Joe's Bridge is the nickname given to Bridge No.9 on the Bocholt-Herentals Canal outside the town of Neerpelt, in the Belgian city of Lommel just south of the Belgian-Dutch border.[1] The bridge was captured by British troops in September 1944, becoming the springboard for the ground offensive of Operation Market-Garden.[citation needed]
The original bridge had been destroyed by the Belgian Army in 1940, but the Germans had constructed a wooden pontoon bridge to the west of it. This bridge was taken on the evening of 10 September 1944 by the Irish Guards under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J.O.E Vandeleur. While the Welsh Guards engaged the German forces around Hechtel, the Irish Guards advanced rapidly north-east through the villages of Aksel, Overpelt and Neerpelt, and launched their combined infantry-tank assault, with artillery support, from the grounds of the zinc processing factory in Overpelt. They succeeded in taking the bridge undamaged.
The capture of the bridge completed the encirclement of German troops in Hechtel. German units tried for some days to recapture the bridge from the north but were driven off, once with bayonets. Once the bridge was secure, men of the 615th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, set about repairing it, while the Irish Guards secured a bridgehead along the N69 main road towards Valkenswaard.
Some 3 km to the west, in the center of Lommel, SS troops had placed 40 randomly selected Belgian civilians in the street, at machine gun-point, as a human shield. However, the swift advance of the British from the east prevented a massacre. The Germans held the north side of the canal up to 17 September, apart from the area around the bridge.
The bridge became known as "Joe's Bridge", after Lieutenant–Colonel Joe Vandeleur, or possibly because the Royal Engineers troop who repaired it was known as "Joe's Troop".
Operation Market-Gardenedit
On the afternoon of 17 September 1944 XXX Corps began its advance north along the N69 (soon known as "Hell's Highway" to the American paratroops and "The Club Route" to the British), with tanks of 2nd Irish Guards leading. A heavy bombardment had been made on known enemy positions, but the information was sketchy and numerous elements of the German battle group survived, including SS and Fallschirmjäger troops. The Germans allowed the British tanks to advance along the road while they waited for the lead elements to move parallel to hidden units in the wooded areas to the left of the road.[2] They then opened up with anti-tank guns and knocked out seven lead tanks, so Lieutenant–Colonel Vandeleur, called in airstrikes from rocket-firingTyphoons. This silenced the guns, and the road was cleared of the wreckage by armoured bulldozers, while infantry mopped up, thus setting a pattern for the rest of the advance towards Valkenswaard and Eindhoven.
Post-waredit
The bridge was rebuilt after World War II and a memorial below the southern edge of the bridge records its famous name. The Irish Guards Memorial is on the northern bank, on a side-road off the road to Valkenswaard.
Today Joe's Bridge is on the "Airborne trail",[3] a 225 km footpath from Lommel to Arnhem, created as a permanent reminder of Operation Market-Garden by the Dutch hiking association "Ollandse Lange Afstand Tippelaars" (OLAT).[4] It was officially opened in September 2004, during the festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the Liberation.
^Engelen, Nick (20 January 2020). "75th anniversary of Operation Hurry On". Slightly East of New.
^Airbornepad Market Garden : een wandeling van 225 km. Frank Marchand, Wandelsportvereniging de Ollandse Lange Afstand Tippelaars (2e druk ed.). [Nederland]: OLAT Wandelpaden. September 2019. ISBN978-90-71597-11-4. OCLC 1178806880.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
^"Airbornepad - wvs OLAT". www.olat.nl. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
Further readingedit
Israël, J. (1992). De Brug tot Market Garden; Met de bevrijding van Lommel, Overpelt, Neerpelt en Valkenswaard (Dutch), Lokaalhistorisch museum Kempenland, Lommel (1992) ISBN9074271197.
Vandeleur, J. O. E. (1967). A Soldier's Story, printed privately for the author by Gale & Polden (1967), ISBN n/a.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe's Bridge.
Joe's Bridge with pictures & history.
