"I saw
this flash during the day, but only once—while
on a tram I just happened to look at the sky in
the right direction. It was definitely not a
contrail, but it was like a comet, as fast as a
shooting star. It was a long, thin, white
streak, more like a flash coming down to the
earth. This was seen moments before the impact."
"For the V-2 rockets there usually were two
bangs, separated by a split-second, this I
clearly remember. They were usually accompanied
by a violent tremor if the impact occurred
nearby. "
—Antwerp resident Charles Ostyn
The historic city of
Antwerp lies 80 Km from the
North Sea on the Scheldt
River. The river Scheldt flows
into the Dutch Schelde called
Westerschelde. On the northern
embankment of the Scheldt
(Schelde) lies Noord Brabant,
then the South Beveland and
Walcheren peninsulas. The port
is one of the Europe's great
harbors, but it is not a
natural harbor. Its docks were
dug out and fitted with locks
to regulate the water and
allow transportation of goods
further inland. Following
D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies
had enormous resources while
German materials were shrinking.
During the early days of the
assault in Normandy, the German
forces had managed to limit the
supplies and ammunition that
could come ashore by keeping the
front narrow and denying the
Allies the use of any of the
French ports. American forces
captured Cherbourg on June 27,
1944, but the Germans had done
such an efficient job of
demolition that the port did not
open until July 19, 1944.
Following
"Operation Cobra" the German
positions in Normandy gave way.
Racing to the Seine, the Allies
were met at Mortain by a German
counter-attack on August 6,
1944. The Allies used the
opportunity to surround the
German forces in the “Falaise
Pocket,” destroying thousands of
vehicles and killing or
capturing more than 10,000
German troops. By
August 25 the battle was ended and Paris was
liberated the same day. German resistance west
of the Seine River collapsed. Allied armies
pushed forward in pursuit, crossing the river
before the Germans could reorganize. The rapid
movement of the Allied troops meant they were
getting farther away from their supply lines.
These supplies were still offloading in
Normandy, over 500 miles distant. This led to
shortages in critical supplies such as fuel
and ammunition. British and American forces
were forced to ration the resources—something
that was very
disagreeable to both.
The importance of the
port to the
Allies can be
summed up in a
message
Eisenhower
wrote to
General
Marshall on
October 23,
1944 stating
that "the
logistical
problem has
become so
acute that all
plans had made
Antwerp sine
qua non to the
waging of the
final all-out
battle."At
the time, US
Army doctrine
called for the
use of
railways to
transport
large amounts
of cargo
whenever
possible.
However, because
Allied bombers
had destroyed
so much of the
French rail
system during
1943-44, this
wasn't
possible. As
the Allies
worked to
repair the
railroads,
supplies were
being landed,
but they were
being
stockpiled on
the beaches
and docks in
Normandy. This
backlog led to
the
implementation
of a
short-term fix
using
trucks to
operate
one-way
circular
routes to
supply US
troops. Several
trucking
operations
were formed,
one of which
was the famous
"Red Ball
Express." In
total, 141
truck
companies were
called, but
there were not
enough trucks
available.
"The capture of
the approaches to Antwerp was a very difficult
operation. But after the job was done, the end of
Nazism was in clear view when the first ship, the
Canadian-built freighter Fort Cataraqui, moved
unmolested up the Scheldt." "The brave citizens of Antwerp sustained the
attacks of the German V-1 and V-2 missions
unflinchingly. Despite the serious destruction and
civilian deaths, they assisted wholeheartedly to
transform the Port of Antwerp into the northern
bulwark of entire Allied logistical system." —Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The
vehicles had
to be stripped
from other
units and
what's more,
most of the
available
trucks were
only the
2.5-ton
variety, not
10-ton tractor
trailers,
which would
have been much
more
expeditious.
The operation,
which was
supposed to
end in
September, was
extended to
November—a
total of 81
days. All toll
during the
operation,
over 400,000
tons of cargo
were
transported.
The British
had supply
problems as
well. A
vehicle
shortage
reduced the
supplies to
Montgomery‟s
troops. The
next Allied
objective
became the
capture of
additional
ports closer
to the front
lines. On
August 30,
1944, the
Allies
captured
Rouen,
followed by
Port of
Antwerp on
September 4,
1944. By
September 12
Le Havre had
been captured.
However, it
took quite
some time to
repair the
ports because
the German
forces had
systematically
destroyed each
one prior to
retreating.
On September 1,
1944, as the Germans
retreated toward the
Reich, Supreme Allied
Commander Dwight
Eisenhower assumed
overall command of
General Montgomery's
21st Army Group and
General Bradley's 12th
Army Group. Eisenhower
ordered a broad front
advance to hold the
Germans at bay and not
overstretch the Allied
supply lines. North of
the line, Montgomery's
forces were to be given
priority until the port
of Antwerp could be
secured. Capture of the
vast port facilities
could greatly improve
the supply situation for
the advancing Allied
armies.
The
Second British
Army (11th
Armored
Division)
had seized the
port of Antwerp
with its installations
virtually intact on September
4, 1944.
Although the
port was
captured with
little damage
to its huge
facilities,
the
British had
failed to seize the
bridges over the Albert
Canal, and when the
British troops tried to
cross a few days later
the bridges were blown
by the retreating
Germans.
The Germans still had control of South
Beveland and Walcheren. This would
soon hamper Allied efforts to clear
and open the port area. Hitler had
ordered German
General Gustov von
Zangen's
15th Army, which occupied
South Beveland and Walcheren
Island, to block the Scheldt
estuary and render the port
useless for the Allies. German troops
were urged to defend the
Scheldt blockade position
"at all costs." As
long as the Germans held control of
the sea approaches and the long
winding estuary, Allied shipping to
the port would be prevented.
On September 12, 1944,
the First Canadian Army was given the
task of clearing the Scheldt of German
occupiers. This was the largest army
ever assembled under the control of a
Canadian general—Lieutenant-General
Guy Simonds. North
of the estuary lay
South Beveland.
Beyond South
Beveland lay
Walcheren, which
had been fortified
into a powerful
German stronghold.
The
south bank of
the estuary
was flat flood
lands enclosed
by dykes,
known as
Polder
Country. This
area was below
sea level and
was easy to
defend. The
terrain would
be very
difficult for
the attackers.
The flooded muddy ground,
open spaces, and heavy defended German
positions would make the assault
formidable.
The
operational plans called for
four phases of battle.
First, the area north of
Antwerp was to be cleared to
secure access to South
Beveland. Next, behind the
Leopold Canal, the area of
Breskens would be attacked,
followed by the capture of
South Beveland. Finally,
Walcheren should be
assaulted and cleared.
German General von Zangen
was determined to make the
Canadians pay a high price
for opening Antwerp.
The Battle of the Scheldt
began on September 13, with
little success. Efforts were renewed
in October as the 2nd Canadian
Infantry Division advanced north of
Antwerp, while the 3rd Canadian
Infantry Division, supported by the
4th Canadian Armored Division, began
the assault over the Leopold Canal. In
both areas the fighting was heavy. The
German forces were dug-in and made it
difficult for the Canadian forces to
advance. It was a grueling time for
the soldiers of the First Canadian
Army.
The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division,
attacking over open flooded ground,
made good progress against the enemy
paratroopers close the eastern end of
South Beveland. Casualties were heavy
on both sides, but by October 16 the
Canadians had seized the town of
Woensdrecht at the entrance to South
Beveland. On October 16 Field-Marshall
Bernard Montgomery ordered the
securing of the Scheldt be made the
army’s top priority.
Lieutenant-General
Simonds concentrated his forces on the
area north of South Beveland. The 4th
Canadian Armored Division, which had
been engaged at the Leopold Canal,
moved north of the Scheldt and drove
hard for the town of Bergen-op-Zoom.
By October 24, the entrance to South
Beveland was breached and secured and
the 2nd Canadian Division began the
advance into South Beveland, assisted
by an amphibious landing by the 52nd
British Division. By October 31, 1944,
the area was secured by the Allies.
The fighting along the Scheldt’s
southern shore was equally fierce.
Here the 3rd Canadian Division
encountered tenacious German
opposition as it fought to cross the
Leopold Canal and clear the Breskens
pocket behind the canal. The attack
began on October 6, 1944, against
fierce opposition, and for three days
a slender bridgehead was in constant
danger of elimination.
