The Baileybridge

On to Germany In early April 1945, the First Canadian Army crossed the Rhine and the liberation of the eastern and northern Netherlands began. The 1st Polish Armoured Division of Major General Stanisław Maczek was still in the vicinity of Breda, and on 6 April, Maczek was told that he needed to join the Canadian advance. All vehicles were checked and refuelled, the equipment was put in order and the tanks were loaded onto low loaders. The long journey to the Achterhoek began on 8 April at 08:00.Departure The leading group was formed by the 1st Infantry Battalion, the Polish Highland Rifle Battalion. The rear guards were an artillery division and the headquarters. They did not leave until 14:00. The journey took a total of eighteen hours. An impressive, almost endless column of vehicles drove along the roads of Brabant from Breda via Tilburg and 's-Hertogenbosch to Grave. After crossing the river Maas, the division travelled on to Rees, where it crossed the river Rhine on its way to the new assembly area.A huge column Maczek’s division was still not at full strength but rather 90 percent and had almost 14,000 men. It has approximately 4,000 vehicles, from light motorcycles and jeeps to gigantic low loaders. From head to tail, the vehicles formed a column of about a hundred kilometres. It took six hours for them to pass a single location. No wonder that the civilians along the road everywhere stood open-mouthed and deeply impressed by the equipment that the Allies could throw into the battle.’s-Hertogenbosch clogged On the way, the Polish troops passed several bottlenecks, one of the worst being the Vughter bridge over the river Dommel at the Wilhelminapark. A so-called Bailey bridge (temporary bridge) had been built there because the German forces had partially blown up the original bridge during the liberation. The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee military had their hands full to keep the procession on track, and all Allied and civilian traffic in and around 's-Hertogenbosch came to a standstill. It took until late that night before the last Polish vehicle left the Brabant capital and peace returned.

Een haast eindeloze stoet voertuigen dendert door de Brabantse hoofdstad.

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