Joe's Bridge eyewitness article (with pictures)
Additional info regarding Joe's Bridge & the area surrounding during Operation Market–Garden with pictures.
bridge, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2021, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Joe s Bridge news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Joe s Bridge is the nickname given to Bridge No 9 on the Bocholt Herentals Canal outside the town of Neerpelt in the Belgian city of Lommel just south of the Belgian Dutch border 1 The bridge was captured by British troops in September 1944 becoming the springboard for the ground offensive of Operation Market Garden citation needed Joe s Bridge in 2010Contents 1 Capture 2 Operation Market Garden 3 Post war 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksCapture editThe original bridge had been destroyed by the Belgian Army in 1940 but the Germans had constructed a wooden pontoon bridge to the west of it This bridge was taken on the evening of 10 September 1944 by the Irish Guards under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J O E Vandeleur While the Welsh Guards engaged the German forces around Hechtel the Irish Guards advanced rapidly north east through the villages of Aksel Overpelt and Neerpelt and launched their combined infantry tank assault with artillery support from the grounds of the zinc processing factory in Overpelt They succeeded in taking the bridge undamaged The capture of the bridge completed the encirclement of German troops in Hechtel German units tried for some days to recapture the bridge from the north but were driven off once with bayonets Once the bridge was secure men of the 615th Field Squadron Royal Engineers set about repairing it while the Irish Guards secured a bridgehead along the N69 main road towards Valkenswaard Some 3 km to the west in the center of Lommel SS troops had placed 40 randomly selected Belgian civilians in the street at machine gun point as a human shield However the swift advance of the British from the east prevented a massacre The Germans held the north side of the canal up to 17 September apart from the area around the bridge The bridge became known as Joe s Bridge after Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur or possibly because the Royal Engineers troop who repaired it was known as Joe s Troop Operation Market Garden editOn the afternoon of 17 September 1944 XXX Corps began its advance north along the N69 soon known as Hell s Highway to the American paratroops and The Club Route to the British with tanks of 2nd Irish Guards leading A heavy bombardment had been made on known enemy positions but the information was sketchy and numerous elements of the German battle group survived including SS and Fallschirmjager troops The Germans allowed the British tanks to advance along the road while they waited for the lead elements to move parallel to hidden units in the wooded areas to the left of the road 2 They then opened up with anti tank guns and knocked out seven lead tanks so Lieutenant Colonel Vandeleur called in airstrikes from rocket firing Typhoons This silenced the guns and the road was cleared of the wreckage by armoured bulldozers while infantry mopped up thus setting a pattern for the rest of the advance towards Valkenswaard and Eindhoven Post war editThe bridge was rebuilt after World War II and a memorial below the southern edge of the bridge records its famous name The Irish Guards Memorial is on the northern bank on a side road off the road to Valkenswaard Today Joe s Bridge is on the Airborne trail 3 a 225 km footpath from Lommel to Arnhem created as a permanent reminder of Operation Market Garden by the Dutch hiking association Ollandse Lange Afstand Tippelaars OLAT 4 It was officially opened in September 2004 during the festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the Liberation See also editOperation Market GardenReferences edit Latitude and longitude of Joe s Bridge in Belgium https latitude to articles by country be belgium 95321 joes bridge Engelen Nick 20 January 2020 75th anniversary of Operation Hurry On Slightly East of New Airbornepad Market Garden een wandeling van 225 km Frank Marchand Wandelsportvereniging de Ollandse Lange Afstand Tippelaars 2e druk ed Nederland OLAT Wandelpaden September 2019 ISBN 978 90 71597 11 4 OCLC 1178806880 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint date and year link CS1 maint others link Airbornepad wvs OLAT www olat nl Retrieved 13 August 2021 Further reading editIsrael J 1992 De Brug tot Market Garden Met de bevrijding van Lommel Overpelt Neerpelt en Valkenswaard Dutch Lokaalhistorisch museum Kempenland Lommel 1992 ISBN 9074271197 Vandeleur J O E 1967 A Soldier s Story printed privately for the author by Gale amp Polden 1967 ISBN n a External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe s Bridge Joe s Bridge with pictures amp history Joe s Bridge eyewitness article with pictures Additional info regarding Joe s Bridge amp the area surrounding during Operation Market Garden with pictures 51 14 22 N 5 22 43 E 51 23944 N 5 37861 E 51 23944 5 37861 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joe 27s Bridge amp oldid 1188519779, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
