German troops had set up the village of Wagenborgen as a defence to protect Delfzijl from the advancing Polish and Canadian forces for as long as possible. The defence of Wagenborgen consisted of a mixture of German paratroopers, Wehrmacht, SS, Luftwaffe personnel and fresh Kriegsmarine battalions from Emden, Germany. The defence of the 'Delfzijl Pocket' was clearly in favour of the German troops, with most of the terrain being flat polder land. MG 42 machine guns were set up in farms and trenches in and around Wagenborgen, and were considered the most lethal weapon (1200 shots per minute!).

The occupiers prohibited civilians from leaving Wagenborgen to keep the German positions secret from the Canadian troops. However, because the German troops were very tense and constantly thought they were being shelled by 'partisans and terrorists', accidents sometimes happened. On the night of Tuesday 17 April 1945, a German patrol was disturbed. Several shots followed and an MG 42 was deployed. In fact, a cow or dog had likely been mistaken for the enemy. The tense attitude made it imperative for civilians to exercise extreme caution so as not to arouse suspicion.

The 'Monument 1940-1945' in Wagenborgen was erected in memory of 27 Canadian servicemen and thirteen fellow civilians killed by acts of war.

Portrait of a liberator

Jan Dobras was born on 18 December 1905 in the Polish village of Reduczyce, asimple village where many peasants lived and poverty was high. He grew up with two sisters and a brother and after leaving school he went to work on his father's small farm. After the death of his wife, he moved to France where he became a painter. He had little contact with his family: he was not a regular writer but the family in Poland knew that life was good for Dobras in France. After Germany invaded Poland and France became involved in the war, Jan joined the Polish army. He was assigned to the Strzelcow Podhalankisch Infantry Battalion, stationed near Brittany.

In April 1940 Dobras was embarked with his unit and sailed for Norway. Between 10 and 15 April 1940, they fought at Narvik to keep the route towards England, the Lofoten and Murmansk open. It was an unequal battle, and 79 Polish soldiers died in a vain attempt to defend the town of Narvik.

The Polish troops returned to France on 4 May 1940, but had to leave the country after a battle. Almost all Polish soldiers were stationed in Scotland, where for many years they prepared to be deployed. After the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, Polish troops marched through France via Normandy. In August 1944, they fought hard near Falaise where about two thousand Polish soldiers died on Mount Ormel.

Dobras' unit arrived in Breda, Netherlands, via Belgium and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Netherlands. In early April 1945, the unit was ordered to Coevorden for the further advance towards Germany. Together with Alfred Czesny, from the same native region, Dobras enjoyed the surroundings that somewhat resembled home.

On 15 April 1945, the Polish soldiers came under heavy fire while doing reconnaissance in Wagenborgen. While recuperating in 't Waar, Dobras and Częsny were hit by shrapnel. Dobras died immediately behind the vehicle on which he was doing maintenance, and Częsny died of his wounds two days later.