessing it's to avoid criticism over the negative symbolism but it's interesting that fears like this are effecting even historical discussions so much.
Interesting is not the world I would use. Abetting misrepresentation in historical presentations reduces the integrity of the author. The armed forces and people of the Union of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia sacrificed a great deal towards the defeat of Nazism, Fascism and Imperial Japanese. Southern Rhodesian forces suffered the loss ratio of any element of the British Empire, they met the call to fight with vigour. The least that could be done is to use the flags of the Union and of the colony of Southern Rhodesia. This is either self-censorship or cowardice.
@davedavids57 Yes, it is strange that the urge for political correctness intrudes with historical correctness. Displaying flags that weren't there at that time, next to the correct French Flag with the Lorraine Cross to show which French forces they represented. (Later also abused...)
@@Pietervandebuurt Who is "they"? It's quite sad how, below a video discussing the liberation of Europe, people are using the same exact conspiracy theories dating back to the nazi's...
A sad loss for the Dutch. They should pay people with Indonesian roots a lot of money as compensation. Offcoursme they'll discriminate between burnlootmorder and Asians.
@@DT-wp4hk The Indonesian nationalists went on a racist slaughter of all not pure blooded Indonesians, not just the Dutch. After that they got help from the USA that forced the Netherlands to accept unconditional independence, including denial of the right of self determination to the Moluccas and Papua New Guinea. No peaceful transition, Indonesie claimed to better off alone. Fine, but don't start begging for money after having messed up in independence. People with Indonesian roots have nothing to complain about.
As a Dutchman im proud what we did back then, we are a small country but when we unite our spirit is unbreakable. Countless stories of dutch resistance fighters prove that. Thank you for sharing this with the public.
Thank you for your fascinating & informative video. I have been a WWII history buff since I was a teenager. I learned new knowledge from your video. It is interesting to learn about the Dutch at D-Day, also other contributions that The Netherlands made during the war.
What a nice video. As far as I know (but I can't find a record and thus I'm not sure) my grandfather was stationed on the Soemba during D-Day. One of the stories he told was that they shot down an Allied aircraft because it flew in from the wrong side and they had to go full speed backwards in fear of frogmen. I have no idea of any of that is true, but it is what I remembered he told me.
Wow ik heb nooit geweten over Max Wolff. Mijn familienaam aan moeders kant is ook Wolff, een uitgemoorde Joodse familie uit Nederland. Ik weet niet of we ergens familiebanden hebben, maar het geeft alsnog een gevoel van trots.
bramusa Die vluchtelingenstroom, nu weer. Je moet mee doen, als je eigen haat waarden gaat afdwingen in je gastland hoor je er nooit bij, ga dan dus terug ! Geeft Allah gewoon dat Thuisland, waarom haat zaaien in dat dritten reich Europa ? Iets leren van die Joden op de vlucht voor hun Messiah ?
Very interesting and informative. They don’t teach this at school. My grandfather fought in the Dutch military in 1940. He and my grandmother never talked about the war. My grandfather died in 1994 and my grandmother in 2004. My father then threw away all the medals and military items.
I already knew most of this, because I red the books of K. Norel when I was young. The Flores plays a big roll in them and the Princess Irene Brigade is also mentioned. Afaik the boats were like little destroyers, but with a small number of (light) cruiser caliber guns.
Well, destroyers do have several roles, several requiring considerable high speeds. Gunboat like the Flores class are very much intended for coastal bombardment duties, and could sacrifice engine power for smaller draft and displacement. With only 15 knts, they would even struggle to do more than rudimentary escort duties.
My father was the youngest of 7 children and his 2 eldest brothers were in the Dutch army, after the invasion of Germany the eldest brother fled to England and served in the Princess Irene Brigade in Normandy, he survived the war but unfortunately the other brother died of tuberculosis he contracted in the German prison camp. My uncle never talked about the war.
My great-uncle was a crewmember on a merchant ship which transported captured troops of the Desert Fox. He received multiple medals but refused to talk about it.
The image of the B-25s, allegedly of the Dutch 320 squadron, do not show the D-Day stripes on the wings, but that may be because they were not actually deployed over Normandy but further north...
Know that story about the Dutch navy leaving port for England well. My grandfather was on guard the day before it happening and base alarms well very frequent, so when he finally after a long shift was in bed he thought 'bugger it, that's another fake one, I need sleep' and he didn't get up. At the normal time he appeared on the parade grounds only to find a few dozen men milling around, with all seaworthy ships gone, the alarm he had heard was real. Nothing to do but go home in whatever way possible and wait for the Germans to march in. Sent to Germany to present day East Berlin as a forced labourer for the Germans, just got out of the city before the Soviets arrived walking back west largely by night, hiding from retreating German troops most of the days, picked up by US troops and sent to a collection point where people could board trains to the countries they were from (or wanted to go to, not everyone 'went home'). He hardly ever spoke about the war, but once he said to me; 'The fact I mistook that alarm for another fake one saved my life. A lot of the guys who did go over ended up on the bottom of some ocean'.
It’s amazing that people have forgotten that the first Allied Army’s to liberate Europe landed on Mainland European Soil was an army of 189,000 in September 1943 these liberators became known as ‘D Day Dodgers’
there was a 6th beach for Normandy, don't recall why it wasn't activated. I thought that i mentioned this to you before - Middelburg, ZL, bombed AFTER the surrender due to the commander down there not being certain if his area was included in the surrender and kept fighting. A Sealan (no accent marks on this keyboard) friend of mine lost many relatives in that bombing. There was one gem for the Dutch navy that i picked up somewhere - Dutch O-Boat sank a U-boat sending a U-Boat ace to his eternal reward.
I am interested in this as my father was on the Hr Mrs Soemba on D day as a British army observation officer. Can you tell me if the clip is of the Soemba or the Flores? I do have some of his original paperwork relating to the Soemba on Day.
