The great Rhineland Offensive got underway on 8 February 1945, with the objective of securing a passage for the troops across the Rhine, occupying the Rhineland and ultimately pushing on to Berlin. On this momentous day, hundreds of thousands of Allied troops departed from Nijmegen and elsewhere, heading over the border to Germany via the Ooijpolder and over the Groesbeek hills. This operation was named Operation Veritable. One of the bloodiest battles fought during the Rhineland Offensive was the Battle of the Reichswald, to the south of Kleve (Cleves).The walking tour connects two cemeteries that are the final resting place of a large part of the Allied soldiers who fell during Operation Veritable in the Nijmegen and Rhineland areas: the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. The route runs through meadows, the (former front-line) village of Groesbeek, over the German border and through the infamous Reichswald forest.

The Netherlands

The Zuidmolen windmill in Groesbeek. 

Allied soldiers on their way to Kleve during the Rhineland Offensive.

British soldiers with a Bren gun in the Reichswald. 

Scottish soldiers in the Reichswald. 

The Rhineland Offensive 

After Operation Market Garden, the village of Groesbeek found itself on the front line in the winter of 1944. The fighting in and around Groesbeek became so bad that the residents had to be evacuated. However, the village was not completely deserted. One structure in particular had many visitors from the end of January 1945: De Zuidmolen flour mill.On the top floor of this mill in Groesbeek, which was built in 1857, Canadian General Harry Crerar, Lieutenant-General Guy G. Simonds, British Lieutenant-General Brian G. Horrocks and others met to discuss the execution of the Rhineland Offensive – Operation Veritable – which was to start from Nijmegen. Almost five hundred thousand troops, mostly British and Canadians, had to march from Nijmegen through the marshy Ooijpolder area and through the Reichswald forest to Germany to reach, and finally cross, the Rhine. The view the military brass had from high up in the Zuidmolen mill over the Reichswald Forest allowed them to get an idea of German troop movements. From this vantage point they could also decide on the best route for their own troops.&nbsp;On 8 February 1945 the time had come and the British-Canadian allied troops set out from Nijmegen. Unfortunately, there was one thing they miscalculated in their plans: the weather forecast. When the plans were drawn up in January, it was cold and the ground was frozen; however, in February the thaw set in and the roads became a muddy mire. This change in ground conditions made it difficult for the troops and their heavy vehicles to move, causing a major delay in the advance.Today, a plaque on the wall of the flour mill and a weather vane in the shape of a small soldier recall the special role this building played during the war.&nbsp;

De Zuidmolen flour mill

Ronald Balfour becomes a specialised officer of the First Canadian Army. He follows the front through northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands, before arriving in the Lower Rhine region in the wake of Operation Veritable on 8 February. Kleve and Goch are liberated on 11 February. Balfour visits the site immediately to protect historically significant buildings, art objects and documents from destruction and looting. Although bombs have completely destroyed the collegiate church of Kleve, he manages to salvage parts of two large, 16th-century wood carved altarpieces and move them to safety. 
In Goch, he finds the city archives in a building that has already been partly plundered. He collects enough to fill three full trucks and brings them to Kleve. He set up his headquarters in the Capuchin monastery in Spyck. In Kalkar, he finds the city archives in half-barricaded rooms. He marks the rooms as containing items of historical value. He does the same for the parish archive in Kranenburg. One of Balfour's great merits is the preservation of the Gochse Steintor, a monumental gateway and part of the medieval city fortress. 
The chaos of those days is evident from the fact that the exact date of Ronald Balfour's death and the circumstances under which he died are unknown. Balfour's documents dated 3 March 1945 are his last sign of life. His parents are informed that 4 March 1945 is the day of his death. After the war, it is said that Balfour was killed by shrapnel as he left a church with altar fragments in his arms.  
In his short service with the MFAA, Balfour managed to secure many art treasures. Kleve and Goch are still incredibly grateful and pay homage with a street name and this audio exhibit.&#13;
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Germany

Art protection officer Ronald Balfour

Operation Market Garden At the time, the hamlet of De Horst consisted of only a few streets, some farms, a couple of shops and four pubs. It had a school, a church and a convent. During Operation Market Garden, on 17th September 1944, thousands of parachutists from the 82nd Airborne Division landed nearby. The people of De Horst thought they had been liberated, but the German troops were not gone for long. By 20th September, the frontline ran between De Horst and Groesbeek. De Horst was caught firmly in the allied line of fire, and the people, were stuck. The part of Groesbeek that had been liberated was close by, yet completely inaccessible.Shelter and sanctuary More than 400 people were taken in by the Franciscan nuns of the hamlet's convent. It was the building with the sturdiest cellars, but despite the white flag on the roof, the convent came under regular fire. The sisters tried to take care of the wounded as best they could and every night, Antoon Oomen, the baker, would bake dozens of loaves of bread for the hundreds of villagers sheltering in the convent. He did this free of charge, whilst his house was being shot at. Despite this, he kept on baking.Evacuation After a month, the situation in De Horst had become unbearable. The hamlet’s priest managed to negotiate an evacuation with the Germans and the villagers were free to leave: not to the liberated part of the country, but the other way. So off they went, on 20th October 1944, through Kranenburg and Emmerich into the occupied Achterhoek region. When in May 1945, the people of De Horst were finally allowed to return home, they found the hamlet in ruins.

