The Netherlands / Battlefield

Are there any Krauts?


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After Canadian soldiers of the Black Watch of Canada crossed the Reitdiep on Sunday 15 April 1945 to occupy the Wilhelminakade, they encountered hardly any resistance. The soldiers have to cross a barge that has been placed crosswise in the water.

A company of the Black Watch rushes to the railway bridge over the Reitdiep at the Wilhelminakade to capture it. The hardened soldiers of the Black Watch immediately enter the Oranjewijk and start searching the houses to see if any Germans are hiding.

They ring the bell neatly and ask in somewhat imperfect Dutch: 'are there still Krauts?' The answer is always negative. At 4:10 a.m., the neighborhood is declared safe.

On his way to the headquarters of The Black Watch, a Canadian major is wounded by a bullet from one or more German snipers while crossing the Reitdiep. Later it turns out that these are in the water tower on Herman Colleniusstraat.