Five Brothers and a War

May 10, 1940

and nearby woods. The Dutch captured about 120 men on the base itself, about 160 in total whereas around 20 previously-captured Dutch had been liberated. By the early afternoon, Ockenburgh was in Dutch hands again. The assault itself had cost the lives of 12 Dutch soldiers. Of the 28 Ju-52 on the airfield, six had managed to take off again. The balance of 22 Ju-52 had been destroyed or damaged to the point that they were not able to fly. Another 20 Ju 52 landed on fields around the airbase, but were not able to take-off from those locations. Of those, only a few had actually been damaged or destroyed, and after the Dutch capitulated, the Germans recovered most of them. The German commanding officer, a Generalleutnant, and about 350 of his men had managed to escape into the woods to the southeast. They would live to fight another day. However, the Germans suffered significant losses. 60 men had been killed, many more had been wounded and around 200 men had been taken prisoner by the Dutch. But the Dutch had also paid. At the airfield itself, 28 had been killed, and 12 men were lost at the road junction and on the east side of the airfield. They had also lost 22 men during the fighting in the woods, so a total of 62 men were killed.

the war

Scenes from Ockenburgh, including German planes, top, and a Dutch Douglas 8N below.

Five Brothers and a War

Page 296