Defense of Antwerp in World War II

this video shows the unabridged version of Defense of Antwerp against the V1 by the U.S Department of Defense it was published in 1947. [Music] before the second world war one of the great landmarks in Belgium was the 600 year old Gothic cathedral in the city of Antwerp towering over the city this architectural achievement was a spiritual symbol linking the inhabitants with a great cultural past the cathedral as well as other old buildings reminded the people of a way of living that had stood the test of time another aspect of Antwerp before the war was a forward-looking energetic Spirit Antwerp built the first skyscraper in Europe 25 stories high selecting the best from the past and the present the people who preferred a mild attitude toward life they looked with contempt on the fascist ways that had developed in Nazi Germany a short distance away Antwerp since the Middle Ages had been a trading center Port was the greatest on the continent of Europe the harbor with its vast Machinery capable of handling tremendous volumes of Import and Export trade brought Antwerp into close contact with the world outside the city but one contact became inevitably a clash a war between great Powers threatened the peaceful life of Antwerp for a few months of 1939 Belgium tried to preserve its neutrality then Hitler choosing Antwerp as one of his first targets sent his plane swooping over the city bringing to it death and destruction Napoleon once said Antwerp is a gun pointed at the heart of England to Adolf Hitler the capture of Antwerp was a natural step in the plan to conquer England and the rest of the world Antwerp was taken for four years the Belgian people existed and suffered under German rule thank you finally the Allies invaded the continent bringing the hope of Liberation to the conquered peoples of Europe as The Invasion proceeded supplying the forces became an increasingly severe problem the beaches became a crowded bottleneck Supply the Allies needed a major Harbor to feed the tremendous tribe toward Germany the enemy knew this they bombed and wrecked lahavra and all the large ports along the northern coast of France deprived of Harbors we found roads were the only answer roads became our Lifeline stretching farther and deeper into France supplies moved over one-way routes in a 24-hour delivery system now famous as the red ball Express day and night the trucks rolled along the roads of France bringing gasoline ammunition and food to Frontline depots the huge Allied force in France had only one small Port cherborg through which supplies might flow cherborg was hundreds of miles from the fighting front the lines were stretched to the breaking point we needed a port desperately Antwerp Germany's key to the invasion of England could unlock the door to Germany in a sudden eight-hour thrust of 110 miles the British 11th Armored Division fought their way to the city the troops rolled through the outskirts of Antwerp almost unchallenged several months before no one would have dreamed that Antwerp was to be taken so easily [Music] full of Antwerp had known only oppression now the suddenness of Liberation was overwhelming in one day life in the city changed entirely the Belgian underground came out into the open cleaning up small pockets of resistance the thrilled inhabitants couldn't wait to express their happiness during the day of Liberation there was street fighting one moment and rejoicing the next the British tanks rumbled through the old city past ancient buildings that would continue to tell of antwerp's age and great past moving out into the edges of the city Allied Forces met stiffened resistance as the Nazis made a last ditch but hopeless stand in the dark area German snipers remained to cause some trouble but Canadian troops soon pushed them back across the Shelf River ultimately the dark area was cleared although German troops held on for a while in the islands guarding the entrance to the port amazingly Antwerp was taken almost intact the whole Port system of canals and docks fell undestroyed into Allied hands the Germans had their explosives in place ready to demolish the harbor but they waited too long the underground seized the locks and over 600 cranes these facilities were captured in such excellent condition that they could be used without delay one obstacle remained the entrance to the port had been heavily mined minesweepers that had done service along the British Coast combed the lower shelled River one of the most heavily mined areas of World War II on November 28th the first allied ship the fort kataraki came down the Shelt River it docked amid little Fanfare but its arrival signified a great change in the European Supply picture the crane swung into action Antwerp became the funnel for 50 of the Allied Equipment arriving in Europe supplies poured in for the armies on the continent of Europe for the Canadian first Army the British second the U.S Knight the U.S first the us-15 the U.S third Shells gas tires food tanks and Bells Bells for the towns of Belgium as the bells went back into the churches the doubt and fear that had grown in the hearts of Belgian civilians began to subside the bells told a joyous message the enemy had gone there were friends about now there was nothing to fear and then suddenly the flying bomb a thousand pounds of dynamite capable of vast destruction the bombs were aimed at the Port of Antwerp the port so vital to the Allied invasion of Germany it was the Germans trump card and it was being played in earnest the number of bombs that rained down on Antwerp steadily increased some of them landed in the port many landed in the city life in Antwerp was transformed each bomb killed or wounded an average of 38 people old women accustomed to a round of housekeeping and shopping were suddenly crushed under tons of debris [Music] the lives of children playing in the streets were violently interrupted Holmes became a ghostly setting for those who escaped death [Music] Antwerp it's port and its people would have been wiped off the Earth were it not for the defense system known as Antwerp X the story of Antwerp X began before the bombs came Allied intelligence knew that the Germans had been building launching sites East and southeast of Antwerp counter preparations have been made under General Claire Armstrong a combined organization of American British and polish Gunners were assigned to the defense of the city it was their job to defend the city against the V1 against the V2 which traveled too fast to be seen there was no defense [Music] we knew that the German attack could come from many directions our strategy was one of Shifting defenses [Music] when the v1s began to come over from One Direction batteries would be shifted quickly so that several belts of anti-aircraft fire one behind the other could protect the city to make this strategy a success new lines of attack had to be expected and anti-aircraft units had to move quickly from one position to another [Music] the gun crews around Antwerp learned to meet the extraordinary demands made by