VIDEO
A German guards Belgian POW
German soldiers cross a Belgian river on a pontoon
German infantry deploys a 20-mm self-propelled gun on the Maastricht-Mopertingen highway
May 11, 1940. Germans capture the Albert Canal in Belgium.
May 16, 1940. A French heavy tank Char B 1 lays destroyed at the Belgian town of Beaumont
CHAR B1 FRENCH TANK
The Char B1 was a specialised heavy break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in a vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late thirties. Although a second uparmoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was developed, only two prototypes were built.
Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers or mechanised artillery.
A French Char B 1 tank captured by the Germans in Belgium
Another Char B 1 at Beaumont
A German soldier guards the Belgian fortress of Eben Emael
Germans on the streets of Maastricht, Netherlands. May 10, 1940
Germans inspect the damage to the Belgian fortress of Eben Emael
A German motorcyclist at West Flanders, Belgium
The German army enters Brussels
Indian soldiers of the British Army in Belgium in May 1940
After the German ultimatum to the city of Rotterdam ended at 10.30 pm May 14, 1940, at 13.22 hours began the bombing of the city. 814 people died.
Rotterdam after the bombing. View after the German bombing of May 14, 1940 from the White House on Station Exchange, Plan C, the Laurens Church and Town Hall in the background
After signing the capitulation, Dutch General Winkelmann
Dutch volunteers in German service. Swearing in of the first battalion of the WA Volunteer Regiment at Parliament Buildings in The Hague. Netherlands, 11 October 1941
German people living in Amsterdam greeting the troops
Secretary-General and Commissioner for Administration and Justice Friedrich Wimmer (left), SS officers of State and Commissioner General for Administration and Justice Friedrich Wimmer.
German soldiers on the streets of Rotterdam. May 1940
Streets of Rotterdam
The head of the Dutch Nazi Party, Anton Adrian Mussert
Himmler arrives in Luxembourg
Luxembourg. Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler in a conversation with the officers of the Division "Adolf Hitler " at the "Hotel Brasseur"
In May 1940, after Germany invaded the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina was forced to leave the country. In the UK, she led the Netherlands Government in exile. While in exile, the queen appeared regularly on British radio addressed to those in the occupied territory in Europe. … Here is the text of one of her performances in 1942: "Today, all subjects of the Netherlands commemorated countless compatriots who died in the streets and squares of Amsterdam, Haarlem ... commemorate those who are tormented and tortured by the fascists in the police cells and concentration camps ... loved ones of those who are no longer with us We convey our deepest sympathy ...
We raised a rebellion in assistance to Jewish families! Because we - the Dutch, are tolerant people. Jewish children were tortured and killed. That's why we rebelled! “ "
In their speeches, the Queen often spoke of Hitler as "the enemy of mankind." Winston Churchill called Queen Wilhelmina, "the only man in the Dutch government."
French troops move into Belgium
After the Belgians had capitulated. German and Belgian officers meet at the Belgian Army headquarters to sign the surrender.
German troops march in front of the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium
German soldiers enjoy the sight on the bank of River Maas
Brussels. Germans with surrendered arms of the Belgian army
The British in their hasty retreat left these behind
CHAR B1 FRENCH TANK
The Char B1 was a specialised heavy break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. Starting in the early twenties, its development and production were repeatedly delayed, resulting in a vehicle that was both technologically complex and expensive, and already obsolescent when real mass-production of a derived version, the Char B1 "bis", started in the late thirties. Although a second uparmoured version, the Char B1 "ter", was developed, only two prototypes were built.
Among the most powerfully armed and armoured tanks of its day, the type was very effective in direct confrontations with German armour in 1940 during the Battle of France, but slow speed and high fuel consumption made it ill-adapted to the war of movement then being fought. After the defeat of France captured Char B1 (bis) would be used by Germany, with some rebuilt as flamethrowers or mechanised artillery.
VIDEO: INVASION OF HOLLAND
VIDEO: ROTTERDAM BOMBING
Rotterdam after the bombing. View after the German bombing of May 14, 1940 from the White House on Station Exchange, Plan C, the Laurens Church and Town Hall in the background
We raised a rebellion in assistance to Jewish families! Because we - the Dutch, are tolerant people. Jewish children were tortured and killed. That's why we rebelled! “ "
In their speeches, the Queen often spoke of Hitler as "the enemy of mankind." Winston Churchill called Queen Wilhelmina, "the only man in the Dutch government."