I learned from the week by week serie of the second world war that the ultimatum for the bombardment was accepted by Dutch command but word reached the German air fleet just a few minutes too late. The planes took off, went radio silent and didn't react to any ground signals as per instruction. Which framing of events would you say is correct?
this is the first ever video of you that i saw. The way you pronounced Rotterdam gave it intstantly away you are a dutch speaking youtuber xD Btw. Den haag is pronounced as The Hague in english
Hello Hilbert, great video 👍🏽, keep it up. Would you be interested in making a video about Dutch soldiers fighting under foreign flags? My (dutch) grandfather was drafted for the German Army when the Netherlands was occupied. But he didn't want to and fled with some friends to Vichi France (Marseille) before the Germans came to pick them up. After hiding, they worked at the Atlantic wall (French west coast). Directly after Paris was liberated, all of them (8 friends) joined the Allied Forces. Basic training in UK, 4 of them incl my grandfather ended up in a Dutch detachment in the Royal Canadian Army, the other 4 similar in the Royal British Army. If the stories of my grandmother were correct, they landed on the shores of Zeeland (Nld) after the bombardments of Zeeland. Pushed through the Netherlands, and had a combat pauze in Coevorden. There he met his 4 friends in the Royal British Army and my grandmother (who came on a bike from Vlaardingen near Rotterdam to collect potatoes). Unlike the Princess Irene Brigade who stayed in the Netherlands, my grandfather pushed further into Germany (Ruhr region) with the Canadians. This is where my info about my grandfather ends. I'm curious if there were actually Dutch soldiers serving under Canadian flag and which Canadian unit (with Dutch soldiers) pushed into Germany from the Netherlands to verify this story for a booklet I want to create about my grandfather.
The Dutch Naval War Effort was most renown around the Dutch Indies current Indonesia, with us being one of the most effective delaying forces in the region, If Den Hague didn't tie the hands of the KNIL by mostly arming them in the continental fashion instead of honouring the requests for jungle suited equipment they'd likely would've done a lot better as well
gaoth88 Only old lame people at the Grebbeberg ! True, a dead horse and a gun without any bullets... They needed the Germans to take over, the Germans just drove a trains into Holland to captured it easy ! They Royal family are Nazi's themselves.
0.27 - Glad they clarified it was only the Free French and French Resistance and not the French Army, which had been fighting against the Allies for most of the war. The French Navy had to be sunk, as it would not commit to fighting the Nazis; and the French Resistance spent the first few years of the war fighting each other until the Allies managed to get them unified. The Free French numbered around 100,000 prior to D-Day compared toVichy France's forces of 94,000 soldiers in Metropolitan France, 60,000 armed Gendarmerie and 10,000 anti-aircraft crew (shooting down Allied planes). The overseas troops overseen by Vichy were 150,000 in Algeria, Morocco, Syria and Lebanon with more Indochina and other overseas departments. In short, 4-5 times as many armed forces. We tend to consider an Ally for most of WW2, but the majority of French troops were on the other side. There were perhaps valid reasons for acquiescence, but many other nations did not including the brave Dutch.
Dont forget that there were also dutch people fighting along side the germans in d day Not something i am praud to say but is should not be forgotten Sorry for the spelling mistakes 😅
Can someone confirm if I'm right and the video says it wrong? Because this is how I remembered it: The dutch already surrendered when germany threatened to bomb Rotterdom, but they didn't cancel the attack.
According to the former dog-trainer of Prince Bernhard, who was at the Hr.Ms. Soemba during the war, there was a gentlemen's agreement with the British on D-day that the Terrible Twins were to open fire on the German positions first. Two minutes before the main barrage would commence.
You forgot to mention Suriname. a former Dutch colony in South America send thousands of soldiers to fight in world war II in one instance a 120 soldiers from Suriname were killed when a German submarine torpedoed the ship they were on.
I think it is misplaced of the current Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene to have their commemoration on June 6th in Arromanches. They are stepping into the spotlight of Allied units that actually did land on June 6th, which the PIB clearly did not. Nothing wrong to have their commemoration on the actual disembarkation date of August 8th right? And why presenting the invasion fourragère to current members of the regiment, which did not disembarked in WWII in Normandy?
My kiwi grandfather flew mosquitos and bombed rail junctions and strafed road junctions in and around cherbourg on d day and said flying over the ships in the channel was like nothing he ever saw
Goede video weer Hilbert, misschien een beetje lullig, maar je zou er over na kunnen denken het slikken en happen naar adem er uit te editen, het klinkt gewoon heel raar
Men youre forgetting the Middle flag of the ceremonie, the marine luchtvaartdienst, they fought on d day as wel and that is written on the flag of the marine luchtvaartdienst 😱😱😱 So maybe you can correct youre story
Did the Dutch fight at D-Day alongside the Germans? I know there have always been so few of the extreme right in the Netherlands, but answering this would make for a more balanced video.
Yes, i have family that fought on the eastern front. Fact is that there was not much resistance and 55k joined Germany in varying positions. It was the fight against communism and the allies were of little significance in the grand scheme of the European theater.
