Borden WO II 2022

OORLOG EN GEVECHTEN
MEI 1940
De balans opgemaakt
Aan het einde van de 14 e mei reden de Duitse troepen in lange colonnes over Rijksweg
13 van Rotterdam richting Den Haag. Het 1 e bataljon van de Leibstandarte “Adolf Hitler”
behoefde generaal Graf von Sponeck in Overschie niet meer te ontzetten.
Bij de gevechten in en rond Overschie kwamen als gevolg van de gevechtshandelingen
tenminste 54 Nederlandse militairen en 22 burgers om het leven. Het aantal Duitse
slachtoffers is niet bekend.
Overschie in the Frontline
On May 10th, 1940, the German army invaded the Netherlands. At the time, Overschie was still a
small independent village not with the potential to be of great significance to an (invading) army.
The village certainly did not escape the violence of war. In the 5-day battle between the Dutch and
German army, dozens of people were killed or injured in and around Overschie.
Combat operations in and
around Overschie
On the morning of 10th May, “cars driving in the direction of Delft were heavily fired upon”. The
Mayor, who had already called the vigilante, decided to stop traffic on the national road and to
clear the junction at Schielaan, where many inquisitive civilians had gathered. This was not easy
and a German air raid on the Dutch soldiers deployed here killed many civilians. An emergency
hospital, staffed by the Red Cross, was set up in the gym on Willem de Zwijgerstraat and many
victims on the first day of the war were taken there.
German troops withdrew to Overschie via Kethel. They were commanded by General Von Sponeck.
Temporary headquarters were set up in the building of “Ons Belang”, near the Hoge Brug, that was
disabled by an illegal action of Overschie citizens Daan Snaathorst and Arie van Rossen.
On Tuesday morning, May 14th at 9:00 am, the Dutch counterattack started from the north.
Hofweg was reached around noon. The Dutch artillery bombed various targets in our village. The
bombing of Rotterdam took place before the very eyes of the advancing Dutch soldiers. And yet the
advance on Overschie continued. The Germans opened fire at the Doenkade. On the northern edge
and later the south edge of Overschie, fierce fighting took place until news of the surrender came. By
the end of May 14th, German troops, in lengthy column formation, had driven along the national
road from Rotterdam to The Hague. The 1st battalion of the Leibstandarte “Adolf Hitler” no longer
had to relieve General Graf von Sponeck in Overschie.
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