their jobs a move order was just a couple of points on a map but to the men it meant something more something vital and urgent they had seen the damage and death that the v1s could bring they knew that lives in Antwerp were at stake they learned the importance of moving quickly at all hours of the day and night the small towns of Belgium shuttered as heavy equipment rushed along the quiet streets on the way to new positions of Defense but to know their jobs so thoroughly that handling the guns became second nature to them it was like walking or talking it seemed they had done it always they learned speed in setting up [Music] speed in getting the word through speed in firing [Music] foreign accuracy when the bombs first came our Gunners shut down only one out of every two bombs before the shooting was over they were bringing down better than 9 out of ten it wasn't the Gunners alone at each step in bringing down bomb there were men whose place in Antwerp X was vital observers moved far forward into Frontline positions to spot the V1 soon after the takeoff from Germany from these forward outposts they flashed the earliest warning of an approaching bomb back at the battery the signal comes in and the Gunners go to work in a matter of seconds each man is at his post doing the job upon which all Antwerp was depending a job of cooperation a team of American and British troops blending its efforts through Rapid estimations the course of the bomb was plotted flooding was based on information received by radar units antennas scan the skies listening feeling searching to discover the course of the bomb as exactly as possible the bomb comes into range of the gun battery [Music] and now the gun Crews have their target when one belt of guns failed to bring down a V1 there was at least one other battery backing up the first Sometimes four and five belts of guns guarded the bomb Lanes to Antwerp [Music] for 160 days the men of Antwerp X were on duty every day foreign and there were a few nights when a man could get continuous sleep sooner or later there came an ominous sound in the night the motorboat of the skies and the V1 flickered and glowed like a tiny Firefly in the Darkness for 160 days the people of Antwerp and the men defending it turned their eyes toward the sky the black Puffs were from our own guns they were our defense but the people saw them as the spots of a new disease that might afflict them endlessly they wondered how long can they keep it up will the supply ever give out will the bombs ever stop [Music] on some days there was a fine Sky perfect weather for a holiday [Music] but this was not typical winter weather more commonly skies were gray often the targets were blurred by fog foreign early and late in all kinds of weather people gathered to watch especially the children to them it was a great show no matter that the v-bombs were deadly this was a performance rain or shine it was fascinating to be a spectator [Music] but to the civilians it was a matter of life and death their homes in their city were in the balance the Gunners were their protectors and Defenders their only hope against the deadly weapon in the sky action was frequent the outcome was always in doubt sometimes a hit was freakish damaging the flying mechanism so that the bomb hurtled to the ground in a crazy spin thank you to the Gunners life went on a round of work and little sleep the season changed winter was a new plague adding discomfort to Danger there was cold and mud [Music] through the winter Germany continued to hammer Antwerp with V1 and V2 bombs thousands of buildings were totally destroyed and many thousand more were severely damaged people in the city were dazed those who had lived all their lives in Antwerp were suddenly lost in their City The Children looked on not understanding [Music] the wreckage was beyond their comprehension but the V1 left its mark on them physically and mentally [Music] then in the early part of December there were five days of quiet there was no putter of V1 bombs there were no V2s the sky was silent but though there were no targets the air was charged with danger this calm was false and Sinister each man felt it the enemy had stopped for a reason of their own that was something to worry about then the silence broke [Music] the German High command realizing the importance of the alive Supply Source poured all its ground strength into a huge dangerous counter-offensive the Battle of the Bulge Antwerp was the goal reach Antwerp and the alive drive would falter and fail our position grew dangerous our men were forced back we lost valuable equipment [Music] the Allies met the drive throwing everything they had against the enemy every man every piece of equipment our highly specialized Army rushed Cooks clerks and cartographers into Frontline fighting positions standard fighting methods were thrown overboard anti-aircraft guns fired Point Blank into the enemy attack but although the Allies suffered great damage the result of the Battle of the Bulge was now clear when roonstadt never reached the city that was his destination through it all the port went on operating the Belgian Dock Workers heroic in the face of constant danger continued to bring in the materials that were to reach the front in time for final victory truckload after truckload rolled through the streets of the city to the Western Front [Music] in February of 1945 the buzz bomb attacks reached a peak of intensity the bomb was coming in now from a new direction from the north at much shorter range by continually shifting our defenses and through a heavy defense in depth we met the final Onslaught Antwerp X was a success firstly the strategy had been right secondly the execution of that strategy the record of Gunners had been brilliant during one period of six days 91 bombs came over of which 89 were shot down [Music] the number of bombs that penetrated the defenses of Antwerp were only a small proportion of the destructive Avalanche that might have reached the city [Music] the shooting was over hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition fired into the sky had saved a city and protected a vital port Antwerp X had played a major role in bringing the war in Europe to a rapid conclusion Antwerp survived a war while being in the very center of it the people and paid a price in lives and property but beneath the surface there had been a profound change during four years of Terror and suffering they had gained a deeper understanding of human values A Renewed love for their traditions of culture and good will the citizens of Antwerp look about them now at the old buildings the old landmarks Still Standing reminders of the destruction that might have come to them reminders of the evil that might have Afflicted them not for four years but for forty or 400. their City lives on a monument for the whole world to see an affirmation of the good that is in mankind that can survive [Music]

Channel: AntwerpStories

Views: 10,907

Keywords:

Id: 7AoWyrVGIp8

Length: 20min 44sec (1244 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 16 2023