There were no organized units of Dutch volunteers fighting for the Germans in Normandy. Dutch Nazi's fought in SS Panzer Grenadier Brigade Netherlands of about a 1000 man strong. Another 1000 men (I think), together with Belgian volunteers, were in "SS Standarte Westland" (later Panzergrenadier Regiment 10 "Westland"). This was part of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" which was where most Nordic volunteers were concentrated. Total numbers of Dutch volunteers (they don't all fought at the same time) is estimated to be between 20.000 to 25.000, which is considered high among occupied nations. Both of these units only really fought on the Eastern Front, mostly the Northern part. Roughly from Leningrad back to Northern Germany, via the Baltic states. There may have been Dutch men serving in any of the German units in Normandy but that happens everywhere. For a fun story look up the Korean soldier the Allies took prisoner in Normandy. The man was supposed to be conscripted by the Japanese in Korea, taken prisoner by the Russians and conscripted and then taken prisoner by the Germans and conscripted and sent to France. You can find him named as "Yang Kyoungjong". It's unclear how much of the story is true, but the photo of the very Korean looking prisoner is undisputed. Having provided you the information, and a fun reading exercise, I do want to add a word of caution: Balance in reporting IS important, but don't try to artificially create it if it isn't there. Sometimes the facts seem unbalanced because the reality of the situation is unbalanced. And sometimes you just can't compare some things. I wanted to do a quick comparison between numbers of Dutch Nazi volunteers and numbers of Dutch resistance members, just to give an impression. But even though they instinctively feel like extreme ends of a spectrum, the difference in circumstances and the reliability of the data makes them useless to compare. If you made it all the way here, thanks for sticking with me and I hope I didn't ruin too much of your Sunday. 😁 Wishing you all the best.
@@exharkhun5605 Yes and now we are being absorbed into the German military structure again and looking for a fight with Russia. It is almost asif we haven't learned anything 🤣
@@simdal3088 This is a beautiful example of history not repeating itself, but definitely seeming to rhyme: * Russia being the initiator/aggressor this time. * An East European country under "International Protection" still being invaded, while the countries that pledged that protection uncommittedly engage in a sort of Phony War. * Germany being reluctant almost to the point of pacifism to involve itself. * Our country taking an active, almost leading role instead of hiding behind ineffective fortifications. * And all of this against a backdrop of a geo-strategic competition between an established and an upcoming great power. * Even the Pacific part has role-shifted with the US now allied with Japan against China. Rumors about The End of History seem to be somewhat exaggerated. 😁 As an aside, about your remark about us being absorbed in the German Military structure: At this moment, if we were to make a friendly bet, it almost seems to me that if the 10th Panzerdivision is to be sent into action it'd be because of us prodding the Germans instead of the other way around. 😜 That depends on the stance of our new government of course. Or maybe the Germans will realize they need to commit instead of quietly shuffling a step back after every reluctant step forward.
@@exharkhun5605 Sure, i was mostly meaning the Ukrainians running around with wolfsangel badges and the black sun 😅. We are quite obviously siding with nazi's again, they even rehabilitated stephan bandera.
I'm part of the Prinses Irene Brigade reenactment group in the Netherlands and we were asked if we would join a small movie about Max Wolff. It's kind of a part of Dutch history that's forgotten.
Arm schaap
What’s the expected release date for said film?
Wannabee and historical. A disgrave for. All. Allied sacrifices
Wanna be s after 80.years puppets
@@josephvader5420 They didn't tell
Hey Chiel jij ook hier
Great video. My grandfather was a Dutch Marine, stationed in Suriname when the war broke out. He landed with the English, fought for a few more days before he got badly injured and had to recover and learn to walk again in England.
Wonderful video, many thanks !
A lot of people in the comments section seem interested in what is being said in the historic footage @ 3:05
So I translated this part for you, to the best of my abilities ;
3:05
"...and they are allowed to.
Because we are very aware of the experience and skills our navy accumulated in previous operations.
With hearts pounding and full determination, they set out to complete the orders of military high command to the fullest.
Our ship, a lady of respectable age, might have plenty of scars, but was still perfectly able to perform her duties."
3:33
"At early dawn we joined our allies at Arromanche. The sea being misty and with only a light breeze, it was paramount to be cautious.
We could not have enough eyes on deck. Due to the vast amount of ships in action, the danger of collisions was great.
They are raising the cannons !
It won't be long now...
Get ready!...FIRE !!!"
4:12
"Hundreds of salvo's were fired.
We were not distracted by hunger or thirst.
For we were fully commited to the task set before us.
And not us alone.
There goes the unbroken chain of landing craft, small and large vessels, filled to the brim with the fearless troops of the liberation army.
They keep an eye out on us. The allied navies promised to guard our men on their way to the beach.
We only had two ships. The 'Soemba' and 'Flores'.
Which was not much in the greater scheme of things, but that only meant we had to double our efforts.
And in the end we succeeded.
Because the royal dutch navy, is made out of dutch, for the dutch."
- end
As a dutch boy, the stories of my granny were etched into my memories.
Even though I was still very young, I wanted to know what happened in WW2, so I asked her what it was like.
She hesitated for a few seconds. She could not look me in the eyes, but eventually, slowly, she did start talking.
She lived on a farm (near Arnhem) , a large family with many brothers and sisters.
Weakened by hunger and cold, she told me they had to eat things you could not imagine.
One day, a german artillery unit had suddenly occupied their barn to hide their cannons.
Survival. Having to step over dead soldiers in the streets of Oosterbeek.
The children spending most of their time trying to find wood to keep a fire going and scavenge for any food.
Her uncle was killed at the battle of Grebbeberg.
Hunger. Sickness. Despair.
But in the end, of all her stories, one stuck with me the most.
At early sunrise, she and her sister were send into the fields with a shovel.
They had to check all the mole hills, bashing in their heads with the shovel if they surfaced and collect them,
so their mother could make blankets out of their fur pelts.
"...the winters in that war were very, very cold".
Here in the netherlands, we teach our kids and they teach their kids, the only reason we still excist as a nation.
The dutch will never forget, the sacrifices made by our allies, for our freedom.
My grandmother had a story about hiding a dog and a radio under the floor to hide from the Germans. She lived on the farm thats now of her son and my uncle and she now lives in a small house in the same town(we all live near each other so that helps). My first school i went to was used as a security building during ww2 by the Germans it had at the time prison cells too. The school has since had a makeover so you cant see the previous layout besides the roof
Awesome, thanks! :)
I was at Arromanche, on the beach in a DUKW and realised that a ceremony was being conducted in Dutch, now I know why ! It also sort of answeres the question as to why there were so many dutch there and many Dutch vehicles, including 2 DUKWs. Thank you !
