The cycling route takes you along the Mark Canal where, in November 1944, Polish soldiers of the 1st Polish Armoured Division made frantic efforts to cross the canal and breach the German defense line.On your way you’ll encounter a German Panther Tank too, which was donated to the city of Breda by the Polish liberators, as a thank you for the warm relationship between the Polish soldiers and Breda.

The Netherlands

Maczek Memorial Breda

Polish forces during the liberation of Breda. 

Liberation of Breda

Polish Cycling Route Breda

The crossing On 29 October 1944, Breda was liberated by the 1st Polish Armoured Division of Major General Stanisław Maczek. Two days later, the forward units stormed north towards Moerdijk and the vital bridges there, crossing the Hollands Diep, an estuary of the Rhine and Meuse rivers. But first, the Cromwell tanks of the reconnaissance section, 10 PSK, had to cross the river Mark. They tried to do this at Nieuwe Veer, just south of Zevenbergen, but of course both the brand new road bridge and the railway bridge had been blown up. It was decided to ferry the 8th Infantry Battalion, nicknamed the ‘Bloodshirts’, across in boats. On 31 October 1944, a small bridgehead was the result, which now needed to be expanded quickly. However the enemy, the 245th German Infantry Division of Lieutenant General Erwin Sander, put a stop to that.In a tight spot German counterattacks soon followed one another, but the Polish troops held their ground. The German reaction was fierce because the road to the bridges at Moerdijk needed to be kept open for the retreating troops for as long as possible. During the following night, reinforcements were brought in for the bridgehead via floating bridges in the form of eight Sherman tanks and two M-10 tracked vehicles. On 1 November 1944, the Polish managed to enlarge the bridgehead somewhat, at least until the enemy launched a counterattack and the Polish were once again pushed back to the water.Retreat One Sherman tank after another was knocked out and at 18:00 the decision was made to abandon the bridgehead. The German forces fired with all their might and the bombardment was the most intense it had been since the battle in Normandy. Around midnight, all Polish troops were back on the south bank, and they had had to leave three Sherman tanks and one M-10 behind on the other bank. The other M-10 was left in the shallow water after the pontoon on which it was being transported was sunk.Balance The battle was short but extremely fierce, and the German forces had gained time but nothing more, because two days later the Polish crossed at Ter Aalst and Oosterhout. This crossing was successful and Moerdijk finally came into Polish control on 9 November 1944.

A tough battle at Nieuwe Veer

The liberators of Breda, the 1st Polish Armored Division, from November 9, 1944, are given responsibility for part of the Canadian front line that from then on ran from Moerdijk to the Betuwe region. The combat units take over guard duty in rotation, the headquarters and troops were established in Breda. Contrary to what many citizens believe, Major General Maczek did not live in Hotel de Kroon, but, like the other officers, he was billeted in private homes. Thus, the hotel served merely as an "office" for Maczek and his staff. It was extremely suitable for this purpose because of its many rooms, after all, a division is like a small town and must be run accordingly. The period in Breda ended on April 7, 1945, when the Polish division returned to action. Again as part of the 1st Canadian Army, it joined the advance through the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen and then moved into Germany to end at Wilhelmshaven. Because of the long stay there, General Maczek praised Breda as the "most Polish city in the Netherlands". The Hotel de Kroon, where Maczek had his headquarters, dates back to 1902 and was built on the foundations of an earlier hotel in one of Breda's oldest streets. The hotel was closed in 1961 and the building was demolished in 1984. Nowadays only the location of Maczek's headquarters remains.

Polish headquarters in Breda

This point is considered the starting point of the liberation of Breda. This is not illogical, because it is indeed from here that two Polish infantry battalions, the 8th and 9th, began. From here, the 8th Infantry Battalion advanced under the Singel to the centre of Princenhagen, while the 9th advanced from this point to the old city centre. The only problem is that they were not the only liberators, and Breda was in fact liberated from different directions and by different routes.All in all, as many as four different starting points can be identified, especially now that places like Ulvenhout and Prinsenbeek are also part of the municipality. Present-day Breda was liberated by no less than seven different units, five Polish, one English and one Canadian. If we had to summarise a complicated story, it comes down to the fact that two Polish tank battalions advanced from the direction of Dorst to near the railway station, while two infantry battalions surrounded the city to the south, and one entered the city itself. The Canadians, together with the British, advanced even further south across what is now the Graaf Engelbertlaan. So, historically, this area was definitely important for the liberation of Breda, but it is certainly not unique in this.