Finally, on October 9, an amphibious
assault broke the enemy’s hold on the
canal, and the bridgehead was
deepened. Troops and tanks crossed the
canal and the Germans withdrew into
concrete bunkers along the coast. More
fighting followed, but by November 3
the south shore of the Scheldt was
secured. This left the island of
Walcheren as the last obstacle to
securing the port of Antwerp for
Allied use. However, the Germans had
fortified their position on the island
and the only land approach was the
long narrow causeway from South
Beveland. To make matters worse, the
flats that surrounded this causeway
were too saturated with sea water for
movement on foot but with too little
water for an assault in storm boats.
Walcheren, where only weeks
before V-2 rockets
had been directed towards
England, was
attacked from three directions:
across the causeway from the
east, across the Scheldt from
the south, and from the west by
sea. To hamper German defense,
the dykes were breached by heavy
Royal Air Force bombing, which
flooded the central area and
allowed the use of amphibious
vehicles. The Canadians attacked
the causeway on October 31 and,
after a costly struggle,
established a foothold. Then, in
conjunction with the waterborne
attacks, the 52nd British
Division continued the advance.
On November 6, Walcheren's
capital city Middelburg was
secured, and by November 8,
1944, all enemy opposition
ended. At the end of the five
week offensive, the victorious
First Canadian Army had taken
41,043 prisoners, but suffered
12,873 casualties (killed,
wounded, or missing), 6,367 of
whom were Canadians.
After Canadian
troops drove the Germans out of
the Scheldt Estuary, mines had
to be cleared from the harbor
and facilities repaired. Later,
on November 28, the first allied
convoy of 18 ships reached the
Antwerp docks. However, by the
time the Antwerp port was
finally operational, bad weather
had set in. Gone were the hopes
of ending the war in Europe by
end of 1944. The failed Market
Garden offensive and the delayed
opening of coastal ports had
allowed the German forces to
take up strong defensive
positions all across the battle
front.
On September 3, 1944, Montgomery ordered
General Dempsey, head of the British 2nd Army, to
occupy Antwerp. The 11th Armoured Division captured
Antwerp on September 4. There was some enemy resistance
but, with the help of the Belgium Resistance
fighters, this was crushed easily. The citizens of
the city, along with the organized
resistance
forces, hampered the hurried efforts of the
retreating Germans to sabotage the port
facilities. Residents watched the German
soldiers pour through the underground "big
tunnel" from the west-bank
of the Scheldt making their retreat
into the city center. Soon this
access would be cut off when the
Germans demolished the west-bank
entrances for both the underground
motor vehicle tunnel
(Waaslandtunnel) and the pedestrian
tunnel (Sint Annatunnel).
The British advance was
swift—but
even so, the night before
the Germans had sunk two
large ships in the port
and set fire to a small
dry-dock, but the large
dry-dock was left untouched.
The
next morning,
September 4, three
more ships were sunk
in the port as an
impediment to the Allied
operations.
When the Germans
were setting
explosives to damage
the Scheldt quays
the Belgian port
workers offered
their help—only to
sabotage the
explosives. The Germans
brought in an
ammunition ship
loaded with 35
tons of explosives
with the
intention of
detonating the
ship in the
port. However,
the Belgians
foiled
this plan by scattering
all available
tugs and
sabotaging all
the bridge
mechanisms to
make movement
impossible in
the port.
Unlike the harbors at Brest and
Cherbourg, which had been totally
wrecked, The Port of
Antwerp with its
modern berthing facilities was in
good condition. 592 cranes, dry
docks, along with storage capacity
for 120 million gallons of fuel,
Antwerp needed very little to
become operational. Antwerp had a
peacetime discharge capability of
80,000 to 100,000 tons of cargo
per day, but the planned rate of
discharge by the Allies was much
lower because of limited storage
facilities.
Even before the port
was opened, the Germans had
launched sporadic V-weapon attacks
against Antwerp. Occasionally, the
German Luftwaffe sent over bombers
to attack the harbor. Defenses for
the all-important harbor soon
became a priority for Supreme
Headquarters Allied Expeditionary
Force (SHAEF). Major
General A.M. Cameron, an
experienced British Anti-aircraft
officer, was appointed on October
4, 1944, to conduct the setup of
air defenses of the liberated
Belgian cities. Air Defense Great
Britain and an advisory team was
assigned to his headquarters to
assist in countering the flying
bomb attack.
The first V-2 to impact in the Antwerp area
was actually a
stray intended
for Maastricht
on October 7,
1944. It fell
in the
community of
Brasschaat,
about eight
kilometers to
the northeast,
without any
casualties but
causing minor
damage. A few
days later,
residents of
Antwerp heard
a tremendous
explosion on
the morning of
Friday,
October 13,
when the first
V-2 actually
targeted at
the city
destroyed
several
buildings on
the corner of
Schildersstraat
and Karel
Rogierstraat.
There were
reports of
many citizens
being crushed
under the tons
of rubble. The
infamous V-2
had just
claimed its
first victims
in the Belgian
port city.
Later that
same day,
another rocket
impacted in
the city. The
local
residents came
to the scene
of the impacts
for a closer
inspection.
Fears among
the city's
population
were
increased, but
at this point
no one was in
panic.
The
first V-1
attack on the
city was
recorded on
October 11,
ten days
before the
campaign
ordered by
Hitler began.
The new
anti-aircraft
defenses were
barely in
place when the
heavy V-1
bombardment
began on
October 21.
Other cities
such as Ghent
and Brussels
were also
targeted.
Ghent escaped
serious damage
but fifty-five
flying bombs
landed in
Brussels in a
four day
period causing
considerable
damage and
frightening
the
inhabitants.
Antwerp was
destined to
take the brunt
of the
bombardment.
By October 25
a total of 79
flying bombs
had been
launched. By
the end of the
month the
number rose
rapidly to
337. These
attacks proved
very effective
both in terms
of damage done
and as a
device to
range the
various cities
for
concentrated
attacks by the
various launch
sites.
The defense of Antwerp
against the V-1 was
more difficult than
the defense of London
because the weapons
were closer and the
Germans had more
flexibility in
launching sites.
Because of the short
flight times and low
altitude of the
approaching V-1s,
aircraft could not be
used to intercept them
in the same way they
did in England. The newspapers of the day gave no
real hint to
the actual
cause of the
blasts, but
they did urge
the Antwerp
residents to
take certain
precautions if
they
encountered
the German
flying bomb.
On October 19, a V-2
rocket
impacted the Kroonstraat
at Borgerhout
destroying 25
houses,
killing 44
people and
injuring about
100. The
explosion on
October 28 at
Bontemantelstraat (one of the most densely
populated
parts of the
city) was the
first real
massacre of
the V-weapon
campaign.
ABOVE: FIRES SET BY RETREATING
GERMANS IN THE PORT OF ANTWERP
Greg Hayward was
an 18-year-old
airman with the
Royal Air Force
during the
invasion of
Europe. He
served with the
146th Wing,
equipped with
fighter bombers
supporting the
British and
Canadian forces
during their
advance from
Normandy to the
German frontier.
Hayward arrived
in Antwerp on
October 2 and
was based at
Deurne, a prewar
civilian airport
just three and a
half miles from
downtown
Antwerp. During
the following
days, Hayward
and his comrades
witnessed the
increase of
V-weapon
attacks.
Hayward recalls
a harrowing
experience at
Deurne:
“The closest
shave I
experienced was
on October 25
when a V-2
exploded on the
airfield where,
along with some
20 of my
comrades, I was
working on one
of two aircraft
dispersed for
servicing. The
incident left
five airmen dead
and a dozen or
so injured. The
rocket landed
only 50 yards
away but
fortunately
missed the
concrete roadway
and hit an area
of soft
ground—otherwise,
I would probably
be dead. I was
standing on the
wing of an
aircraft at the
time, waiting to
climb into the
cockpit. All I
remember was a
brilliant
crimson flash,
but no actual
recollection of
an explosion.
Then, I was on
the ground, the
air around me
black with smoke
and dirt thrown
up by the
impact.” Hayward
recounted, “By
the time I
sorted myself
out and realized
that I was still
in one piece,
the smoke and
dirt had
dispersed,
revealing a
scene of
devastation and
a still-smoking
crater where the
rocket had
landed. Rescue
teams were
immediately on
the scene and
ordered me back
to our workshop
to clean up. One
of the dead
airmen was a
friend of mine,
we had been at
training school
together. He was
only 18!”
