Visible past A

Between node 60 and 97

Pass by the monument Elementary Baileyburg. This monument was placed to commemorate the Bailey Bridge which served for many years after the destruction of the old swing bridge.

Tip: In Wijk en Aalburg you will find several elements that remind you of World War II. For example, on the church at Grote Kerstraat 30, you will find a plaque. It commemorates the destruction of the church tower during the liberation of Wijk en Aalburg. Nearby, at Grote Kerkstraat 32, you will find the peace monument.

Tip: Just before Maasdijk 58 is a strip right along the road where you can easily and safely dismount. If you look between the trees there to the right, you will see the Kreek about 100 meters further on. Approximately behind number 58 the Halifax MZ312 crashed on the bank of this Creek.

Crew Halifax

The crew of a Handley Page Halifax MKIII was on their way home after a raid on Bottrop in Germany when their aircraft was taken off by night fighter pilot Feldwebel Heinz Misch of the 7./NJG 2, flying a Junkers Ju 88 G-1 from Volkel airfield and attacked them from behind, causing a fire in the right wing. The crew had taken off in the evening of July 20, 1944 at 11:06 p.m. with the MZ312 ZA-E from Melbourne airfield in England. July 21 at 01:45 a.m. the Halifax crashed at the Kreek on Molendijk in Wijk en Aalburg behind Maasdijk 58. Molendijk was at the time a hamlet on the Maasdijk.

All crew members managed to jump except the tail gunner who was already killed by shrapnel. Due to the force of the crash, a wheel of the main landing gear bounced about 100 meters away across the dike, where you are now standing. The jumped crew was immediately, or in time, apprehended and made prisoners of war. Of radio operator Lowrey, it is not clear whether he was also made a prisoner or still escaped. Indeed, he does not appear on POW (prisoner of war) lists. Text: Adri Burghout, War Museum Altena

Fun tip at node 66

At 66, go straight across Zwaansheuvelsedijk, turn right Zwaansheuvelsedijk (fun here: at the end you look into a cowshed on the left). Zwaansheuvelsedijk turns into Midgraaf, then follow junction 67 on your right. Here you cross a small bridge onto a paved path through the Pompveld. Highly recommended!

Note! Because there are no junctions connected from this side, there is no sign indicating route towards junction 67 from this side. However, this is the correct route towards 67. In fact, coming from the other side, the sign is there.

Park your bike at the Pompveld and walk from here through/around the Pompveld, about 5km.

Tip: At junction 67
Picnic benches

Tip!

Nice trip, between node 53 and 52 you will find the village of Meeuwen

There you will find an emergency house, directly behind the White Mill

Kleibergsestraat 52a. This is service road of the Provincialeweg-Zuid (N283). The makeshift house, like the White Mill, is open every Saturday afternoon from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Admission is free.

At the end of 1944, the Allied advance south of the Bergsche Maas River comes to a halt. In the Land of Heusden and Altena, 16,000 German soldiers are stationed. A prestige battle breaks out at Capelse Veer between German paratrooper general Kurt Student and British general sir John Crocker. The battle for Capelse Veer eventually cost the lives of 572 Allies and 243 Germans. Starting in November 1944, Meeuwen was heavily bombed and soon declared a "Sperrgebiet. All inhabitants must leave immediately.

Seagulls remained off-limits until the end of the war. When all dead animals and unexploded bombs were cleared, residents could not return until the end of June 1945. In Meeuwen, 56 homes were totally destroyed and many were severely damaged. As a result, dhe housing shortage is enormous. Soon wooden and concrete emergency houses, popularly called "bunker", are erected on the basis of the Emergency Public Housing Decree. In total, over 400 "emergency facilities" were built in the Land of Heusden and Altena, 188 of which were emergency houses. Text: Ons Meeuwen.

Tip: Head towards junction 50 War Memorial (Molenkade, Dussen).

Direction of node 51

Crash site Dornier. Just before the bowl sign where the road disappears between the trees, you will see a farmland on the right. Where the driveway to the land ends and turns into the field, there has been a huge crater to the right of the driveway, probably caused by the exploding torpedoes the Dornier was carrying.

On September 22, 1943, at 01:15 a.m., a Dornier Do 217M-1 (work number 56049) of the 9./KG 2 crashed in Dussen, just after taking off from Gilze-Rijen. The crash was just along the Oude Kerkstraat between Junctions 50 and 51. Just before the Oude Kerkstraat, seen from the bicycle dike, disappears between the trees, between the Oude Kerkstraat and the Afwateringskanaal (about 150 meters away from the bicycle dike).

The entire crew perished in this crash. Pilot Uffz. Rudolf Sachs (23), observer Gfr. Rüdiger Kass (20), radio operator Ogfr. Willy Arnold (22) and air gunner Ogfr. Harald Hilpmann (20) are buried at Ysselsteyn. This crash also claimed a life on the ground. The bomber collided with the canal dike in the Rommegat where also the house, café Blikken Emmer (now disappeared) of Adriaan van de Pluijm was hit. In this crash his son Antonius van der Pluijm was killed. Adriaan himself went blind. Text: Adri Burghout, War Museum Altena

Tip: Between node 59 and 58 you can turn off to the village of Eethen.

In the village you will find a Stumbling Stone near the Reformed Church in the church path. German artist Gunter Demnig began laying the first Stolperstein in the Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg in 1997. Since then, there have been tripstones in many countries. It is a reminder of the Holocaust in World War II.

A tripstone is a 10 x 10 cm concrete stone, with a brass plate at the top in which the name, date of birth and death, and place of death is stamped.
The tripstone is placed in the sidewalk in front of the victim's former home. Text: TracesOfWar.com

Raadhuisstraat 21
In World War II, German soldiers had written the text "Glauben Kämpfen Siegen" on a house. After the war, this text was removed, but it is still partially legible. Repaired bullet impacts are also still visible on the house. Text: TracesOfWar.com

You can rent a (electric) bike from various rental locations. Contact them for availability and bike rental.