Battle of the Hague (1940)

Common card · No. 424791

The Battle for The Hague (Dutch: Slag om Den Haag) took place on 10 May 1940 during the Battle of the Netherlands. German Fallschirmjäger units were dropped in and around The Hague to capture Dutch airfields and the city itself. After securing a bridgehead, Nazi Germany had expected the Netherlands to surrender that day. The Germans, however, failed to achieve that objective since their forces had been unable to hold onto their initial gains. That is because the Dutch regrouped and then launched effective counter-attacks. Isolated pockets of German troops, led by Hans von Sponeck, retreated to the nearby dunes, where they were continually pursued and harassed for five days, when Henri Winkelman, the Dutch commander-in-chief, was forced to surrender by major setbacks on other fronts.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Anonymous photographer (Fotocollectie Spaarnestad), Public domain