It wasn't until
November, when
the last
German forces
were cleared
from the
Walcheren
peninsula,
that the
Allies were
finally able
to take
advantage of
the port's
vast
facilities. It
took another
two weeks for
the Royal Navy
to clear the
mines left by
the retreating
Germans in the
estuary. When
the first
Allied convoy
sailed into
Antwerp 7,000
dock workers
immediately
presented
themselves for
work in the
harbor.
Finally, on
November 28,
1944, the port
of Antwerp was
opened.
Unloading of
supplies began
immediately.
Since the time
the city had
been captured,
it had taken
almost three
months for
secure the
harbor. Eventually,
close
to 9,000
Belgian
civilians
worked daily
in the port
unloading
equipment and
supplies with
the Allied
troops.
V-2 rocket
batteries
firing toward
Antwerp were
stationed at
several
places. In
October, the
first and
third
batteries of
the Art. Abt.
485 and the
newly
activated SS
500 Battery
were all
firing at
Antwerp from
positions near
Burgsteinfurt
in Germany.
The second and
third
batteries of
the Art. Abt.
836 bombarded
Antwerp from
firing
positions near
the town of
Merzig and the
first battery
also targeted
Antwerp from
positions near
Hermeskeil. In
November, all
three of the
Art. Abt. 485
batteries
launched for a
time from the
Burgsteinfurt
area against
the Belgian
port. The SS
500 battery
had moved to
new positions
near
Hellendoorn in
The
Netherlands.
All three
batteries of
Art. Abt. 836
fired in
unison from
Hermeskeil
until
December, when
they moved
across the
Rhine River to
the area of
the Westerwald
frontier.
An increased
number of
V-weapons fell
on Antwerp
throughout
November 1944.
There were six
incidents
alone in which
thirty or more
civilians had
died. A V-2
fell in
Broydelstraat
on November 11
killing
fifty-one and
injured just
as many
others. Among
these were
some of the
first military
casualties.
Fifteen
soldiers were
dead and six
wounded.
PHOTOS ABOVE:
CANADIAN FORCES ATTACK ACROSS THE
SCHELDT;
ANTWERP & THE PORT; GERMAN
PRISONERS FOLLOWING BATTLE
Kenneth
Hartman was a
23-year-old US
soldier
stationed in
Antwerp during
the 175 days
of V-weapon
bombardment.
His unit,
Headquarters
Q-189,
Headquarters
Company, 54th
QM Base Depot,
arrived in the
city during
October of
1944, finding
neighborhoods
seemingly
deserted. Only
a few children
were seen in
the streets.
The job for
his unit was
to get the
harbor open
and
operational.
He remembers
the V-weapons
bearing down
as the symbol
of the
city—the
bronze statue
of mythical
hero Brabo—held vigil in the old city center as
the terror
rained from
the sky. “I
would go to
witness the
result of the
worst of the
bombings. The
V-2s did the
most damage,”
said Hartman.
“On October 14
I went to Schildersstraat
the day after
a V-2 had
killed 32 and
wounded 45."
A rocket fired
by Battery
444 from Rijs
had impacted
at the corner
of the Schildersstraat and the Karel Rogierstraat.
Approximately
100 structures
were damaged,
including the
Royal Museum
of Fine Arts.
Forty-three
houses were
totally
"A few days
later, a V-2
impacted in
the suburb of
Borgerhout, at
Kroonstraat,
killing 44 and
wounding 98.
Three-story
residences
were literally
sliced away
from the next,
leaving a
common wall
exposed to the
weather,”
Hartman
remembered. “I
stopped going
to the tragic
sites after
November 17.
That day I
came upon the
ruins of the
Boy’s
Orphanage at
Durletstraat.
The Belgian
Red Cross had
removed 36
dead children
and another
125 wounded by
a V-1 the day
before.” Also
on November 17
another V-2
struck the St.
Joanna
Institute at
Ferdinand
Coosemansstraat.
Thirty-two of
the nuns died
there under
the massive
pile of
debris.
Since his
youth, Charles Ostyn (April 2, 1926 – September 6,
2022) had
been
fascinated by
the details of
the terrible
V-bombs that
fell around
his home when
he was a young
man growing up
in Antwerp. In
1944, Charles
was 18
years-old and
living in
Hoboken, which
is a suburb of
Antwerp. He
lived in a
house with his
parents and
one sister. He
was working in
the city as a
young drafting
apprentice at
the time.
Ostyn vividly
remembered
what it was
like to live
in Antwerp
that winter,
and he told
V2ROCKET.COM
about his
experiences:
"On November
6, 1944, I got
a phone call
in the office
in the city
telling me to
go home
'pronto' as a
V-bomb had
fallen in our
street, but
that was about
all they could
tell me. It
turned out
that some 2
hours before,
a V-1 had
fallen into
the park
behind my
house. The
blast was not
more than 30
meters from
our house. It
just so
happened that
a thick park
wall shielded
our home from
the blast
somewhat, the
upper part and
the roof were
gone but my
parents were
unhurt except
for glass
cuts.I
spent the next
few days
clearing away
the rubble,
moving
furniture and
looking for
missing
things, but it
was clear the
place was
uninhabitable.
That winter
was one of the
coldest we had
during the war
and certainly
the most
miserable for
us having lost
our house
early on..."
Ostyn could
not
forget the
earth-shattering
sound of the
V-2s that
rocked his
city. "For the
V-2 there
usually (but
not always)
were two
bangs,
separated by a
split-second,
this I clearly
remember,"
Ostyn
recalled.
"They were
usually
accompanied by
a violent
tremor if the
impact
occurred
nearby. The
approach of
the rocket was
only rarely
observed..."
Amazingly,
Ostyn actually
witnessed a
V-2 plunging
to earth; "I
saw this flash
during the
day, but only
once - I just
happened to
look at the
sky in the
right
direction. It
was definitely
not a
contrail, but
it was like a
streak from a
comet—as
fast as a
shooting star.
It was a long,
thin, white
streak, more
like a flash
coming down to
the earth.
This was seen
about 1-2
seconds before
the impact."
Many
eyewitnesses
have described
what looked
like a
"shooting
star."
PHOTO:
TWIN-SHOT V-2 ROCKETS LAUNCHED
FROM THE HAGUE HEADED FOR LONDON
AS SEEN FROM THE NOORDERLAAN IN
ANTWERP
-
PHOTO: CHARLES OSTYN
AND HIS FRIEND
GUS ON STREETS OF ANTWERP 1945
"When a V-2 rocket hit
in the city it was always followed by a huge
black or brownish cloud of debris. If you
dared to keep on watching (as I foolishly
did many times), large pieces of metal and
junk kept coming down all around you for
several minutes. I always wondered if these
twirling pieces of sheet metal were from the
rocket itself. The only other time I saw a
V-2 explode was on December 12, it was still
dark outside and I was riding the tram to
work. I didn't see a flash—just one hell of
a bang and a yellow mass of flame lighting
up the city. It hit about 500 meters away,"
said Ostyn.
Ostyn was one of the few people
in Antwerp that knew, on a daily basis,
where the V-weapons had hit on any
particular day. The office of his employer
was on the fourth floor of a building on a
narrow street in the old part of the city.
Many times, after hearing the bangs, he
would volunteer to climb to the roof and
check on where the big brown cloud was
billowing. He would stand in amazement
looking at the junk and scrap pieces of
metal fluttering down for several minutes.
He later commented, "It is one of the silly
things you do when you are 18 years-old I
suppose."
After coming down from the roof
he would tell what he had seen and give the
general direction of the impact. Everyone
knew when a hit was very close because of
the tremor, the falling of plaster and the
breaking of glass windows. A slight
vibration could be felt in the building a
split-second before the two bangs.
Greg Hayward described the V-2
descent and impact this way: “One puzzling
feature of the V-2 arrival was on a clear
day, a descending vapor trail was clearly
visible in the sky, and the first explosion
occurred several thousand feet above the
ground. This explosion appeared to be the
rocket casing as hundreds of pieces of
debris could be seen seemingly fluttering to
the ground above the point of impact. I have
never heard an official explanation of this
phenomenon in the years since. All this, of
course, was only seen after the warhead
explosion alerted one to its arrival.” In
fact, what Hayward probably had witnessed
was a midair breakup of the V-2.