The starting point of Breda's liberation

On Monday 30 October 1945, a festive ceremony took place in Wilhelmina Park. The day before, a large military flatbed truck had arrived carrying a German Panther tank. This was donated to the city by the Polish liberators, as a thank you for the warm relationship between the Polish soldiers and Breda.At the time, the 1st Polish Armoured Division was in the Ems Valley (Germany). They found, amid other vehicles at a tank testing ground near Meppen (Germany), a German Panther type tank, a tank which some experts say was the best tank of World War II. The tank was an old model and bore the tactical number 534, so it most likely fought somewhere on the front at some point. To be clear: never against the Polish and never in or around Breda! At the ceremony in Breda, the tank was handed over to Mayor Van Slobbe by Division Commander Major-General Klemens Rudnicki. This was followed by a church service and wreath laying. Unfortunately, fairly soon the first problems arose around the tank, which was called a 'difficult war trophy'. Breda's Director of Plantations wanted to move the tank as early as 1946, but the Mayor and Councillors did not go along with this yet. In 1949, with the placement of the Polish Monument, this changed. The monument was placed on the site of the tank, opposite number 44. The Panther was transferred to the Seelig Barracks, but this made it more difficult for the population and for Polish veterans to see. The latter group felt hurt and started to lobby, successfully, the municipal administration. In 1952, the tank was returned to Wilhelmina Park, and now stands on the corner with Paul Windhausenweg. Thus, a unique (and now precious) piece of war history was preserved for posterity.

A German tank as a gift

Liberated by Polish soldiers, the Dutch city of Breda is twinned with the Polish city of Wrocław. The artwork was created by Tomasz Tomaszewski, a sculptor from Wrocław, and bears the name 'Pamięć' (pronounced pamjets), which means 'Remembrance' in Polish. It depicts the traces left behind by a Polish tank, and is formed by 'tracks' carved from stone.With this artwork, Tomaszewski aimed to show that the liberation of Breda by Major-General Maczek's 1st Polish Armoured Division left physical traces first of all, but that there is also a second layer. After all, the liberation also left figurative traces in the city's history. It gave citizens back their freedom, and the long stay of Polish soldiers in the city during the winter of 1944 to 45 created bonds of friendship. The artwork was installed on an existing path at the corner of Claudius Prinsenlaan and Wilhelminasingel. As a pedestrian, one can therefore simply walk over the artwork. The location is striking, however, for another reason. Presumably, in 2019, the municipality did not realise that it was precisely here, in the former Brabantpark, that the last German battle group held out on 29 October 1944.

Traces of liberation: literally and figuratively

Two days after the liberation of Breda on 29 October 1944, elements of Major General Maczek's 1st Polish Armoured Division raced north; their objective was Moerdijk and the vital bridges there. However, before this could be achieved, the Cromwell tanks of the reconnaissance unit, 10 PSK, had to cross the River Mark. At Nieuwe Veer, just south of Moerdijk, they attempted to do so, but both the brand new road bridge and the railway bridge had been blown up. It was therefore decided to send the infantry, the 8th Battalion nicknamed the 'Blood Shirts', across the River Mark in boats. The result of this was the formation of a small bridgehead on 31 October.Polish bridgeheadThe opposing forces, the 245 Infantry Division of Lieutenant-General Sander, did not take long to respond, and soon German counterattacks followed one after another. The German response was so fierce because the road to Moerdijk had to be kept open as long as possible for the retreating troops. During the following night, reinforcements were brought in via floating bridges in the form of eight Sherman tanks and two M-10 Self Propelled Guns, and on 1 November the Polish forces managed to enlarge the bridgehead somewhat. However, the German troops launched a renewed counterattack and pushed them back again to near the Mark.RetreatOne Sherman tank after another was knocked out, and at 6pm the decision was taken to abandon the bridgehead. Around midnight, all Polish troops were back on the south bank of the Mark. The battle had been short but extraordinarily fierce, and Polish losses were considerable: 16 killed, 40 wounded and eight missing. Two days later, Maczek's troops successfully crossed the Mark canal near Ter Aalst, and on 9 November Moerdijk finally fell into Polish hands.

