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Location Category ID:
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10810
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Added to Database:
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4 December 2010
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Last Edited:
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4 December 2010
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Address: |
Kamperbaan 27, 3940 Hechtel-Eksel
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Telephone: |
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Email: |
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Opening Times: |
Accessible at any time
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Official Website: |
Memorial at Hechtel
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Other Links: |
WW2Museums.com
Panoramio
WRA Tanks
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Latitude, Longitude: |
51.12573962
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5.3636831
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Location Accuracy: |
6
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Tanks Previously Here: |
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This monument was originally sited at the main crossroads in Hechtel and consisted of a tank mounted on a tiered base carrying memorial plaques. It is now further along the road to Leopoldsburg, on the south side, and consists of the same tank on a flat cobbled base, with flagpoles and a surrounding wall (of stones in wire mesh).
There is a plaque on the wall that has a list of the names of casualties of the Hechtel battle, and the following inscription:
De slag om Hechtel
6-12 september 1944 | The Battle for Hechtel
6-12 September 1944 |
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Hechtel vormde van 6 tot 12 september het toneel van zeer hevige gevechten tussen de eenheden van de Guards armoured division en eenheden van de 1ste Fallschirmarmee van General Kurt Student die van 4 tot 7 september het front tussen Geel en Hasselt kwamen versterken.
Nadat ze in Helchteren een Duitse colonne verpletterd had, moest de 3e Compagnie van de Welsh Guards het hoofd bieden aan de tegenaanvallen van de S.S. van de Landsturm Nederland. Daarna stuitte ze op de stellingen van het 20ste regiment Duitse valhelmspringers, versterkt door instructive-eenheden van de Luftwaffe. Met een omtrekkende beweging over het oefenterrein van Leopoldsburg konden de Irish Guards en Grenadier Guards zich meester maken van de brug van Neerpelt over het Schelde-Maaskanal.
Na zes dagen van hevige gevechten viel Hechten pas op 12 september in handen van de geallieerden. De gevechten kostten het leven aan 127 Duitsers, 62 Britten en 35 burgers. De Duitsers voelden zich namelijk in het nauw gedreven en haalden hier meerdere families uit hun schuilkelders en schoten ze willekeurig neer. 124 huizen werden volledig vernield of in brand gestoken.
Geen mens komt ongeschonden uit een oorlog, familie en vrienden worden verloren. Hun stemmen klinken steeds zachter, steeds verder weg in de tijd, vechtend tegen vergetelheid.
Dit monument laat de stemmen weerklinken van hen die vielen op het slagveld van Hechtel. Wij zijn hen bijzonder dankbaar. | Hechtel was the scene of very fierce fighting from 6 to 12 September between units of the Guards Armoured Division, and units of the 1st Paratroop Army of General Kurt Student which were reinforcing the front between Geel and Hasselt from 4 to 7 September.
After they had crushed a German column in Helchteren, the 3rd Company of the Welsh Guards had to face the attacks of the SS of the Netherlands Landsturm. Then they came across the positions of the German 20th Valhelmspringers Regiment, reinforced by training units of the Luftwaffe. With a flanking movement on the training grounds of Leopoldsburg, the Grenadier Guards and Irish Guards captured the Neerpelt bridge over the Meuse-Scheldt Canal.
After six days of fierce fighting until 12 September Hechtel was in the hands of the Allies. The fighting cost the lives of 127 Germans, 62 Britons and 35 civilians. Because the Germans felt cornered they brought out several families from their shelters at random and shot them down. 124 houses were completely destroyed or burned.
No man comes intact from a war, family and friends are lost. Their voices sound softer, more and more distant over time, struggling against oblivion.
This monument is the resounding voice of those who fell on the battlefield of Hechtel. We are very grateful to them. |
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