The port workers were constantly halting
their duties to take cover from the
endless amount of V-bomb warnings and by
rescue and repair crews. It didn't take
much damage to divert valuable labor for
repairs to buildings and facilities.
Because of the destruction caused by the
V-1s, V-2s, and German jet aircraft, the
port personnel were constantly being
diverted to repair the workshops, roofs,
doors, and walls. It was estimated that
over 90 percent of all glass in port
installations had been shattered and
replaced temporarily
with plywood blinds.
Workers
and transport drivers described the
constant nervous tension felt by
many of the port personnel. Close
calls were frequent. The continual
drone of buzz bombs overhead caused
this nervous-dread, waiting for the
engine stop, diving for cover. It
was the soldiers and dock workers
that first coined the phrase "City
of Sudden Death." Indeed, the daily
onslaught of V-bombs created a
common theme for any first person
accounts of life in Antwerp during
1944-45.
Teniers
Square
On November 27, a
terrible incident occurred at a major
road junction near the Central
Station. Teniers Plaats (Square) was
the busiest intersection in town (as
it still is today). Military policemen
were always regulating the heavy
traffic for an Allied convoy passing
through the square.
It was on the main
north-south axis for the supply
columns. From the docks, American
troops were heading south to the US
supply bases near Liege and British
columns were heading north to the
front lines in Holland. There were
four tram lines crossing the square in
both directions, plus there were many
autos and pedestrians moving
throughout the busy intersection.
"I often went there after
lunch to watch the military
activity..." said Charles Ostyn. "and
the British MP, right there in the
middle, regulating and directing both
military and civilian traffic. On very
busy days there were two MP's."
A V-2 came down at ten
minutes past noon and exploded in the
middle of all this activity. A British
convoy was moving through the
intersection and was caught in the
blast. This particular rocket was
believed to have exploded just above
ground possibly having struck the
overhead tram lines just where the
traffic policemen stood. A city water
main burst, water bubbling up from the
ground. Soon, the whole square was
filled with water.
"I heard and saw this
explosion from a short distance away
while riding in the back of an open
truck and approached the scene about 2
hours later," Ostyn remembered. "There
was water running everywhere and the
whole place was cordoned off and
guarded by US soldiers. There was a
massive crowd of onlookers and many
people with bandages on their heads
walking around. It must have hit
something above ground first because
no crater was ever found."
The result was total
devastation. The water began to pool
on the street. Floating on the water
were dismembered corpses, various body
parts, clothing and large amounts of
debris. Several of the vehicles in the
convoy exploded or caught on fire,
their occupants lay burning. The glass
windows of the passing trams near the
intersection were all shattered
causing injuries to those riding on
the trams.
One
of the MP's was completely
disintegrated and the charred
body of another was found
sometime later on the roof of a
nearby hotel, about 60 meters
away. Soon, the story of the
unfortunate MP who was blown to
bits was infamous among the
locals. In all, the dead were
126 (26 were American &
British soldiers) and another
309 injured. The sight of the
ever-present horse-drawn hearse
during following days was a
regular occurrence as the many
dead were laid to rest.
HORSE-DRAWN HEARSE WAS
REGULAR OCCURRENCE FOR
THE MANY DEAD
On that same bitterly cold
November day, Simone De Ceunynck happened to
be walking home from her place of employment.
She worked as an assistant bookkeeper at a
local insurance agency in Antwerp and was on
her way home to Deurne for her lunch break.
Simone had recently decided to alter her
normal route because of all the V-weapon
blasts occurring near the old path she walked
before. Simone was in a hurry to get home, so
she went ahead of her friends from the office.
After walking about two blocks, she was
approaching the city crossing at Teniers
Square when suddenly she felt uneasy. She
quickly darted in front of the Army convoy,
trying to get across the street as fast as she
could. She heard the loud voice of the nearby
MP yelling at her just as she reached the
other side of the street. It was at that
moment that the rocket struck.
All of a sudden the noise of the city
stopped, there was a split second of
silence, then a low rumble followed by
fire and screaming. Simone found
herself standing between many broken
and bleeding bodies. The gloves she
had been carrying were gone. Dazed,
she looked around and saw them lying
on a dead British soldier. Simone
reached down to retrieve the gloves
and was greeted with the awful sight
of the soldier’s brains spilling out
of his skull.
She began to panic, screaming as the
horror of the scene overtook her.
Another British soldier calmed her
down and escorted her to the nearest
Red Cross station. Simone was bleeding
but alive. Shrapnel had entered her
leg and breast; however, she was one
of the lucky ones. Although she did
not know it until she returned to work
days later, two of her coworkers had
died in the attack.
Leaving the Red Cross station, Simone
walked home, wondering if her mother
had heard the blast. As it turned out,
she had not. Walking into her home,
the first comment from her mother was
that Simone was late. Then she saw her
daughter standing there, hair full of
debris and glass, her clothes stained
and bloody. They immediately traveled
to the family doctor in Deurne.
This V-2 was targeted at central
Antwerp rather than Antwerp
Harbour. Teniers Square just
happened to be the geographical
center of Antwerp. It is
therefore highly probable that
it was the nominal aiming point
for many V-2 rounds.
PHOTOS:
GHASTLY SCENES
OF DESTRUCTION OF THE
TENIERS SQUARE V-2
INCIDENT
First Lieutenant Verne W.
Robinson just happened to be traveling near
Teniers that day. Robinson was in a vehicle
with Private Herbert L. Moyer and Private
Marcel Snauwaert—all three members of the US
604th Engineers. Driving from Namur, they were
on a routine errand to a railroad station in
Antwerp to pick up some supplies. As they
approached the intersection at Teniers, they
were slowed by the heavy traffic bustling
through the crossing. In a flash, the mayhem
of the rocket explosion left Lieutenant
Robinson lying on the cobblestone street
mortally wounded, as shrapnel pierced his
temple. In the aftermath he was cared for by
pedestrians, but to no avail. A tragic
illustration of being at the wrong place at
the wrong time, Lieutenant Robinson was the
only soldier from the US 604th Engineers to be
killed during the war.
Earlier, Greg Hayward was
delighted to be off duty that day, and he was
preparing to spend the afternoon in the town
center. He was hoping to pay a visit to an
American Red Cross canteen, where coffee and
doughnuts were available. “At midday an
explosion signaled a V-2 arrival, and it was
apparent from the smoke and debris in the sky
that it was somewhere near the center of the
town,” said Hayward. “After lunch I took a
tram into town and as I walked from the
terminal toward the Keyserlei, it was obvious
that the site of the incident was very close.
On reaching the area of Teniers Square, I saw
a scene of utter devastation. My own lasting
recollection is of street gullies running red
as water from the broken main and fire hoses
mixed with the blood of victims. Realizing
that the area was closed and that there was
nothing I could do, I returned to my base.”
The
V-bombs continued to fall throughout
the Greater Antwerp area and on the
west side of the Scheldt River. Following the
tragic incident at the Boy‟s
Orphanage on Durletstraat,
the US 350 Dispensary was set up to
assist with the evacuations and care
for the victims. Several Belgian
Agencies, including the Belgian Red
Cross praised their efforts. The
350th answered calls at any time,
day or night, to render assistance.
They were also in harm's way, as two
officers and 11 enlisted men were
wounded during their duty in
Antwerp.
It was becoming
apparent the conditions were so
dangerous in the port that SHAEF
raised concerns in November 1944.
They issued a report about the
dangers of bringing ammunition into
the port. It was recommended that
ammunition be excluded entirely, and
proposed that all Class V ammunition
and explosives continue to be off
loaded at Cherbourg and Le Havre.
This was not a popular decision, as
the British 21st Army Group felt
that ammunition ships could be
brought into the port if their
numbers were strictly limited and
they were adequately dispersed.
Later, the port Executive Committee
asked that all ammunition ships be
temporarily excluded from Antwerp.
Exceptions were granted to some of
the British ammunition ships for the
21st Army Group. Some quantities of
ammunition were brought in for the
needs of the anti-aircraft batteries
that defended Antwerp, and at times,
ammunition cargo from other ports had to be
rushed in for the defenses.
The
V-bomb strikes also slowed rail and
barge traffic. With Antwerp being a
transportation hub, there were many
railways coming into Antwerp and
Liege. These lines were damaged by
the rocket attacks. Trains were
held up while waiting for repairs to
the tracks. It was so bad that the
Railway Service had to greatly
increase its workforce. Thus, the
V-weapons severely restricted usage
of the port by the Allies.
