Information board Bombing of Gorssel 8 March 1945

This information board commemorates the bombing of Gorssel on 8 March 1945. On that day, Hawker Typhoons from 123 and 146 Wing carried out multiple attacks on German headquarters in the Deventer-Zutphen region. The targets in Gorssel were the headquarters of Generalkommando IV Flakkorps and the requisitioned villas Boschterhoek and Ravensweerd, where Commander General Ludwig Schillfart and his officers were housed. In addition, there were rumours that the German commander in the Netherlands, Johannes Blaskowitz, was staying in one of the villas. Another target was the church tower, which could serve as a lookout post and pose a threat to the upcoming Canadian crossing of the IJssel River.

Five German soldiers lost their lives, but both generals escaped unharmed as they were not present during the bombing.
The sad outcome of the attack was seven deaths and 28 injuries among the civilian population, while the church, a school and 35 houses were completely destroyed or severely damaged. Three hundred houses suffered damage to their roofs or windows

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
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