Hello Hilbert, longtime fan here. My grandfather Rudolph Bolte was in the screaming eagles paratroopers 101st Airborne. He survived D-day but was killed in Market Garden, he is buried in The Netherlands
They only liberated Germany ! NOT HOLLAND !
Berlin was liberated earlier than Holland !
Be assured that despite the strange other comment, his sacrifice is remembered by many here still, as we are losing the generation that lived through it themselves. It is still thankfully taught to all kids. Our freedom is won through the bravery and sacrifices of many.
@MrAnottakenusername yes thank you. The town my grandpa is buried in still sends my Nana in Montana flowers every victory day.
@@lucasrem wtf is wrong with you?
@@lucasrem Because the Russians did most of the work, not the westerners like we learn here in the Netherlands.
Hello Hilbert. My dad joined up a year after this, but served in RN with sailors who described having been shocked at going right in towards shore and blasting their guns at German land positions, rather than sea battles they expected.
to be honest, the Flores and Soemba were always meant to do shore bombardments, they were performing the role they were designed for, at D-Day and at Sicily.
They got the 15cm guns from the Sumatra (which was intentionally sunk at D-Day as part of the artificial harbour) as they had worn out the barrels of their original guns at Sicily
Btw, that where they picked up the monicker 'Terrible Twins', not at Overlord
My grandfather was in the resistance but never talked about be it ; but him on his bike cycled along the Dutch coast to get the V1/2 sites on mapped. Meer weet ik niet.
Resistance lol more resistance in a bit of wet bread
@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo mate, you spend your day trashtalking ww2 soldiers. Get a life.
Just like my grandfather. His family only knew when a jewish tracked him to thank him.
@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo Dutch and other European restitance groups dit have a vital role during the war. They gathered intelligence and sabbotaged. They also took care of civilians and militaire personell stranded in Europe. After the battle for the Arnhem bridge in september 1944 Dutch resistence hid many Englisch soldiers and managed to get them back to liberated parts of Holland. Try to get your hands on the book I was a stranger by Brigadier Sean Hacket. It might be an eye opener for you.
I'm so proud of the resistance fighters, very brave people.
Iirc the Terrible Twins got the name in the Mediterrinean, at D day they were assigned different zones, not working together.
It's well known that British Canadian Commonwealth forces American forces land on D-Day and they get most of the attention I really hope you do more similar videos about the other Allied forces that fought on D-Day..
How about Canada. I think you should really consider correcting your huge mistake
@@abbjb He mentions Canada?
@@abbjb OK, so some punctuation has been missed. Are you the Grammar Stasi?
dont forget russia they did the most
@@SadCoresad Not at D-Day.
My grandfather also played a part.
He was a normal Dutch citizen at the time and got conscripted by the Germans in the civilian workforce to construct part of the Atlantic Wall.
Now, the timeline is a little muddled (he died in 1973), but his story, the way my mother told me, is that after a while he figured he didn't want to "get stuck" between the "moffen" behind him and the "tommies" in front of him, so one day he decided to just walk back home.
The Dutch bottled WW2 Facts they folded quicker than an origami kit for infants
@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo Whats your problem
Organ Deficiency Compensation Syndrome?
@@StuartAnderson-xl4boThe Dutch completed their main goal of giving the royal family and government time to escape. They gave the German Fallschirmjäger a foretaste of Crete by inflicting pretty serious losses on them, and the airforce, despite being outnumbered, fought to the bitter end, actually destroying more German planes than they had in their own airforce.
The Germans initially thought the Dutch would choose the path of the Danish and surrender within one day. The bombing of Rotterdam was in large part the result of German frustration with the resistance of the Dutch Army, who after 4 days of fighting still hadn't submitted, and it was only the threat to level more Dutch cities that convinced Winkelman, the Dutch commanding officer, that further resistance served no purpose. Even then resistance continued in Zeeland for another 2 weeks with aid of British and French forces.
Personally, I rank Dutch resistance in 1940 above Belgian resistance, as they mostly just got aid from France to allow them to keep up the fight. They folded quickly, perhaps, but not without a fight.
My father was based out of Dover on the Dutch torpedo boats, he stayed in the Netherlands Navy till he retired.
D-Day was a code for the date. The name of the landings was Operation Overlord.
All beach landings happens on a D-day at H-hour. Which could be any day at any hour. Only the people involved at the particular operation knew.
The D-Day landings of Normandy are only the most well know, that's why most (European) people call it that way.
Thanks for this video. As a Dutchman I didnt know all this.
Also, your pronounciation of Dutch cities is excellent👌
probably because he's also dutch..
The Dutch royal family spent the remainder of the war in Canada. To this day, Ottawa is a sea of tulips every spring thanks to the Dutch presence there.
Princess Juliana and her children did. Queen Wilhelmina and prince Bernhard stayed in the United Kingdom.
Not true. Dutch royals did hide in Canada but the tulip festival relates to bulbs sent every year since 1945 by then Dutch government as thank you to Canadian military fore liberation of Canada.
Do people really think royalty went there and started planting flowers?😅
I believe the tulips gift is in thanks for Canada's hospitality towards the Princess and her family and arranging to preserve the potential inheritance right of the princess' third child as a future Dutch heir (through needing to be born on Dutch territory) by making the Ottawa hospital maternity room a temporary territory of The Netherlands for the duration of the birth.
Canada also were later involved in liberating The Netherlands from the Nazis. This further strengthened the affection between the two nations.
The Dutch Coup in 1688/89 in England and Scotland changed everything.