REX
Cinema
On the first day of the German
Ardennes offensive, December 16, 1944,
the worst V-bomb disaster occurred.
The "REX" Cinema
on avenue De Keyserlei was packed full
of people in middle of the afternoon,
nearly 1200 seats were occupied, all
watching the featured movie. At 15:20
hrs the audience suddenly glimpsed a
split-second flash of light cutting
through the dark theater, followed by
the balcony and ceiling crashing down
during a deafening boom. A V-2 rocket
had impacted directly on top of the
cinema. Charles Ostyn happened to be
near the cinema that day and would
later learn of a personal tragedy in
his life caused by this particular
rocket attack.
"December 16, 1944, is a
day I can never forget. It all really
sank in on us after the massacre at the
REX Cinema," said Ostyn.
He told about his feelings at that
time: "I still remember that Saturday
as if it were yesterday. I had walked
past the theater about 20 minutes
before the impact—to
think, at that very moment a V-2 was
being tanked-up by members of the SS
Werfer Battery 500 in Holland, it
being destined to kill all those
people in one blinding instant."
The
destruction
was total.
Afterwards,
many people
were found
still sitting
in their
seats, stone
dead. For more
than a week
the Allied
authorities
worked to
clear the
rubble. Later,
many of the
bodies were
laid out at
the city zoo
for
identification.
The death toll
was 567
casualties to
soldiers and
civilians, 291
injured and 11
buildings were
destroyed. 296
of the dead
& 194 of
the injured
were US,
British, &
Canadian
soldiers. This
was the single
highest death
total from one
rocket attack
during the war
in Europe.
"I heard the
explosion
while I was
traveling home
on the tram.
The cinema was
packed with
more than 1100
people and I
remember the
movie playing
was 'The
Plainsman' *
with Gary
Cooper and
Jean Arthur
(about "Wild
Bill" Hickock—I
was a real
movie nut in
my younger
years). Later,
I found out
that my
employer and
his girlfriend
were in the
audience.
Apparently, my
boss took his
girlfriend out
to see the
film on a spur
of the moment
decision."
James
Mathieson
remembers the
rocket struck
the cinema
just at the
point in the
movie where
“Gary Cooper
had captured
an Indian who
informed him
that General
Custer and his
troops had
been wiped
out.”
PHOTOS:
REX
CINEMA
WAS POPULAR WITH CIVILIANS
AND SOLDIERS. THE
DESTRUCTION WAS
TOTAL
Mathieson
was a member
of an RAF
intelligence
unit, one of
the first
permanent RAF
units in
Belgium, which
was stationed
at German
Admiral Erich
Raeder’s
former
headquarters
in Antwerp.
That day my CO
decided he
would allow a
few men off to
have a little
break. We
decided to go
to the REX
because the
picture
showing was
The Plainsman,
starring Gary
Cooper and
Jean Arthur,
who were two
of my favorite
actors,” said
Mathieson.
Upon entering
the cinema,
Mathieson and
his buddy
decided to sit
in the back
row of the
smallest
portion of the
balcony. When
the roof fell
in, Mathieson
felt bricks
and mortar
falling from
above. He put
his left hand
up to shield
his head,
which was
quickly sliced
open from the
falling
debris.
Another brick
landed on the
opposite side
of his head
leaving a
large gash. In
a state of
semi-consciousness,
covered in
dust and
blood,
Mathieson
remembers
being rescued
from the
debris.
“I was in a
row where only
three seats
remained
attached and I
was lying over
into space
from the
balcony.
If I had gone
down into the
pit I would
have had no
chance. I
consider to
this day that
I have a
guardian angel
looking after
me because I
think it was
an absolute
miracle that I
escaped with
so little
injury.”
Mathieson was
moved to a
British Army
hospital in
the Belgian
town of
Duffel. When
he awoke a few
days later, he
discovered his
wounds had
been stitched
up and his
head and arms
were wrapped
in bandages.
Amazingly, he
was told the
building
housing his
unit was hit
by another V-2
the very next
day and
practically
everybody was
wiped out.
Even though
the V-2
explosion at
the REX
almost killed
the young
Mathieson, the
injuries he
sustained may
well have
saved him from
perishing with
his unit.
Survivors said
that the
rocket came
through the
roof and
exploded on
the mezzanine.
The rubble and
debris was up
to 5 meters
high and it
took the
rescue teams
six days to
dig out all
the dead.
American and
British teams
had to join in
with Army
cranes and
trucks. The
hospitals were
swamped and
health
services
couldn't cope
anymore.
"The
news that
something
really
terrible had
happened in
the city
filtered to
the suburbs
later that
evening," said
Ostyn. "During
the following
week, it was
finally
confirmed that
our boss and
his fiancee
were found
dead under a
thick layer of
dust, both
remarkably
intact except
for terrible
head wounds."
"Thinking
back, my
closest call
of being blown
to eternity
was one week
after the
'REX', we were
at the funeral
for my boss at
Silsburg
Cemetery at
Deurne and
just before
the coffin
went down into
the ground, at
about 14.30
hrs, a V-2
exploded at
the other end
of the
cemetery,
ploughing into
a row of
houses... as
if to
underline the
tragedy of it
all. It was a
very weird
episode, which
I cannot ever
forget."
After this
shock, all
theaters and
cinemas were
shut down and
no more than
50 people were
allowed to
gather in any
one place.
People who
could afford
it left the
city for safer
parts and
Antwerp became
a somber and
semi-deserted
city. The
residents
remaining
really felt
that they were
under siege.
SCHOONSELHOF
CEMETERY
ANTWERP
The area Schoonselhof is a former
large estate
converted into
the largest
cemetery in
the city and
is located in
Wilrijk, a
suburb of
Antwerp. Found
in the
cemetery today
is a large
section
covered with
military and
war
graves.
Schoonselhof
has war
memorials for
the graves of
1,557 British
Commonwealth
soldiers who
died fighting
in World War I
and World War
II. There is a
memorial to
the victims of
the V-weapons
in Antwerp and
a special plot
of
commonwealth
graves with a
large number
of them dated
December 16,
1944. These
are the
victims of the
REX incident.
The first time the
press referred
to Antwerp as
"The City of
Sudden Death"
occurred in
March 1945 in
TIME magazine.
Reporters had
spoken to many
of the US
soldiers
working in the
port area
during the
final week of
the V-weapon
activity. The
soldiers told
of the terror
reigned on the
city for the
past 4-5
months.
"There was
never any real
panic in the
city but,
tension and
fear
existed—especially
after the
'REX'
incident,"
said Charles
Ostyn.
There was a
total news
blackout about
the
bombardment in
the papers and
this went on
until April of
1945. What
made matters
worse was that
this included
any news about
how the war
effort was
going. Any
reports about
locations of
V-1 or V-2
hits would
have given the
Germans data
that they
could have
used to
improve their
aiming. So,
the people of
Antwerp never
got any
official
information
about what was
happening.
The V-weapon
onslaught
combined with
the bad news
from the
Ardennes
offensive in
December made
Antwerp
residents
realize that
the war was
far from over
and that
thousands more
civilians and
soldiers were
going to die
before Germany
was defeated. The psychological effect on the
citizens of
Antwerp was
great. It made
the
population
despondent and
war weary—scared
of what else
Hitler had in
store for them.
Between
December 10-16
about 761
civilians were
killed by the
V-weapons. The
increased
V-weapon
attacks in
December could
not have come
at a worse
time for the
citizens of
Antwerp. The
severe winter
weather and
the
destruction of
many houses
caused great
anxiety in the
port city. By
the end of
1944, greater
Antwerp (city
and port area,
left bank and
eight
suburbs—population
in 1944 was
approx.
500,000) had
recorded 590
direct hits,
which had
flattened 884
homes and
caused around
1,200 others
to be
uninhabitable.
Almost 6,000
buildings were
badly damaged
and more than
23,000 others
were damaged
in some
manner.
Casualty
figures stood
at 1,736 dead
and another
4,500 injured.
It seemed that
no
neighborhood
had escaped
the
destruction,
as piles of
debris could
be seen
everywhere.
