Cycling route Death Valley De Peel - The Battle of Meijel (#19)

The Battle of Meijel

Of all the villages in southern Peel, Meijel suffered the most during WWII. The war left its mark in many ways.
In 1939, during the mobilization, approximately 1,000 soldiers from the 27.RI and 30.RI regiments of the Peel Division were billeted to build and man the Peel Raamstelling.

On October 3, 1939, Meijel recorded one of the country's very first war casualties. A detonating mine caused sapper J.L. Simons (22) from Swalmen died.

When the Germans invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, large-scale fighting was expected in Meijel. The population was evacuated in advance to Asten and Deurne. But since the Peel-Raamstelling had to be abandoned quickly, hardly a shot was fired.
The liberation turned out to be all the more destructive in the chilly and wet autumn of 1944. Once again the residents of Meijel had to flee, this time due to endless skirmishes and a massive counter-push from the Germans towards Asten and Deurne. Meijel remained a frontline area for two long months.
When the last German was expelled, the village turned into one smoking pile of rubble.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Martin Damen