The battle for Voorthuizen
It may have become clear from the previous chapters that it was the intention of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 5th Canadian Tank Division to enclose the German troops coming from the IJssel front at the Veluwe. In doing this they hoped to deliver a final blow to the German army while still on the sparsely populated Veluwe and to avoid a confrontation with the “Festung Holland” where also so many hungry Dutchmen were entrapped. A quick march from the 5th Canadian Tank Division to reach both the road and the railway tracks Amersfoort-Apeldoorn was therefore of upmost importance.
Emblem of the British Columbia Dragoons (9th Arm. Regt.).
From a war diary of a citizen of Barneveld we learn that during the afternoon and evening of April 15 and also the following night large amounts of German units moved through Barneveld. This movement of troops must undoubtedly have been noticed by the reconnaissance planes of the allies. The need to move fast was clear and it is therefore understandable that the unexpected opposition which the tanks of Lord Strathcona's Horse met on the Valkseweg near Gelkenhorst must have been the reason for brig. gen. Cumberland to send the main part of the tank squadron straight on to Voorthuizen.
British Columbia Dragoons
Also the tanks of the British Columbia Dragoons (BCD) received orders to advance to Voorthuizen on April 16. In and around the village the Germans had hurried to take their positions. In Prinsenkamp, along the Woudsteeg and near Stroe batteries of artillery had been positioned; in Prinsenkamp mostly very close to farmhouses. Also at “De Heihaas” in Putten some heavy artillery had been placed. Along the Apeldoornsestraat and the Rijksweg road-blocks had been erected and further on the Schietbaan at the Harremaatweg a strong German defence post was situated. The German head quarters were set up in the Dutch Protestant School in the Kerkstraat and in the tower of the Calvinistical Protestant Church a lookout had been created.
Pigs slaughter house "Deptford" close to the level crossing "De Hollander" at the Stationsweg-Baron van Nagellstraat in Barneveld. The railway tracks Amersfoort-Apeldoorn and the main road through the centre of the town Voorthuizen were important escape routes for the Germans when their troops at the Ijssel front were threatened to be besieged.
The “B”-squadron of the BCD received orders to advance, covered by the Recce-troops, to the east of Voorthuizen in order to close off the Apeldoornsestraat first and after that also the road to Putten. The “A”-squadron had to account for the village and the barricade of the Rijksweg.
In the afternoon of April 16 the Recce-tanks moved out with the “B”-squadron at their tail in defence. On the way they met only light hostile resistance and within half an hour they reached the railway tracks Amersfoort-Apeldoorn. Within this short time span some of the tanks had been stuck in the mud and many prisoners of war had been taken. These prisoners were escorted by a spotter tank— since the infantry had not yet arrived — to the Brigade head quarters.
The owner of the slaughter house, mr. C. Moll, together with Bep Koolwijk, meets some Canadian military, probably from the Westminster Regiment.
The BCD-tanks were at that moment in Zeumeren and encountered German units that fought embittered. In this hell, where everyone seemed to be shooting everyone, a small German infantry column had been shot dead by their own men. The commander of one of the BCD-squadrons said on the radio that it hadn’t been clear to him whether the Canadians had enclosed the Germans or the other way around.
A Sherman tank with a firefly (anti-tank canon) at the corner of the Baron van Nagellstraat and Hoofdstraat. At the back to the right the workshop of Doornekamp.
At 7 pm the first grenade fell in the centre of the village and shortly after 8 pm the Dragoons started to encircle Voorthuizen. Then dusk came and by the time the “A”-squadron left to close the road to the north towards Putten, it had turned pitch dark. At 9:30 pm the farm of Van Galen on the Kerkstraat was hit by a Canadian shell and caught fire.
Sherman tanks and carriers in the Hoofdstraat in Voorthuizen close to the old calvinistical protestant church.