The
only surviving
pieces of the
V-2 were
always the
large
combustion
chamber and
turbo-pump
mechanism,
which were
found all over
the city and
the suburbs
usually half
buried in the
ground. These
would
sometimes
careen after
impact, possibly
killing many
people in the
path
(combustion
chamber weight
= 600 Kg).
V-weapon
activity was
normally much
less at night
than by day.
Still, there
was the
occasional
ear-splitting
bang late at
night or in
the early
morning
announcing the
arrival of
another
'Whispering
Death' in the
city. Only the
loudest of
thunderclaps
can match this
sound in its
intensity or
volume," said
Ostyn.
The
residents of
Antwerp were
witness to
almost
indescribable
daily scenes—such
as a horse and
cart that was
unfortunately
close to a V-2
explosion,
which meant
the poor horse
was terribly
maimed and had
to be
dispatched
with a hammer
by a civilian
soon after and
was left lying
in the street
for many days
after.
There
were scenes of
funeral
processions
for victims as
the V-1s
buzzed
overhead. As
terrible as it
sounds, it is
these little
sketches of a
city under
siege that
show the
reality and
horrors
endured by the
people of the
city during
this time.
Residents
in the two
northern
suburbs of
Antwerp, on
very clear
days only,
could
sometimes see
V-2s rising in
the air
(launched from
Hoek van
Holland or Den
Haag) on their
way to London.
The German V-2
batteries
firing on
London were
only a little
over 50 air
miles from
Antwerp's
northern
suburbs.
-
ABOVE:
LARGE QUANTITY OF ROCKET
DEBRIS IN ANTWERP; REMNANTS
OF MANY
TURBO-PUMPS
AND COMBUSTION
CHAMBERS EXAMINED BY ALLIED SOLDIERS
PHOTOS ABOVE SHOW THE WIDESPREAD V-WEAPONS
DAMAGE THROUGHOUT ANTWERP AND SUBURBS.
MORE THAN 1,500 CIVILIANS WERE KILLED
BY THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN
ABOVE: FIRES BURNING
ON THE OIL
INSTALLATIONS
AT
HOBOKEN-KIEL
FOLLOWING V-BOMB
STRIKE
- ABOVE:
ON JANUARY 19 A
V-2 HIT THE OIL TANKS
AND FUEL DEPOTS
KILLING 8 PEOPLE
AND INJURING 20
OTHERS
The coming new year started no
better than
the previous.
On January 1,
just twelve
minutes past
midnight, a
V-2 impacted
Burgerhout
killing 46 and
wounding 33
others. That
was followed
by another
flying bomb.
On January 2
the city
registered no
less than 20
V-1 strikes.
The heavy snow
made rescue
work almost
impossible.
Ever since the
disaster at
the REX cinema
all theaters
and public
places had
been closed
down. The very
center is
Antwerp was
now desolate.
The municipal
authorities
had provided
temporary
housing for
the bombed out
residents of
the city, but
they were
almost
overwhelmed by
those in need.
With the help
of Allied
forces,
including
doctors,
nurses and
soldiers, they
were able to
cope. Rescue
workers often
had to deal
with more than
50 corpses a
day and the
very real
possibility
that a wall or
entire
building, so
weakened by
the blasts,
might suddenly
collapse on
top of them.
On January 8
another V-2
hit Antwerp
harbor at pier
123 about
fifty yards
from the
freighter
"Blenhiem"
operated by
the Waterman
Steamship
Company. The
concussion
cracked all
the bulkheads
in the cabins
and the
forecastle,
blew off or
damaged all
the doors,
broke water
pipes, and
ripped
radiators and
bunks from the
bulkheads. The
blast injured
twenty of
those on board
and the ship
needed nearly
a month to
make temporary
repairs. She
finally left
for England in
a convoy on
February 2.
Less
than a week
after the
Blenheim was
damaged, a V-2
hit berth 218
near the
starboard
quarter of the
Michael De
Kovats
damaging the
superstructure
and causing
blast damage
below. The
explosion
injured three
aboard the
ship and
reportedly
killed a
soldier
standing on
the pier.
In the port of
Antwerp
itself,
despite the
bombardment, a
constant flow
of ships was
still
delivering
supplies for
the Allied war
effort.
Thousands of
dock workers
unloaded the
ships in the
midst of the
raining
V-weapon
attacks.
Seventeen
ships were
damaged in
this period
and the
Kruisschans
lock was
damaged.
Several
marshaling
yards were hit
and the
Hoboken
petroleum
installations
were hit
twice.
Despite the
attacks, the
functionality
of the harbor
was never
fully halted.
However, the
planned
discharge rate
was less than
25
percent
of Antwerp's
actual
discharge
capacity.
There were
some
casualties
but, it never
took very long
for repairs to
be made to
these
installations.
Even so, it
was evident
the V-bombs
were hindering
the
productivity
of the port.
The
proud
civilians who
worked at the
docks received
an extra bonus
in their pay
from the
Allies. This
bonus was
called
Bibbergeld,
which
literally
meant—Shivering
Money—for the
risks of
working in the
port while the
V-bombs were
falling.
ABOVE: V-2 DAMAGE
AT KIEVITSTRAAT
ABOVE: V-2 DAMAGE
AT REGENT-WETSTRAAT
ABOVE: V-1 DAMAGE
AT ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH
(MERKSEM)
ABOVE: V-2 DAMAGE AT ST.
JOZEFSTRAAT
Antwerp-X
Increased
V-bomb attacks
against the
port had
Allied
planners
worried.
Supreme
Headquarters
Allied
Expeditionary
Forces (SHAEF)
installed
Major General
A.M. Cameron
to command the
air defenses
of the
captured
cities in
Belgium. In
May of 1944
Cameron was
assigned to
SHAEF.
Previously, he
held command
of an
anti-aircraft
group under
the
Anti-aircraft
Command and
the War
Office. On
October 4, to
protect the
newly
liberated
Belgian
cities, he was
made Chief of
the SHAEF Air
Defense
Division, with
the duty of
forming the
defenses to
counter German
aircraft and
flying-bombs.
Cameron headed
a joint
command, with
the
responsibility
for defending
Brussels
assigned to
the British
and the
defense of
Antwerp
assigned to
the Americans
under the
command of US
Brigadier
General Clare
H. Armstrong.
Cameron had
little
experience
with flying
bombs, but
Armstrong, in
command of the
50th
Anti-aircraft
Brigade,
had
prior
experience
with the
recent flying
bomb attack on
England.
In October of
1944 General
Armstrong's
forces
consisted of
11,500 men
assigned to
three
anti-aircraft
brigades.
These were the
56th
Anti-aircraft
Brigade
commanded by
American
General George
M. Bader; the
80th
Anti-aircraft
Brigade
commanded by
English
General H.W.
Deacon; while
the 50th
Anti-aircraft
Brigade
remained under
General
Armstrong's
personal
command, along
with several
Polish
anti-aircraft
batteries.
General
Armstrong's
total command
was designated
as
"Anti-Flying
Bomb Commando
Antwerp-X."
Antwerp-X was headquartered near an
airfield in the luxury hotel Le Grand Veneur
in Keerberg, Belgium.
The initial deployment
was established on October 28, 1944.
During its mission in Antwerp the
number of men in the command doubled.
At the height of operations
Armstrong's forces fielded 208 US 90mm
guns; 128 British 3.7" guns; 188 37mm
and 40mm guns and 72 searchlights. It
was the mission of the gun crews to
protect a 14 mile radius around the
port, day and night.
GERMAN AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE
DECEMBER 26, 1944
Charles Ostyn knew of
the destructive power of both
V-weapons. In his opinion, although
terrible, the V-2 was not as
terrifying as the drone of the V-1
coming overhead: "Although the V-2 was
terrible, the most scary for us in
Antwerp was the 'little dingbat' or
the V-1. We could hear them come from
a long distance when they crossed the
Allied anti-aircraft gun belt around
the city but, too many got through.
They had a characteristic rattle or
buzz and flew overhead at high speed
clearly visible. When the motor
stopped it came down in a long curve
and delivered its one ton of
explosives on our citizens.
We had about fifteen or
twenty seconds to dive for cover when
the engine cut out, which saved many
lives. In January and February the
V-1s were a real scourge on the city.
Later, in March of 1945 the Allied
gunners got the upper hand and manage
to bring down most of the incoming
V-1s. I have to admit though, things
would have been very different if Mr.