It introduced constitutional monarchy, agricultural improvement, national debt, the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange, improved Navy, 125 year War with France, a new Royal family,the Act of Union,canals and Gin.
The Dutch Royals are Nazi's themselves.
Girls only in Ottawa !
The men needed hot dates !
Some left out info: No.2 Dutch troop (predecessor of the morden day KCT) was part of the British inter-allied commando, a special forces unit that conducted operations on the night of D-day and many more. The inter-allied commando was part of the 1st special service brigade which together with the SAS were the first special forces units in the world.
So which actions did No.2 Dutch Troop conducted on the night of D-day?
Although they're not "modern", Ninja's and Knights Templars were also Special Forces.
The SAS were the first AntiTerror SF...
The answers is: none, No.2 Dutch Troop was not involved in the D-Day landings.
@@Krijgshistorie The inter-allied commando was there on d-day, if No.2 Dutch Troop was there, idk ain’t specified. But all I said was that the unit was there never did I specify No.2 specifically being there, just that they are part of the unit as a whole, which I believe shouldn’t be forgotten
@@oddlobster. “special forces” is a broad term and many special missions have been done in the past, however the first “modern” special forces units as we now know as of today started with the SAS, even though the 1st special service brigade included commandos who performed such special operations, traditionally the SAS are considered the first instead of the 1st special service brigade because they established the foundation of todays SOF
Being born in 1977 I am thankfull that I have met so many people of the greatest generation in history. As a kid I was always intrigued by their stories and as an adult the respect I have for these brave heroes only got stronger.🧡
Bedankt voor deze informatie! Dat ze toch met zo weinig zoveel konden betekenen voor de vrijheid van Europa.
There are also quotes about the two gunboats on d-day, that they were coming so close to the beach to fire more effectively that they almost grounded themselves, and were very accurate.
Flores and Soemba had seen action in shore bombarments off Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Garigliano and Gaeta, so their crews had gotten their fair share of experience in shore bombardment. The commenter said: "It was little (we could contribute), but because of that, it had to be double-good. And it was good..."
I myself live in Arnhem and didn't know about Max Wolff even thought I have been interested by WW2 since I was young (27years old now). I knew that Dutch ships took part in the D-Day landing operations but never knew to what extend. nice to see we took a great part in our own liberation. Really great video learned a lot, keep it up!!
Vitesse a bridge too far.
What is often missed is that the follow-on landings in Provence involved multiple French divisions.
Operation Dragoon
@@TimDutch Yep.
3 US divisions, 3 French divisions.
that story of those two ships is pretty epic.
Great small piece if history that doesn't get talked about enough in dutch history classes.
It's more or less the story of my grandfather, who fled the Netherlands as a Jewish refugee through Belgium and ending up in England. There joined the Dutch forces serving on one of the ships.
Thank you, says a doughter of one of the crewmembers of
the Hr.Ms. Flores.
How am I at 37 with a life long love of flags, maps, and history just now noticing that the diagonal red stripes on the union Jack don't like up with each other.
me too! I wonder why now....
It's because the white diagonals represent Scotland (St Andrew's Cross) and the red diagonals represent Ireland (St Patrick's Cross). As the original Union was between Scotland and England, the white leads the red. Which is how the Union Jack can be flown upside down.
Ha! Me too. This made me look it up at the UK flag institute. I thought it may have had to do with the original flags from which it was constructed but it seems to be just for aesthetics. The first Union Flag of Scotland and England was symmetrical.
I did find a fun piece of trivia though. Because of the offset the Union Jack has a right side up.
"in the half of the flag nearest the flagpole, the wider diagonal white stripe must be above the red diagonal stripe, as Scotland’s St Andrew’s Cross takes precedence over Ireland’s St Patrick’s Cross. It is most improper to fly the flag upside down."
(In an unexpected turn, Scotland's precedence is because that union predated the one with Ireland, not because of prejudice against the Irish (This may have been an oversight by the English, or simply the exception that confirms the rule 😜)).
D-Day logistics would never have worked without a Beach-head harbour built for the large and continous supply of fuel and ammunition for this large Allied landing force. This harbour was built using concrete Caisons designed with the help of Dutch engineers. This caison design was later used by the Dutch Waterstaat to close seaways especially with the closing of the Veerse Gat in Zeeland part of the massive 'Deltawerken', . Dutch cargo ships participated in the Atlantic crossings with cargo ship convoys from the USA to Europe that were constantly attacked by German U-boats.
I was told my grandfather was part of the Prinses Irene Brigade during the liberation. Unfortunately he died 1984 when I was 7 years old. I can remember he was a great granddad. I wish he’d have lived some more years. Would have loved talking about his years in the dutch Army, because I served a couple of years as well. Proud of him 💪🏼🙌🏻
A relative headed north to Winnepeg & joined the RCAF as a trained pilot. Eventually flying a Mosquito on intruder missions over the Netherlands.
How very brave these people were, rip and respect to them!
Lol 😂😂😂😂😂😂 should of fought for their country instead of capitulation
Ik vroeg me dat vorige week af...dank je wel😁🙏🙏🙏👍👏
Last week I was at the D-Day remembrance at Gold beach. There was the current Irene brigade and they had a ceremony for a real Dutch Irene brigade veteran! Now I see it again in the video, very cool! I didn't know that they were still alive!
Could you do a video on the the dutch Caribbean and Suriman during the second world war, I've always wondered what happened to the last of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
HE IS DUTCH !
He does not understand it !
It's interesting to see you used the new flags of Zimbabwe and South Africa and the old flag of Greece. I am guessing it's to avoid criticism over the negative symbolism but it's interesting that fears like this are effecting even historical discussions so much.