Bloody battle for a bridgehead

Along with Terheijden and Wagenberg, Den Hout was one of the villages that came to lie directly in the front line during the battle for the Mark Canal. The village was bombarded by a hail of grenades, launched by the Polish artillery. British fighters carried out air strikes. The devastation in Den Hout was enormous and there were many civilian casualties.
After the breakthrough at the Mark Canal line, Polish tanks advanced in the direction of Den Hout. There was some German resistance, but that was quickly overcome. Den Hout was liberated in the early evening of the 3rd of November 1944.&#13;
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Village in the front line

German troops had built a defensive line on the north side of the Mark Canal. Overnight, on the 3rd of November 1944, Polish troops from the 1st Polish Armoured Division first began a feint toward Terheijden. Then, at Ter Aalst, another unit crossed the canal in inflatable boats and surprised the German troops in their foxholes. After some fighting, the Poles managed to establish a bridgehead.
At the same time, at the Marksluis near Oosterhout, the Poles tried to cross the Mark Canal. That was a lot less successful, as they came under heavy German fire. Eventually, with the support of artillery and fighter aircraft, they still managed to reach the other side. Polish sappers immediately started constructing a Bailey bridge. This was a turning point in the action, the Poles broke through and the bridge was named the Success Bridge.&#13;
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The battle of Mark Canal

The occupying forces did not abandon Breda without a struggle in the last days before the liberation. Although most of the German troops had been ordered to retreat behind the Mark Canal, small units remained in the town, with the task of slowing the Allied advance.
And so fighting took place at different places in the city and there were also casualties among the civilians. The liberators were a surprise to many of the people of Breda. They were Polish soldiers from the 1st Polish Armoured Division under General Maczek.
They fought German units in the Ginneken, along the Teteringsedijk and around the Coothplein. On the 29th of October 1944, they reached the Grote Markt and Breda was liberated. The enthusiastic people of Breda cheered them to the skies.&#13;
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Gift from the Poles

Dutch underground organisations covertly gathered information about the German defences. Huib Toebak and Eduard Janssens from Zwaluwe had drawn up an intelligence report about the defences at Moerdijk. Their intention was to hand over this report with a map to the first Allied officer they would encounter in Zwaluwe. Until then, the report was hidden behind a loose brick in the attic of the school.
On the 5th of November 1944, the Polish liberators from the 1st Polish Armoured Division approached the Goverde cafe. While many villagers hunkered in shelters awaiting the end of the fighting, Eduard Janssens set off and handed over the report to a Polish officer. The Poles thought there were no more German troops in Hooge Zwaluwe but Eduard Janssens discovered their positions and warned the Poles in advance. A fierce battle then raged for a half-day in the streets of Hooge Zwaluwe, before the village was liberated.&#13;
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The secret map

Il museo è dedicato alle donne e agli uomini coraggiosi della Prima divisione armata polacca comandata dal Generale Stanisław Maczek, che liberarono gran parte dei Paesi Bassi dall’occupazione tedesca nel 1944 e 1945. Questi soldati polacchi riportarono la libertà e l’opportunità di ricostrure il paese. Purtroppo, i liberatori non ebbero il medesimo successo nel loro paese, perché la Polonia dovette accettare una soppressione durata 50 anni.

This museum has been dedicated to the brave men and women of the 1st Polish Armour Division commanded by General Stanisław Maczek, who have liberated major parts of the Netherlands from the German occupier in 1944 and 1945. These Polish soldiers brought us our freedom back and gave us the opportunity to build up our country again. Unfortunately, our liberators did not succeed in their home country, Poland, and had to accept to suppression for 50 long years.