A hamlet in hiding

17th September 1944 saw the start of Operation Market Garden and, with it, the Battle of Arnhem. The Allies lost this battle, but the area around the city of Nijmegen was liberated, and the struggle for the city itself was won on 20th September 1944. However, for six long months, Nijmegen and the surrounding area subsequently found itself on the frontline and under continuous attack from German bombs and grenades.Likewise, despite having been liberated on 17th September 1944, the area around Groesbeek soon became the target of terrible attacks from Kleve and the German Reischswald.&nbsp;Throughout the autumn of 1944, a total of 30,000 people were evacuated from Groesbeek and the surrounding villages. A farm in no man's land is a story about what happened at Groenendaal Farm on Wylerbaan Road.During the long winter of 1944-1945, the frontline barely moved from its position between the Maas and Rhine rivers, extending from Mook, through Groesbeek and Wyler on to Erlecom. Then finally, on 8th February 1945, Operation Veritable made a dramatic push that would ultimately result in the liberation of The Netherlands and western Europe. The mammoth Rineland Offensive had begun, and it started in Nijmegen.

A farm in No man's land

On the night of September 17 to 18, 1944, the Germans decided to pull out of Nijmegen, where the fighting was still fierce. They wanted to attempt their evacuation by train, through an area that was already in American hands. The original plan was to run freight trains from Nijmegen, through Arnhem, to German territory, but because the rail bridge in Arnhem had been blown up by German troops on the first day of Operation Market Garden, they had to find an alternative route.This route would run directly across enemy-held territory, via Groesbeek and over the German border through Kranenburg to Kleve. The Americans of the 505th Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division were taken totally by surprise when the first train steamed past. No-one had anticipated this daring option, and they could not react quickly enough to stop this mystery train. A half-hour later came a second train, but this time the Americans were ready. On the high ground of the Hooghe Hoenderberg, between Nijmegen and Groesbeek, a barricade was set across the track, and a bazooka was fired at the approaching train. As it stopped, the Americans stormed the rails, and the Germans jumped from the wagons and took cover in the nearby woods. It took the Americans a whole day to round them all up.

German train escapes trough liberated area

Le cimetière militaire de la forêt de Reichswald rappelle encore aujourd'hui les combats féroces qui se sont déroulés en Rhénanie au cours des derniers mois de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il se trouve dans la forêt vaste et dense de Reichswald, dans laquelle les troupes britanniques et canadiennes perdirent 6 000 hommes. Parmi les 7 654 soldats enterrés dans ce cimetière, 4 000 étaient membres de la Royal Air Force. Ces hommes périrent au combat entre 1940 et 1944, et leurs dépouilles, qui avaient été inhumées dans des cimetières et des sites isolés de la région, furent rassemblées ici. Dans les autres tombes reposent surtout des soldats du Commonwealth tués au cours de l'opération Plunder (nom de code pour la traversée du Rhin) et de l'opération Varsity (l'importante opération aéroportée destinée à soutenir la traversée du Rhin). Les combats dans la forêt de Reichswald s'inscrivaient dans une bataille plus large qui se déroula tout le long du fleuve. Les deux camps subirent d'énormes pertes au cours de la campagne de la Rhénanie, et il fallut autant de temps aux forces alliées pour parcourir les 30 derniers kilomètres jusqu'au Rhin, que pour effectuer ensuite 300 kilomètres jusqu'au centre de l'Allemagne. Les troupes allemandes savaient que la Rhénanie constituait leur dernière chance pour mettre en œuvre une défense efficace. Elles se défendirent donc farouchement, infligeant autant de pertes à leurs adversaires qu'elles en subissaient. Seuls quelques soldats alliés tombés dans la forêt de Reichswald sont enterrés dans ce cimetière.

The Reichswald Forest War Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany. It holds the remains of 7.654 soldiers, mostly airmen from the Royal Air Force and paratroopers. The cemetery is situated in the Reichswald, an ancient forest on the Dutch-German border that was the scene of heavy fighting in February 1945.

The Reichswald Forest War Cemetery serves as a lasting reminder of the vicious fighting that took place in the Rhineland during the last months of the war. The cemetery is situated in the thick woods of the Reichswald. In this vast forest the British and Canadians suffered 6.000 casualties, but of the 7.654 soldiers buried here, 4.000 were airmen from the Royal Air Force. These men were killed in action between 1940 and 1944. Their remains were brought in from cemeteries and isolated sites all over the area. Most other graves contain the last remains of Commonwealth soldiers who died during Operation Plunder (the actual crossing of the Rhine) and Operation Varsity (the large airborne operation in support of the Rhine crossing).