Interesting is not the world I would use. Abetting misrepresentation in historical presentations reduces the integrity of the author. The armed forces and people of the Union of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia sacrificed a great deal towards the defeat of Nazism, Fascism and Imperial Japanese. Southern Rhodesian forces suffered the loss ratio of any element of the British Empire, they met the call to fight with vigour. The least that could be done is to use the flags of the Union and of the colony of Southern Rhodesia. This is either self-censorship or cowardice.
@@MP-uw1qcModern South Africa and Zimbabwe wouldn't have done anything.
@davedavids57
Yes, it is strange that the urge for political correctness intrudes with historical correctness.
Displaying flags that weren't there at that time, next to the correct French Flag with the Lorraine Cross to show which French forces they represented. (Later also abused...)
@@dutchman7623 Thats how they trying to rewrite history.
@@Pietervandebuurt Who is "they"? It's quite sad how, below a video discussing the liberation of Europe, people are using the same exact conspiracy theories dating back to the nazi's...
You should do a video on the Netherlands' role in the Pacific theatre of WW2, and the Indonesian revolution that followed it.
th-cam.com/video/IkKJSRaeOik/w-d-xo.html
A sad loss for the Dutch. They should pay people with Indonesian roots a lot of money as compensation. Offcoursme they'll discriminate between burnlootmorder and Asians.
@DT-wp4hk they won't. The Dutch think they are special and better than everyone else. A country with good marketing.
@@DT-wp4hk The Indonesian nationalists went on a racist slaughter of all not pure blooded Indonesians, not just the Dutch. After that they got help from the USA that forced the Netherlands to accept unconditional independence, including denial of the right of self determination to the Moluccas and Papua New Guinea. No peaceful transition, Indonesie claimed to better off alone. Fine, but don't start begging for money after having messed up in independence.
People with Indonesian roots have nothing to complain about.
@@jackdunn3235 That's because they know things you don't.
As a Dutchman im proud what we did back then, we are a small country but when we unite our spirit is unbreakable. Countless stories of dutch resistance fighters prove that. Thank you for sharing this with the public.
Same
Thank you for your fascinating & informative video. I have been a WWII history buff since I was a teenager. I learned new knowledge from your video. It is interesting to learn about the Dutch at D-Day, also other contributions that The Netherlands made during the war.
What a nice video. As far as I know (but I can't find a record and thus I'm not sure) my grandfather was stationed on the Soemba during D-Day. One of the stories he told was that they shot down an Allied aircraft because it flew in from the wrong side and they had to go full speed backwards in fear of frogmen. I have no idea of any of that is true, but it is what I remembered he told me.
Very very nice! Thank you!
nice video, not a question i ever though of before
Wow ik heb nooit geweten over Max Wolff. Mijn familienaam aan moeders kant is ook Wolff, een uitgemoorde Joodse familie uit Nederland. Ik weet niet of we ergens familiebanden hebben, maar het geeft alsnog een gevoel van trots.
bramusa
Die vluchtelingenstroom, nu weer.
Je moet mee doen, als je eigen haat waarden gaat afdwingen in je gastland hoor je er nooit bij, ga dan dus terug !
Geeft Allah gewoon dat Thuisland, waarom haat zaaien in dat dritten reich Europa ?
Iets leren van die Joden op de vlucht voor hun Messiah ?
my dutch grand was at d-day Respect to you!!!
they are Nazi's themsselves !
What about the Dutch Commandos of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, No. 10 Commando?
Very interesting and informative. They don’t teach this at school.
My grandfather fought in the Dutch military in 1940. He and my grandmother never talked about the war. My grandfather died in 1994 and my grandmother in 2004. My father then threw away all the medals and military items.
I already knew most of this, because I red the books of K. Norel when I was young. The Flores plays a big roll in them and the Princess Irene Brigade is also mentioned.
Afaik the boats were like little destroyers, but with a small number of (light) cruiser caliber guns.
Well, destroyers do have several roles, several requiring considerable high speeds. Gunboat like the Flores class are very much intended for coastal bombardment duties, and could sacrifice engine power for smaller draft and displacement. With only 15 knts, they would even struggle to do more than rudimentary escort duties.
On the one hand im thinking this guy is talking about something rly interesting, on the other hand im thinking this guys dutch accent is insane 😮
i love the old dutch radio guy
Radio Orange, Cinema news guy...
Corrupted Radio it is....
They never learned, now they try that Dritten Reich wieder ......Hated Refugees again.....
My father was the youngest of 7 children and his 2 eldest brothers were in the Dutch army, after the invasion of Germany the eldest brother fled to England and served in the Princess Irene Brigade in Normandy, he survived the war but unfortunately the other brother died of tuberculosis he contracted in the German prison camp. My uncle never talked about the war.
My great-uncle was a crewmember on a merchant ship which transported captured troops of the Desert Fox.
He received multiple medals but refused to talk about it.
My compliments on your Dutch pronunciation, that must have taken some effort 😊. Thanks ... 17e Painfbat Garde Fuseliers Prinses Irene ❤
Hilbert is Dutch
@@rolebo1 lol ... that explains a lot 😄
It's not a History With Hilbert video without Mandatory Wilhelmus ;)
The image of the B-25s, allegedly of the Dutch 320 squadron, do not show the D-Day stripes on the wings, but that may be because they were not actually deployed over Normandy but further north...
Know that story about the Dutch navy leaving port for England well.
My grandfather was on guard the day before it happening and base alarms well very frequent, so when he finally after a long shift was in bed he thought 'bugger it, that's another fake one, I need sleep' and he didn't get up. At the normal time he appeared on the parade grounds only to find a few dozen men milling around, with all seaworthy ships gone, the alarm he had heard was real.
Nothing to do but go home in whatever way possible and wait for the Germans to march in. Sent to Germany to present day East Berlin as a forced labourer for the Germans, just got out of the city before the Soviets arrived walking back west largely by night, hiding from retreating German troops most of the days, picked up by US troops and sent to a collection point where people could board trains to the countries they were from (or wanted to go to, not everyone 'went home').