The darkness, in combination with the presence of the many deep ditches in this area, had caused 4 tanks to get stuck. In order not to lose any more tanks the squadrons decided to spend the night in a closed formation in the fields to the northeast of the village. Only three kilometers to the south were the tanks of Lord Strathcona's Horse and at the border of the village Barneveld the infantry of the Cape Breton Highlanders was ready to take the village that had been cut off from the outside world by the “C”-squadron of van Lord Strathcona's Horse.
Shortly after midnight, so on April 17th, the tanks of the Dragoons which had been positioned in closed formation just outside Voorthuizen were faced with the first of a whole series of counter attacks. The “A”-squadron had to defense against a group of German soldiers who wanted to join with their companions in the still occupied village Voorthuizen.
Curious neighbors surrounding a Sherman-tank near a road block on the Apeldoornsestraat in the surroundings of "De Heuveltjes" in Voorthuizen.
The “B”-squadron that was guarding the road to Apeldoorn, was attacked from a short distance by a group of approximately 50 German infantrists, armed with pantserfausts. The soldiers were driven back. After this the crew in the tanks was allowed a few hours of sleep but at sunrise the enemy attacked again.
T hat early morning the most severe attack was endured by the 1st Batallion of Lt. B.G. Hurst. His tanks were attacked by a heavily armed group of fanatic young SS-men, carrying pantserfausts and plastic bombs. Only by using a flame thrower the Canadians at last managed to knock down the attack. Many wounded and dead men were left behind as a testimony of the struggle on this battlefield. Later Lt. Hurst was honored the Military Cross for his heroic actions during this battle.
8th Princess Louise's New Brunswick Hussars
On Tuesday morning, April 17, the tanks of the 8th Hussars left at 6:30 am with orders to move past Barneveld and to charge towards Voorthuizen. At the front rode the “A”-squadron mixed with Recce and motorized troops of the Westminster Regiment. After only a few kilometers the orders were altered. The Hussars were to turn to Barneveld to await further instructions. The reason became clear later: the “B”-squadron of the Hussars was sent back to Otterlo for the battle that was being fought at that very moment.
At 2 pm the column of tanks moved towards Voorthuizen. They kept to the right of the village in order to take the positions that had been taken by the BCD.
The “A”-squadron, commanded by major Lloyd Hill, came at a certain moment across a very strong German formation at the Apeldoornsestraat, with among others a few 88 mm canons. Thanks to the brave actions of the troops’ commander Ivan Harper, this artillery along with 13 pantserfausts were destroyed and 53 prisoners of war were taken. Harper was to be honored the Military Cross for his share in these actions and major Hill received the DSO.
The “C”-company of the Westminster Regiment that had advanced together with the Hussars was occupied fighting the “battle for the road-blocks” between Barneveld and Voorthuizen while the “B”-company mainly accounted for the fighting in the centre of Voorthuizen in the night of April 16 on 17. During these fights the battalion lost three men: corporal C. L. Pewtress, private J. Wakula and private F. L. Waters.
The “A”-squadron took many prisoners of war during its operations in Voorthuizen and over 50 German soldiers were killed in action. The Hussars lost 4 tanks.
The on the right side of the “A”-squadron operating “C”-squadron of the Hussars destroyed another three pieces of artillery. In this, the actions of sergeant Rosa had been crucial. He led the squadron during these operations because the squad commander’s radio had broken down. This had happened before during the attack on the airport Deelen.
The battles on April 17
While the “B”-squadron of the BCD in the area east of Voorthuizen was still occupied in gathering the German prisoners of war, the “A”-squadron of Lt. col. Angle received orders to advance to the junction “Steamer” (Rijksweg – Zelderseweg). The village and the area to the west were still in the hands of the enemy. It was Angle’s intention to encircle the whole village with this move after which it could be seized by the infantry.
The most northern part of the Kerkstraat, near the Overhorsterweg, was known in Voorthuizen by the name "De Ring".
During the Battle for Voorthuizen this part of the village was severly damaged. On 17 April 1945 at 4 pm the family of blacksmith Jacob Stomphorst was killed here.
