Title:1ST CORPS REACHES THE WESTERN END OF THE MAAS AND WAAL ESTUARY (PART 2) [Allocated Title]
Film Number:A70 192-3
Other titles:
Summary: 49th (West Riding) Division's 146th Brigade enters the town of Willemstad on the Hollandsch Diep unopposed.
Description: The wharf leading towards the ferry quay across the one- mile wide Hollandsch Diep is seen lined with dead horses killed by British artillery; a few abandoned Wehrmacht vehicles, including a white-painted ambulance can also be seen. Buildings near the harbour in Willemstad, including the "Bellevue Hotel", are seen deserted by their occupants, with curtains billowing out of open windows. Watched by two Dutchmen, three riflemen from the 4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment's 'A' company enter a terraced house through ground floor windows in search of hidden German stragglers. An 3.7cm Flak 18 cannon, deployed for use against ground targets, is found abandoned in Willemstad's main thoroughfare; elsewhere in the street branches lopped off trees by British artillery lie scattered on the ground while two bicycles still in their cycle rack and a "No entry" sign provide an incongruous peace-time note to the setting. Two riflemen file past German horse-drawn wagons carrying 3.7cm Flak ammunition and their dead draught horses. A survey of another street reveals damage among town houses caused by artillery armed at harassing the Germans' evacuation from Willemstad across the Hollandsch Diep.
Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor)
Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company)
McArdle, T P (Production individual)