He hardly ever spoke about the war, but once he said to me; 'The fact I mistook that alarm for another fake one saved my life. A lot of the guys who did go over ended up on the bottom of some ocean'.
TY🙏🙏
It’s amazing that people have forgotten that the first Allied Army’s to liberate Europe landed on Mainland European Soil was an army of 189,000 in September 1943 these liberators became known as ‘D Day Dodgers’
3:46 i am pretty sure that's just youtuber Squire in a black and white D-Day video.
Cool video.
Toch wel apart om jezelf terug te zien.
I had an uncle who joined the troops after the liberation of Limburg, sadly he was killed doing that, I've never met him, I'm not that old.
Of course Mr. Hilbert must inform us what the Dutch did during the battle of D-Day.
Very interesting. Thx.
Dude put Zim instead of Canada just to piss us Canucks off! Love the subtle trolling haha
there was a 6th beach for Normandy, don't recall why it wasn't activated. I thought that i mentioned this to you before - Middelburg, ZL, bombed AFTER the surrender due to the commander down there not being certain if his area was included in the surrender and kept fighting. A Sealan (no accent marks on this keyboard) friend of mine lost many relatives in that bombing. There was one gem for the Dutch navy that i picked up somewhere - Dutch O-Boat sank a U-boat sending a U-Boat ace to his eternal reward.
D-day is my B-day and my mom´s B-day is May 5th (were also Dutch btw)
I am interested in this as my father was on the Hr Mrs Soemba on D day as a British army observation officer. Can you tell me if the clip is of the Soemba or the Flores? I do have some of his original paperwork relating to the Soemba on Day.
Thanks for sharing - very interesting! The clip is of the Flores.
I learned from the week by week serie of the second world war that the ultimatum for the bombardment was accepted by Dutch command but word reached the German air fleet just a few minutes too late. The planes took off, went radio silent and didn't react to any ground signals as per instruction. Which framing of events would you say is correct?
this is the first ever video of you that i saw. The way you pronounced Rotterdam gave it intstantly away you are a dutch speaking youtuber xD
Btw. Den haag is pronounced as The Hague in english
Hello Hilbert, great video 👍🏽, keep it up. Would you be interested in making a video about Dutch soldiers fighting under foreign flags? My (dutch) grandfather was drafted for the German Army when the Netherlands was occupied. But he didn't want to and fled with some friends to Vichi France (Marseille) before the Germans came to pick them up. After hiding, they worked at the Atlantic wall (French west coast). Directly after Paris was liberated, all of them (8 friends) joined the Allied Forces. Basic training in UK, 4 of them incl my grandfather ended up in a Dutch detachment in the Royal Canadian Army, the other 4 similar in the Royal British Army. If the stories of my grandmother were correct, they landed on the shores of Zeeland (Nld) after the bombardments of Zeeland. Pushed through the Netherlands, and had a combat pauze in Coevorden. There he met his 4 friends in the Royal British Army and my grandmother (who came on a bike from Vlaardingen near Rotterdam to collect potatoes). Unlike the Princess Irene Brigade who stayed in the Netherlands, my grandfather pushed further into Germany (Ruhr region) with the Canadians. This is where my info about my grandfather ends. I'm curious if there were actually Dutch soldiers serving under Canadian flag and which Canadian unit (with Dutch soldiers) pushed into Germany from the Netherlands to verify this story for a booklet I want to create about my grandfather.
The Dutch Naval War Effort was most renown around the Dutch Indies current Indonesia, with us being one of the most effective delaying forces in the region,
If Den Hague didn't tie the hands of the KNIL by mostly arming them in the continental fashion instead of honouring the requests for jungle suited equipment they'd likely would've done a lot better as well
My fathers grandfather said he was armed by the army with:
A bike
A dog
A gun with 3 bullets.
Best prepped soldier ever.
gaoth88
Only old lame people at the Grebbeberg ! True, a dead horse and a gun without any bullets...
They needed the Germans to take over, the Germans just drove a trains into Holland to captured it easy !
They Royal family are Nazi's themselves.
Please look into the venlo incident 🙏
0.27 - Glad they clarified it was only the Free French and French Resistance and not the French Army, which had been fighting against the Allies for most of the war. The French Navy had to be sunk, as it would not commit to fighting the Nazis; and the French Resistance spent the first few years of the war fighting each other until the Allies managed to get them unified.
The Free French numbered around 100,000 prior to D-Day compared toVichy France's forces of 94,000 soldiers in Metropolitan France, 60,000 armed Gendarmerie and 10,000 anti-aircraft crew (shooting down Allied planes).
The overseas troops overseen by Vichy were 150,000 in Algeria, Morocco, Syria and Lebanon with more Indochina and other overseas departments. In short, 4-5 times as many armed forces.
We tend to consider an Ally for most of WW2, but the majority of French troops were on the other side. There were perhaps valid reasons for acquiescence, but many other nations did not including the brave Dutch.
Gaaf! Mooi dat ze het op deze manier toch levend houden.
Dont forget that there were also dutch people fighting along side the germans in d day
Not something i am praud to say but is should not be forgotten
Sorry for the spelling mistakes 😅
ik was bij de herdenking in arromanches dit jaar
Misschien wel even bronvermelding doen mbt de videobeelden van de ceremonie.
To hear my Dutch language from 80 years ago, damn
1 remark: sq 320 was formed mostly from personnel of th dutch navy not the army
Dont forget NO2 Dutch troop!! Dutch commandos served in Birma with the royal marines. And in market garden.
Can someone confirm if I'm right and the video says it wrong? Because this is how I remembered it:
The dutch already surrendered when germany threatened to bomb Rotterdom, but they didn't cancel the attack.
Fascinating, thank you for shedding light on this :). Is there any translation online of what is being said in the historical footage?