On the north side of the village the front tanks had been forced by the bad condition of the fields to use the country roads into the village. Following the Overhorsterweg and part of the Kerkstraat they tried to turn back in the direction of their original target. But at this point, at the end of the Kerkstraat, the tanks of the Dragoons were attacked by a group of grimly fighting Germans. When the first troops, under command of Lt. Mitten, reached the street, it was blasting with a hail of anti-tank shells. The first tank of cpl. Bertrand was hit three times and caught fire. The second tank, of Lt. Mitten, broke down unaccountably and the third, under command of cpl. Martin was also hit three times and also caught fire. The enemy was now under attack from the 3rd troops of Lt. McLellan with machine-gun fires and HE-grenades.
From these troops also two tanks were hit but fortunately they were not set on fire. In the meantime a smoke screen was set behind the advancing tanks to protect them from the firing of artillery placed in the Prinsenkamp and surroundings.
The German headquarters had taken position in the Reformed School, a building with thatched roof, on the Kerkstraat in Voorthuizen. Also this building was ruined for the major part.
It turned out that the tanks had driven into an ambush where they were awaited by 150 German soldiers. The squadron of Lt.col. Angle then received orders to withdraw. Even with the smoke screen protecting the tanks from shelling from the direction Putten, it couldn’t be prevented that this battle area was hit by a downpour of shells. But with an enormous endeavor of duty and personal courage all the crewmembers of the tanks could escape the area and even a few defected tanks could be rescued. It was by then Tuesday morning April 17th, 7:30 am.
Lt.col. Angle now ordered a tank patrol to search the forests in the area and with this they indeed managed to temporarily drive away the Germans. During a second patrol, later that day, it turned out that the enemy had returned and during this action a Panther-tank and a piece of motorized artillery were disabled.
The building of Mr. Broekhuizen on the Hoofdstraat in Voorthuizen was largely damaged during the Battle for Voorthuizen. Below the muck and debris of the facade that had been shot the dead remains of a German soldier were found.
Later during that morning an infantry company of the Westminster Regiment arrived and plans were made to clear the village by the infantry and half of the Dragoons “B”-squadron. This attack started at 2 pm and an hour and a half later the last soldiers holding the village surrendered.
North of the village the “C”-squadron had by now knocked down a counterattack and had managed to silence most of the enemy artillery positioned in the Prinsenkamp. Unfortunately during these actions several farms in this area were burned down. Also the northern part of the Kerkstraat, bordering the Overhorsterweg — the so-called “Ring” — was hit by grenade fires that afternoon. This was when the family of the black smith Jacob Stomphorst was killed.
A 88 mm anti-tank canon was often used by the Germans in the surroundings of Voorthuizen
against the tanks of the allies. Originally the canon was designed for aerial targets.
By that time the 1st Canadian Infantry Division pushed the Germans in the direction of the 5th Canadian Tank Division. There was still a gap of 9.5 km between Voorthuizen and the access to the IJsselmeer through which the Germans could move to the west. 1) In order to prevent such escape the 8th Hussars drove their tanks around Voorthuizen towards Putten, when the clearing actions in the village were still going on. Also the tanks of Lord Strathcona's Horse, that had kept the junction “Steamer”, were now moving to the shore of the IJsselmeer. For both regiments this had been a day of almost continuous fights and there had been substantial losses. At the end of the day the tanks near Putten connected with the scouting troops of the 1st Infantry Division and on April 18 the 5th Tank Division reached the shore of the IJsselmeer.
On that same day, at about 11 am, the Dragoons who were still in Voorthuizen received enforcements from the infantry of the “Perth”-regiment.
Together they advanced to Ermelo and the harbor of Harderwijk. Shortly before midday Voorthuizen was to be handed over to the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.
1) During these fights the Dragoons mainly met soldiers of the 1st Batallion, the 2nd Fallschirmmer Training Regiment, the 4th Flieger Ersatz Batallion and the Fallschirm Grenadier Regiment “Hermann Goering”.
Chronicle West-Veluwe by Evert van de Weerd and Gerjan Crebolder in the Schaffelaar series no. 8, BDU Barneveld, 1981.