Does anyone have a definitive answer as to who were the first allied troops to enter The Netherlands in 1944? I have 3 references: 1. Sept 11: Lt. Buchanan-Jardine and his driver Trooper Buckley (2nd Household Cavalry) carried out a recce of the bridge over the River Dommel just south of Valkenswaard, which crossed the Belgian-Dutch border on Sept 11. According to Battleground - Hell's Highway (Tim Saunders), these were the first allied troops to enter The Netherlands. 2. Sept 12: There is a monument to 30th US Infantry Div in Mesch, south of Maastricht, which states that the liberation of The Netherlands began here. It says 30th Div crossed the Belgian-Dutch border at around 10am on Sept 12 and this made them the first allied troops on Dutch soil. 3. Sept 9: On the Traces of War web page which references the Mesch memorial, someone has stated that actually the first allied unit to enter The Netherlands were patrols of 125th squadron of the 113th cavalry group "Red Horse", who crossed the Albert Canal northwest of Veldwezelt (Belgium) on Sept 9 to explore the situation around Maastricht from the strategic heights of Calberg and Dousberg. If 3 is correct, then obviously that looks the best candidate, but I can't find any information to support this. Can anyone verify this, or do they have any other possible candidates? Thanks in advance. Shaun
Oops, my head is full of dates in 1945 (investigating Rhineland battle). Hence, a mistake. 1944, of course.
Hi Nijmegen, I don't know what your reference to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen is. If you could provide a bit more information (units involved etc.), it would be greatly appreciated. Shaun
Well, 11 Armoured Division were in Antwerp on 4 September. Could well be that some unit crossed the border, in the days that followed.