Kammler had thrown double the amount
of rockets onto our heads, it was more
like a steady drizzle not a full-scale
bombardment. I suppose the fear factor
has a lot to do with this, with V-2 it
lasted only a few seconds and it was
all over, no time to think or do
anything.
During
the initial
months
of the
V-bombs, the
tower of the
cathedral was
used as a
lookout point.
Staffed by
volunteers
from the fire
department,
the lookout
was linked by
telephone to
every fire
station in the
city. When a
bomb fell, the
volunteers
called the
nearest
brigades. Soon
the Antwerp
city council
built a wooden
observation
room on
Europe's first
skyscraper—the
24-story
Boerentoren
building
(Farmer’s
Tower), the
second tallest
structure in
the city.
Observers were
connected by
telephone to
the War Room,
where the Red
Cross, fire
brigade and
police were
represented.
When a V-bomb
fell, the
observers
could direct
emergency
services to
the site of
the explosion.
On
January
6,1945, a V-1
hit De
Boerentoren
itself,
leaving a
seven-meter
hole in the
side between
the 4th and
5th floor. The
warhead and
the moving
impact of the
flying bomb
failed to
budge the
tower itself
(built by Jan
van Hoenacker)
and the
observers
stationed on
top of the
tower, as well
as people
taking shelter
in the
basement,
never even
felt the
impact. After
the war, the
observation
room was
replaced by
the Panorama
Hall, which
occupies the top
floor of the
building.
At the end of
December the
St.
Bartholomeus
church in
Merksem was
severely
ravaged by
the impact of
a flying bomb.
Of the
collapsed
tower only the
lower part
with the door
framing
and some parts
of the first
upper parts
remained
standing. Also
inside the
church
building the
situation was
bad. The roof
had been blown
away.
-
ABOVE: 24-STORY BOERENTOREN STOOD
SENTINEL DURING THE V-BOMB ATTACKS
-
The
Antwerp-X guns were stationed in
consecutive belts far enough outside
the city to prevent flying bombs from
being downed over the
population. Forward observers
were stationed ahead of the guns to
warn of incoming V-1s. The gunners
were directed not to fire at enemy
aircraft—only firing at V1s—for fear
their positions would be revealed. The
numerous Allied airfields established
around Antwerp also presented a
problem for the gunners. Until
November 5, the gunners of Antwerp X
were restricted to firing at targets
that could be visually identified as
V-1s. Aircraft were instructed to stay
out of the lanes of approach for the
V-1s, but friendly aircraft regularly
violated this ban. From November 26 to
December 11, a total of 357 friendly
aircraft entered the zone at their
peril.
By the middle November
British units (except for the
searchlight regiments) were withdrawn
as the line was bolstered by
additional US gun battalions. From
left to right were the 740th; 184th;
126th; 125th; 407th; 405th; and 494th
AAA Gun Battalions. Forward of the
main line were the 789th and 788th
Automatic Weapons (AW) Battalions
armed with the 40mm anti-aircraft gun.
An eighth gun battalion was added to
the main defensive belt on December 6.
When the Ardennes Offensive began on
December 15-16 the Germans commenced
firing of V-1s from The Netherlands.
The new angle of attack was outside of
the gun belt ring. A few of the
existing gun battalions were forced to
move to cover this new incoming track.
Additionally, some of the gun
battalions called up, as they were
needed to blunt the German attack.
During their deployment,
Antwerp-X gunners utilized some of the
most modern equipment in the world.
The US 90mm M1 anti-aircraft gun was
the most advanced anti-aircraft gun of
WWII. Some of the SCR-584
radar-controlled anti-aircraft
batteries were firing shells equipped
with the newly developed proximity
fuse. The SCR-584 radar units
controled four 90mm guns per battery
using an M9 director to electrically
control the battery guns. The radar
was effective from 28,000 yards, the
M9 director predicted the target
location position based on course,
height and speed which combined with
the gun, shell and fuse
characteristics predicted an impact
position, adjusted each gun and fired
the shell. British gun batteries were
each equipped with eight QF 3.7-inch
AA gun and two radar units, preferably
the US SCR-584 with M9 director as it
was more accurate than the British
system. Backup for the British guns
was also automatic 40mm batteries. The
V-1 was harder to see on radar than a
normal aircraft and the muddled
terrain of Belgium and The Netherlands
reflected a lot of low-level ground
clutter. The guns operated 22 hours a
day with two hours a day for
maintenance. The life of the barrel
was 1,500 to 2,000 rounds and many
batteries wore out three or four sets
of barrels over the course of the
campaign. Because of shortages of
replacement barrels some were retained
until they fired as many as 2,500
rounds.
Once the German
offensive had failed,
the guns were called
back in the middle of
January 1945. The buzz
bombs coming from The
Netherlands had become
a very serious problem
for Antwerp. The
number of V-1s
launched had increased
and the accuracy was
improved because of
the shorter flight
time and distance. The
gun defenses stationed
on the southeast
approaches to Antwerp
were thinned out,
while the northeastern
approaches were
augmented with four
belts of heavy guns.
By February the V-1
attacks had again
increased to the point
that the defenses had
to be reinforced once
again.
For almost six months the
personnel of Antwerp-X were
front-line in the defense of
Antwerp. Field Marshall
Montgomery had demanded that
Antwerp-X Command to try and
bring down half of all the
V-1s launched at the city.
This figure was reached in
December (52%). In January
1945 they reached the 64% mark
and by February 1945 they
managed to bring down 72% of
all incoming V-1s. They were
required to perform
professionally around the
clock, at any time of day.
Many times the crews were
shorthanded because of their
24-hour days. 32 soldiers had
been killed and 289 wounded by
the end of the V-1 campaign.
They exhausted 532,000 rounds
of 90mm ammunition and
succeeded in downing of 2,183
V-1s.
Regardless of the
intrinsic imprecision of both
the V-1 and V-2, Hitler's
decision to focus the
continental weapons on large
supply ports was essentially
the right calculation. The
Germans were able to limit the
amount of supplies off loaded
in Antwerp, particularly
ammunition, which forced the
Allies to continue to use
other ports and transportation
methods. The discharge rates
in the port of Antwerp reached
the planned level until flying
bombs stopped falling after
March 30. The V-bomb campaign
demonstrated an alternative to
a feasible bomber force and
foreshadowed warfare in the
future.
In late January,
early February, the number of
flying bombs had increased to
the highest point and then
tapered off in the month of
March 1945. As the V-weapon
attacks on Antwerp came to an
end and the German firing
crews were forced to retreat
by the advancing Allied
troops, the last V-2 rocket
was felt in Antwerp on March
27, landing in Mortsel killing
27 and injuring another 62
people. The last of the flying
bombs occurred on March 30.
Final numbers indicate: From
October 1944 to March 1945,
more than 4,800 V-1's were
detected. Of these, only 4.5
percent fell into the
protected area around Antwerp.
The effectiveness of the
Antwerp-X defense meant that
only 211 got through the
massive defenses.
The V-bomb
campaign saw more than 850 V-1
and V-2 missiles rain down on
the Antwerp city area over a
period of 167 days. Another
1,300 fell on the 50 districts
surrounding the city. Together
the attacks took the lives of
more than 3,400 civilians and
700 allied service personnel,
and destroyed or damaged more
than 90,000 properties. In
almost six months of terror,
there were just 12 days on
which no bombs fell. At the
end of March 1945, the people
began to return to the city,
and within a few years, most
important repairs had been
made to city infrastructure.
Dr.
Kenneth Hartman (†) Eugene,
Oregon USA
"I
served in the Port of Antwerp
during many months of
continuous enemy air and
V-weapon attacks between
October 1944 and March 1945.
I will always remember the
ominous silence of the daily
V-1s as fell from the sky.
Seeing my dead comrades,
sitting in their seats,
covered in plaster dust,
because a V-2 went through the
roof and exploded in a crowded
movie theater.
I saw and photographed where a
V-1 crashed into the fifth
floor of the skyscraper
(Boerentoren) on Meir.
I spent hundreds of hours
alone exploring the unoccupied
"Castle Steen" from top to
bottom.
I remember mobs of mute
mourners in the Gare Centrale
(La gare d'Anvers-Central)
holding up pictures of their
missing loved ones, in vain
hope that Allied soldiers had
seen them."
