Liberation route Scottish Highlanders Heusden

By early November 1944, most of North Brabant south of the Meuse and Amer rivers had been liberated. Only around Moerdijk was a German rearguard still fighting and between the Drongelens Afwateringskanaal and the Bergsche Maas was a large German bridgehead. Major General Rennie's 51st Highland Division was ordered on Thursday, November 2, to take that bridgehead as quickly as possible, quite a challenge.

The operation was codenamed Guy Fawkes. There was not much time to prepare it, as the attack had to be launched that very weekend. The biggest challenge was in crossing the entire width of the channel, something the Scots had not done before. The final plan was very detailed. Boats were brought in as well as bridge striking equipment, and 132 guns plus 50 tanks would provide preliminary shelling.

Saturday, November 4, 1944 was a crisp autumn day. As the day progressed, the skies darkened and it became downright gloomy. At 4:30 the preliminary shelling began. Over 36,000 shells were fired in an hour and a half, mainly at Drunen and the surrounding area. The scale of the devastation was appalling. To the Highlanders' surprise, the operation itself was a piece of cake. Within twenty-four hours the last German had been driven out. But unfortunately, the population had paid a high price for this. Nearly 70 civilians were killed by the Allied shelling. The tragic low point was undoubtedly the town hall disaster in Heusden where 134 people lost their lives due to criminal German action. All in all, it was a liberation with a pitch-black edge of grief.