The fighting in the Reichswald was part of a broader battle that took place along the entire length of the river. Both sides suffered heavy losses in this battle for the Rhineland. It took the Allied forces just as long to negotiate the last 30 kilometers to the Rhine as it took them to cross the next 300 kilometers into the heart of Germany. The German forces were well aware of the fact that the Rhineland offered the last chance of setting up an effective defense. They clung on desperately, inflicting as well as suffering heavy losses. Of the Allied soldiers who died in the Reichswald forest, only a small number are interred in this cemetery.

Cimetière militaire de la forêt de Reichswald

Dans ce cimetière militaire canadien reposent 2617 membres des forces armées du Commonwealth tués pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il s'agit du plus grand cimetière de guerre du Commonwealth aux Pays-Bas. Il convient de noter qu'à l'exception d'un seul, tous les Canadiens qui ont perdu la vie au cours de l'Opération Véritable ont été enterrés ou, dans de nombreux cas, réenterrés ici. La seule exception est un soldat canadien qui repose dans le cimetière militaire de la forêt de Reichswald, en Allemagne.De nombreux morts ont été amenés ici depuis l'Allemagne, car le général Crerar, commandant des forces canadiennes en Europe, avait donné l'ordre qu'aucun mort canadien ne soit enterré en sol allemand. Les soldats alliés qui reposent ici sont originaires des pays suivants : Canada (2339), Royaume-Uni (267) Belgique (3), Australie (2), Pologne (2), Nouvelle-Zélande (1), Pays-Bas (1), Russie (1) et Yougoslavie (1). À l'entrée du cimetière se trouve un monument, un mur commémoratif portant les noms des militaires disparus au combat. Ce monument commémore un total de 1047 hommes disparus : 942 Britanniques, 102 Canadiens, 2 Sud-Africains et un aviateur britannique. Devant les tombes se trouve la "pierre du souvenir", sur laquelle on peut lire : "Leur nom vit pour toujours".<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jEVdb9PRero?showinfo=0"></iframe>

In the Canadian War Cemetery, lie 2617 members of the Commonwealth armed forces killed during the Second World War. This is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the Netherlands. Of special note is that, with the exception of just one, all Canadians who lost their lives during Operation Veritable were buried, or in many cases re-buried, here. The one exception is a Canadian soldier who lies in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany. Many of the dead were brought here from Germany, because General Crerar, commander of Canadian forces in Europe, gave the order that no Canadian dead should be buried in German soil.
The Allied personnel who lie buried in the Canadian war Cemetery are of the following nationalities: Canada (2339), United Kingdom (267) Belgium (3), Australia (2), Poland (2), New Zealand (1), The Netherlands (1), Russia (1), and Yugoslavia (1).

Inside the entrance to the cemetery stands a monument, a memorial wall bearing the names of military personnel missing in action. This monument commemorates a total of 1047 missing men: 942 British, 102 Canadians, 2 South Africans, and one British airman. In front of the graves stands the 'Stone of Remembrance', bearing the text:

'THEIR NAME LIVETH
FOR EVERMORE'.

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Cimetière militaire canadien de Groesbeek

Le Musée de la liberté se trouve sur un site historique : c'est là qu'atterrirent les parachutistes de la 82e division aéroportée américaine durant l'opération Market Garden. Les troupes entamèrent ensuite leur progression vers les ponts de Grave et de Nimègue. La conquête de ces ponts devait permettre d'ouvrir la voie aux forces alliées dans la zone comprise entre la Meuse, le Waal et le Rhin, et aurait ainsi une grande influence sur la suite de la guerre. Ce site servit ensuite de point de départ pour l'opération Véritable (lancée en février 1945), qui consistait à libérer la forêt de Reichswald. La route menant au musée était alors devenue la zone de combats principale entre les forces alliées et allemandes, et l'opération Véritable débuta avec les bombardements les plus violents de toute la Seconde guerre mondiale sur le front occidental. Près d'un demi-million de bombes furent lancées sur les positions de l'Allemagne. Les troupes allemandes, qui tenaient trois lignes de défense, furent complètement abasourdies et leur résistance s'effrita en deux jours. Pourtant, l'opération s'enlisa rapidement après ce succès initial, et deux semaines furent nécessaires aux Alliés pour libérer la forêt de Reichswald. Le Musée de la liberté abrite une large collection de documents sur l'opération Market Garden, mais aussi sur la bataille de la forêt de Reichswald et sur la Seconde guerre mondiale dans son ensemble.

The Freedom Museum is located in the beautiful green and hilly landscape of Groesbeek. The museum is close to Germany and right in the area of two of the most important operations on the Western Front during WW2: Market Garden and Veritable. It is a tourist attraction for young and old, from home and abroad. The visitors experience the fascinating Story of War and Freedom without Borders in both the Netherlands and Germany, Europe and beyond. There is never one story. A multifaceted image of the Second World War is created through various perspectives, in the context of the history of the 20th century and current events. The visitor is challenged to think critically about freedom then and now, full of experiences, interactivity and museum masterpieces.

The sustainable building itself, the 12-meter high Dome, is also an attraction and has a strong resemblance to an enormous parachute. From the terrace you have a panoramic view of the historic landscape.

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La Campagne de la Rhénanie

Sites et histoires le long de la route