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The Liberation of Belgiumby Pierre Hanssens Yes! September 1944 is vividly remembered. The arrival of the first column of Allies, on Sunday afternoon, September 3rd in the western outskirts of Brussels-Anderlicht. First the rumbling then the sight of tanks (Cromwells?) the colour of the Battle-dress of the Lieutenant who emerged from the first vehicle (a contrast with the Feldgrau we had to endure for 4 years) Surprisingly this officer had a shoulder badge indicating he was a Norwegian although he wore the British Welch Guard uniform! Yes. The guards are here!!! our joy and enthusiasm was quickly cooled off by a sudden shower of bullets fire by some Germans shooting from the railway bridge overpassing the main highway Tournai-Ath-Brussels just behind us. We had been watching the fleeing German army for the last two days from the flat roof of a college near by. The onslaught of the diving planes strafing enemy vehicles of all kinds, come loaded with loot, even live pigs! - a pleasing sight that will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. The Guards Armd. and 11th Armd. had made a fantastic 70 mile drive that day and Brussels was reached much sooner than expected so our mission to harass the German stampede with weapons that were dropped by parachute, was cancelled. In the meantime, feeling the arrival of the allies, the Gestapo was very nervous and had removed all their political prisoners - approximately 1500 women and men - from St. Gilles - Brussels gaol and loaded them in locked boxcars to ship them to Germany. The railway men, along with the Underground, succeeded in stalling the departure of this sinister train by sabotaging the distant signals, putting it on the wrong tracks, causing breakage on the locomotive etc. These tactics saved the lives of those prisoners who were facing certain death in Germany. Then next day, September 4th 1944, squadron of the GUARDS, units of the R.E.M.E. and R.A.S.C. followed by the Belgian Independent Brigade marched through the Belgian capital. The streets were packed, people were wild, frantic, and mad. Once in a while stray German soldiers and some civilians escorted by members of the Underground, would be dealt with by a raging crowd. Often in a quite inhumane fashion. The traitors who had committed dreadful war crimes agains the Belgian State and Belgian citizens had left with the retreating Germans but most were caught later and brought to justice. Some criminals were sentenced to prison, some to death. 242 of them were executed by firing squad by the Belgian Gendarmerie, the last one on August 8th 1950. Belgium does not have the death penalty in peace time and although the war was over, the "state of war" remained until all matters pertaining to the period of W.W. II were dealt with. While we were enjoying our first days of freedom, the Canadian First Army was clearing the Belgian coast, and we were sent to Antwerp to help our comrades to clean the harbour (34 miles of quays and docks). Antwerp was at that time a weird and divided city. The southern pars was liberated - nigh clubs were even open! The northern and eastern side of the Scheld (MerkseM) was still in German hands and a dangerous area stuffed with snipers. We were soon to find out that we, with our yellowish-brown overalls that we were issued with as uniforms, were ideal targets for our enemies. Needless to say, I quickly got myself a battledress from a kind and understanding Canadian soldier. we were billeted in the Antwerp zoo where we kept our prisoners in the lion's cage that had been empty of it's former occupants for years. Shortly after my arrival in Antwerp I joined VIII Canadian Recce Regiment (14 CH) as this unit was looking for an interpreter for it's Intelligence Section. A lot of civilian were crossing the "Front" lines at night and it was believed that enemy agent were mixed in amongst them. No doubt there must have been some, but I did not find any that could be considered as such. I was attached to their RHQ from the time the regiment was in front of the Antwerp-Turnhout canal in the village of St. Job-in't-Goor where we had the help of the "typhoons" to dislodge the Jerries from the house on the opposite side. I remained with this great bunch of guys right through the battle of the Scheld, the Zuid Beveland Operation and on to the Nijmegen area. To my great disappointment I was called back into the Filed Regiment of the Belgian Brigade on December 16th. The day of the von Rundstedt Offensive in the Ardennes. RHQ was then stationed in the small village of Appeltern on the river Maas where we had organized a "Sinterklaas" party for the Dutch kids on December 6th. May I say that the Espirit de Corps and comradeship of this great regiment helped me to decide to emigrate to Canada. Pierre Hanssens retired and lived in Nanaimo, BC until his death December, 2002 |
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