Many people tend to
associate the V-weapon campaign as one
directed only against England;
however, Antwerp was the recipient of
even more V-2s than London, resulting
in more than 30,000 killed or injured.
For the whole of the V-bomb campaign,
Antwerp received on average three V-2s
per day in the city and its suburbs.
The number of V-1s was on average four
per day in December and January,
climbing to 12 daily in February of
1945. In late January/early February,
the number of flying bombs had
increased to the highest point and
then tapered off in the month of March
1945. More than 1,600 V-2s fell on the
port city during a six-month period.
The V-weapon attacks on Antwerp came
to an end as the German firing crews
were forced to retreat because of the
Allied advance.
The
V-weapon campaign against Antwerp is
often overlooked by military
historians. The indiscriminate
bombardment was certainly a terror
for the civilian population of
Antwerp, but it was also a
monumental hindrance to Allied war
planners. The Allies had six to
seven armies in the field at the
time that required food, petroleum,
munitions, troops and all the other
things needed to fight a war. It is
short sighted to say the V-weapons
were ineffective simply because the
port of Antwerp remained open
throughout the campaign. Not even
the Germans believed the rockets
would completely destroy the port,
but it was hoped, by amassing their
fire on this strategic target, they
could severely inhibit the Allies’
progress toward Germany.
In the weeks
leading up to the Ardennes
offensive, the V-weapons made it
very difficult for supplies to
reach the overstretched Allied
lines. Hitler hoped to cut the
American and British forces in
half, with the capture of
Antwerp being his ultimate goal.
In the face of Allied air
superiority, the V-bombs were
Hitler’s only available means to
stem to flow of supplies prior
to and during the German
offensive. Even though Hitler
lost the Battle of the Bulge,
the V-bombs continued to fall on
Antwerp. Throughout the later
portion of 1944 and well into
1945, the V-weapons severely
curtailed the amount of supplies
brought into Antwerp. The port
never reached its expected
goals, and the Allies were
forced to divert ammunition and
manpower to Ghent.
During the V-weapon
onslaught, over a period of 175
days and nights, the German
launching crews fired more than
4,000 V-1s and more than 1,700
V-2s at greater Antwerp. Of
those, 106 V-1s and 107 V-2s hit
the heart of the city. During
that period more than 3,700
civilians were killed and some
6,000 injured in the province of
Antwerp. Many of these fell
within the dock area killing 53
military and 131 civilians and
severely injured hundreds more.
Damage inflicted on the dock
area included two warehouses
that were destroyed, one taking
a direct hit that killed many;
twenty ship berths damaged; a
150-ton floating crane was sunk
by a V-2 strike; and more than
100 ships was damaged. Only
about 30 percent of the V-2s
launched against Antwerp reached
the city. The rockets that were
off-target kept falling all
around the Antwerp area and
often very far away from the
port area. Several factors come
into play for the modest number
of V-2s Antwerp suffered each
day, but the main reasons were
the German bottleneck in their
alcohol and liquid oxygen supply
and the dispersion of the still
imperfect weapon.
ABOVE: COURTESY JOHN PRIDIGE AND PUBLIC
RECORDS OFFICE
LONDON
- Click
on the image at left to view a
detailed map showing the "fall of
shot" related to the German V-bomb
campaign directed toward greater
Antwerp. The map was created by
Antwerp city officials immediately
after the end of the war in Europe.
Antwerp
Impacts
V-1
V-2
October 1944
27
58
November 1944
64
126
December 1944
110
130
January 1945
117
155
February 1945
224
59
March 1945
86
42
Figures
above may not be 100%
accurate. However,
this is a good account
from J. De Launay. For the
whole V-bomb campaign on
Antwerp on average 3
(three) V-2s per day
impacted on the area of
greater Antwerp. The
number of V-1 was on
average 4 per day in
December and January,
climbing to 12 daily in
February 1945.
SOURCES: V-2: A Combat
History of the First Ballistic Missile, T.
Dungan, 2005 — Kenneth Hartman, personal
account, 2003 — Simone De Ceunynck, personal account, 2003 — V-Missiles of the
Third Reich, Dieter Hölsken,
1994 — John Pridige, 2010, 2013 — Lynne (Robinson)
Lawrence, personal account, 2004 — Charles
Ostyn, personal account, 2001 —
Peenemünde, Guido De
Maeseneer,
2001 — Greg Hayward, personal account,
2002 — The Defense of Antwerp Against
the V-1 Missile, Defense Technical
Information Center, 1971 — Antwerpen
Onder De V-bommen 1944-1945, Koen
Palinckx,
2004 — James Mathieson, personal
account, 2005 — De Slag om Antwerpen,
T. Franssen,
1945 — Gemarteld Antwerpen, De Schuyter,
1945 — After the Battle 57, Achiel Rely,
1987 — Benjamin King & Timothy
Kutta, Impact, 1998 — PRO WO.205/999,
Defense of Antwerp and Belgium — The
Scheldt, Veterans Affairs Canada, 2005
— Crusade in Europe, Dwight D.
Eisenhower,
1948 — Longshore Soldiers, Andrew
Brozyna, 2010 — The Flying Bomb, Richard
Anthony Young,
1978 — United States Army Logistics:
The Normandy Campaign, Steve R.
Waddell, 1944 — Battle of Antwerp,
City of Sudden Death, FR. Claes, De
Sleutel (Antwerpen) — Hammer of the
Reich, Benjamin King
& Timothy Kutta, Chapter
10
Special Thanks: Dr.
Kenneth Hartman, Olivier Vilain, Ed
Straten, John Pridige, Detlev Paul,
Volker Pelz, Michel van Best, and
Charles Ostyn
Groenplaats
SHAEF Exhibition Summer 1945 Antwerp
After VE Day, in June of 1945, Supreme
Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
(SHAEF) set up an exhibition in the
center of Antwerp at Groenplaats (Green
Square). This large exhibition featured
the display of prominent Allied and
German weaponry used during the
conflict. Of particular interest to many
Allied servicemen were the captured V-1
and V-2 bombs. Many photographs of these
artifacts exist because the exposition
ran for 4 to 5 weeks in the summer of
1945. Thousands of Allied servicemen
took photographs of these unusual German
weapons. Note: The "Reichenberg" Re4
that arrived on June 23 was put on
display in Antwerp at the "Castle Steen"
and not at the expo itself.
The Groenplaats is
dominated by Our Lady's
Cathedral. In medieval times
the cemetery of the cathedral was
located here. Today around the square
are numerous restaurants and cafés where
many famous artists spent their time. In
the middle of the Groenplaats the statue
of Rubens can be seen. It was crafted in
1843 by sculptor Geefs. The damage
suffered during the bombardment was
repaired after the war. My friend
Olivier Vilain of the Antwerpen Bunker
Museum has written an excellent article
about the S.H.A.E.F. expo
Antwerpen, 1945.
Bunker en Vliegtuig
Archeo Antwerpen - Bunker & Air
War Museum Antwerp
During World War II this bunker village
was built as the main command for the
Atlantic Wall in Belgium and Walcheren
(NL). The actual museum is located in
the Sonderkonstruktion 1 (SK1) bunker
and also the main command bunker of this
Atlantic Wall section. In the museum are
numerous archaeological pieces on
display from several fortifications, a
lot of documentation relating to the
Atlantic Wall, the Air War, and Antwerp
itself during the war. The museum
is unique in and around Antwerp thanks
to its engine room that is almost
entirely complete and in which machines
are made functional again. As well parts
of the V-1 and V-2 rockets are free to
visit, so you get a unique look at how
these bombs worked.
The historic city of
Antwerp lies 80 Km from the
North Sea on the Scheldt
River. The river Scheldt flows
into the Dutch Schelde called
Westerschelde. On the northern
embankment of the Scheldt
(Schelde) lies Noord Brabant,
then the South Beveland and
Walcheren peninsulas. The port
is one of the Europe's great
harbors, but it is not a
natural harbor. Its docks were
dug out and fitted with locks
to regulate the water and
allow transportation of goods
further inland. Following
D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies
had enormous resources while
German materials were shrinking.
During the early days of the
assault in Normandy, the German
forces had managed to limit the
supplies and ammunition that
could come ashore by keeping the
front narrow and denying the
Allies the use of any of the
French ports. American forces
captured Cherbourg on June 27,
1944, but the Germans had done
such an efficient job of
demolition that the port did not
open until July 19, 1944.