I translated it if you're still interested, fellow history lover.
Look for my comment above.
@@FangedBeauty Much appreciated :)
According to the former dog-trainer of Prince Bernhard, who was at the Hr.Ms. Soemba during the war, there was a gentlemen's agreement with the British on D-day that the Terrible Twins were to open fire on the German positions first. Two minutes before the main barrage would commence.
My Dutch father was in the us navy as an armed guard member, Murmansk survived lucky basterd later military police MP in Guam, got his badge.
I love your prenounciation!
Wrong flag! At the beginning you mention Greece, but show the flag of Finland
Get it, Dutch people! 🫡💪🏻🇺🇸🤝🇱🇺
Who are the LU?
You forgot to mention Suriname. a former Dutch colony in South America send thousands of soldiers to fight in world war II in one instance a 120 soldiers from Suriname were killed when a German submarine torpedoed the ship they were on.
It’s typical, as a Dutchie i realised by this picture 9:27 that this is why we also call Amsterdam “Mokum” right?
I think it is misplaced of the current Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene to have their commemoration on June 6th in Arromanches. They are stepping into the spotlight of Allied units that actually did land on June 6th, which the PIB clearly did not. Nothing wrong to have their commemoration on the actual disembarkation date of August 8th right? And why presenting the invasion fourragère to current members of the regiment, which did not disembarked in WWII in Normandy?
You forgot the classic Wilhelmus intro
12:31, you made a small editing mistake :)
My kiwi grandfather flew mosquitos and bombed rail junctions and strafed road junctions in and around cherbourg on d day and said flying over the ships in the channel was like nothing he ever saw
Took part battle of Narva. Volunteer Legion🇳🇱🫡
For those looking for it : 10:46
Arnhem anniversary on 17 September.
The captain of the Dutch defense forces was still in the pub drinking beer when it happened.
Goede video weer Hilbert, misschien een beetje lullig, maar je zou er over na kunnen denken het slikken en happen naar adem er uit te editen, het klinkt gewoon heel raar
They were gooning hard.
I think this needs English subtitles because the video title is also in English.
The Dutch royal family stayed in Canada during WW2.
Men youre forgetting the Middle flag of the ceremonie, the marine luchtvaartdienst, they fought on d day as wel and that is written on the flag of the marine luchtvaartdienst 😱😱😱
So maybe you can correct youre story
Did the Dutch fight at D-Day alongside the Germans? I know there have always been so few of the extreme right in the Netherlands, but answering this would make for a more balanced video.
Yes, i have family that fought on the eastern front. Fact is that there was not much resistance and 55k joined Germany in varying positions. It was the fight against communism and the allies were of little significance in the grand scheme of the European theater.
There were no organized units of Dutch volunteers fighting for the Germans in Normandy.
Dutch Nazi's fought in SS Panzer Grenadier Brigade Netherlands of about a 1000 man strong.
Another 1000 men (I think), together with Belgian volunteers, were in "SS Standarte Westland" (later Panzergrenadier Regiment 10 "Westland"). This was part of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" which was where most Nordic volunteers were concentrated.
Total numbers of Dutch volunteers (they don't all fought at the same time) is estimated to be between 20.000 to 25.000, which is considered high among occupied nations.
Both of these units only really fought on the Eastern Front, mostly the Northern part. Roughly from Leningrad back to Northern Germany, via the Baltic states.
There may have been Dutch men serving in any of the German units in Normandy but that happens everywhere. For a fun story look up the Korean soldier the Allies took prisoner in Normandy. The man was supposed to be conscripted by the Japanese in Korea, taken prisoner by the Russians and conscripted and then taken prisoner by the Germans and conscripted and sent to France. You can find him named as "Yang Kyoungjong".
It's unclear how much of the story is true, but the photo of the very Korean looking prisoner is undisputed.
Having provided you the information, and a fun reading exercise, I do want to add a word of caution: Balance in reporting IS important, but don't try to artificially create it if it isn't there. Sometimes the facts seem unbalanced because the reality of the situation is unbalanced.
And sometimes you just can't compare some things. I wanted to do a quick comparison between numbers of Dutch Nazi volunteers and numbers of Dutch resistance members, just to give an impression. But even though they instinctively feel like extreme ends of a spectrum, the difference in circumstances and the reliability of the data makes them useless to compare.
If you made it all the way here, thanks for sticking with me and I hope I didn't ruin too much of your Sunday. 😁 Wishing you all the best.
@@exharkhun5605 Yes and now we are being absorbed into the German military structure again and looking for a fight with Russia. It is almost asif we haven't learned anything 🤣
@@simdal3088 This is a beautiful example of history not repeating itself, but definitely seeming to rhyme:
* Russia being the initiator/aggressor this time.
* An East European country under "International Protection" still being invaded, while the countries that pledged that protection uncommittedly engage in a sort of Phony War.
* Germany being reluctant almost to the point of pacifism to involve itself.
* Our country taking an active, almost leading role instead of hiding behind ineffective fortifications.
* And all of this against a backdrop of a geo-strategic competition between an established and an upcoming great power.
* Even the Pacific part has role-shifted with the US now allied with Japan against China.
Rumors about The End of History seem to be somewhat exaggerated. 😁
As an aside, about your remark about us being absorbed in the German Military structure: At this moment, if we were to make a friendly bet, it almost seems to me that if the 10th Panzerdivision is to be sent into action it'd be because of us prodding the Germans instead of the other way around. 😜
That depends on the stance of our new government of course.
Or maybe the Germans will realize they need to commit instead of quietly shuffling a step back after every reluctant step forward.
@@exharkhun5605 Sure, i was mostly meaning the Ukrainians running around with wolfsangel badges and the black sun 😅. We are quite obviously siding with nazi's again, they even rehabilitated stephan bandera.