DUTCH PARTISANS

Grey River Argus, 12 October 1944, Page 3

DUTCH PARTISANS

SUCCESS IN ZEELAND Robert Kiek, war correspondent of “Aneta”, stated that a fortnight before the actual liberation of the city of Hulst in the Dutch part of. Flanders, the local resistance movement actually possessed only, three pistols. Making use of the confusion amongst the Germans created by the Allied approach, members of the underground movement raided the German barracks at the village of Kloosterzande where they obtained forty rifles and took forty prisoners. Armed with these new weapons the Partisans attacked the German headquarters at Hulst on the following day. The German major in charge of the headquarters tried to save the situation by throwing hand grenades wildly amongst the Partisans who, however, mastered the situation. This raid produced, besides many, weapons, another 150 German prisoners. That is how the Dutch forces of the Interior worked in the Hulst area a fortnight before the actual liberation of the city on September 19th. Apart from capturing 300 rifles, 7 mortars, 8 machine guns, 3 anti-aircraft guns and a large quantity of ammunition, they also raided three ammunition trains. During these fourteen days the Partisans became so bold that the Germans threatened that, for every German soldier killed, ten civilians would be shot.

During this period the Partisans also managed to free seven American airmen who had bailed out over that part of Holland and who were in German hands. Immediately after the liberation of the city, the commander of the resistance corps asked for volunteers to join the invading forces and within a few hours 400 had enlisted.