War over Holland - May 1940: the Dutch struggle

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  • Preface
  • 8.2: The Zeeland-defences before 0-hour
  • 8.3: The defence-lines

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  • Friday 10 May
  • 8.6: Flushing harbour and the navy
  • 8.7: The airforce bases and air-defences elsewhere in Zeeland
  • 8.8: Allied assistance: the French arrive
  • 8.9: Ground forces
  • 8.10: Civil matters
  • 8.11: The shipyard De Schelde

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  • Saturday 11 May
  • 8.14: French-Dutch command
  • 8.15: Maritime events
  • 8.16: More air-activity
  • 8.17: Dutch ground forces

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  • Sunday 12 May
  • 8.20: The harbour is targeted again
  • 8.21: The airforce and navy air fleet bases
  • 8.22: The ground forces

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  • Monday 13 May
  • 8.25: Strategic and tactical picture
  • 8.26: For Queen and country?
  • 8.27: Ground forces
  • 8.28: Airforce operations

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  • Tuesday 14 May
  • 8.31: Capitulation of The Netherlands
  • 8.32: Civil authorities
  • 8.33: The AFB's
  • 8.34: The ground forces
  • 8.35: The Bathline
  • 8.36: The air battles

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  • Wednesday 15 May
  • 8.39: Bath- and Zanddijkline
  • 8.40: Tholen
  • 8.41: Schouwen-Duivenland
  • 8.42: Other events

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  • Thursday 16 May
  • 8.45: The battle of Kapelle
  • 8.46: Tholen
  • 8.47: Schouwen-Duivenland
  • 8.48: Other matters

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  • Friday 17 May
  • 8.51: Dislocation of forces
  • 8.52: Sloedam
  • 8.53: Flushing
  • 8.54: Middelburg
  • 8.55: Schouwen-Duivenland
  • 8.56: Capitulation of Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland
  • 8.57: Zeeuws-Vlaanderen
  • 8.58: Air-forces
  • 8.59: The Dutch navy
  • 8.60: The fate of the ships of the foreign navies
  • 8.61: Balance

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  • The French
  • 8.64: Preface
  • 8.65: French complaints
  • 8.66: The secret of good leadership

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Balance

Introduction

In this section we present a balance of the battle of Zeeland, incorporating the French losses in Noord-Brabant. Some parts may have been published elsewhere on this site too, but on this balance sheet all figures are summarized for an easy overview. 

The French

The French 60th and 68th infantry divisions had both lost about 25-30% of their man-power and virtually all heavier equipment that had belonged to the two regiments that had fought at Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland. Most guns, AA, machine guns, carts and vehicles had been left behind. Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland had become one huge army dump.

The exact casualty rates of the French units in Zeeland are not known, but there are 154 men registered as KIA in Zeeland. These men are mostly identified by full name, rank, unit, date of registration and location of death and burial.

According to official sources 229 French were killed in Noord-Brabant and Zeeland. We have registrations of 154 KIA in Zeeland and 62 in Noord-Brabant, adding up to 206 KIA in total.

These 154 men killed in Zeeland, include one man of the French navy and three men flying personnel. The 150 army KIA included 17 officers, of which one Général de Brigade [Deslaurens, C.60 DI], two Majors, three Captains and eleven Lieutenants. In total 8 men were registered under 68 GRDI, 83 for 271.RI, 30 men for 224.RI and 29 men registered with other units or unspecified.

The 62 KIA in Noord-Brabant included four airmen, three of them officers (two Captains, one 1st Lieutenant). The 58 army men include 2 officers - both Lieutenants. Of these 58 men there were thirteen of 2.GRDI, 5.GRDI, 12.GRDI and 27.GRDI, twelve of 4.RDP, nine of 92.RI and seven of 38.RI. The remaining seventeen were of several other units or unspecified.

The number of WIA is unknown. A rather reliable benchmark is a 1:4 KIA/WIA ration. The registered French number KIA in the Netherlands is 206 men. That would imply a mere 800 men WIA. Obviously a mere guestimate.

It is estimated that about 3,000 men were taken prisoner, at least according to German sources. How accurate that number is, is hard to tell. It seems however not exaggerated.

Dutch losses

The Dutch - defenders of their own soil - had disgraced themselves in the battle of Zeeland. They had lost only 38 men - amongst which 5 officers including two of the airforce - in eight days of war. Bearing in mind that at least five of these men were killed due to an accident or Fifth Column suspicion [one senior NCO had been killed by the hurds from Noord-Brabant under suspicion of Fifth Column activities] and another five by a French volley on a Dutch column near Middelburg, only 28 men had been killed due to enemy doing.

If one even further studies these figures, one can conclude that the far majority of these men had been killed due to air-raids and navy losses. During actual combat [no accidents included] in the two defence-lines [Zanddijkline: 7; Bathline 2] and local fights elsewhere [Zierikzee 1; Tholen 2; Bruinisse 1] only thirteen soldiers had been killed!

Anyway, 38 KIA was an extremely low figure bearing in mind that eight days of war in this province had exposed 7,500 Dutch soldiers - later even more than 10,000 - to the enemy. That loss was for example only 20% of the French loss, and clearly a fine comparison of the actual effort-balance between the two Allies.

Three more Dutch soldiers of the Zeeland forces were killed in the days after the battle. Besides of the navy (and navy volunteer) force in Zeeland 40 men were killed. The BV.34 (militarised tug) was good for the most severe single loss, 20 men KIA. On board the HrMs Bulgia, a brown water gun boat, 13 men were killed. The hospital ship Luctor et Emergo, bombed in the harbour of Flushing, went under with four men killed on board. Finally of the HrMs Hydra, also a brown water gun boat, three men perished.

In total 87 men killed during the battle of Zeeland and three more in the weeks after. Their names and units were the following (credits to lt-col rtd. E.H. Brongers for composing the below list):

Note 1: Most KIA in Kapelle and Yerseke were in fact KIA that fell in the trenches of the Zanddike defence-line.

Note 2: KIA that fell in Rilland were in fact of a patrol that moved in front of the Bath-line.

Note 3: The five men KIA at Middelburg on 14.5.1940 were killed by French fire at the Schroebrug (Vlissingse Jaagpad). The French had been under the impression that it were German troops approaching them, although German troops were not even in Zeeland.

Note 4: Zijpe and Oostgat are offshore locations or water-ways.

Note 5: All lower naval functions are uniformly addressed as Stoker, Seaman or Engineer. LTZ2 (RNLN) equalled Lieutenant-Commander (RN) in 1940.  

The number of killed civilians are not known.

German losses

The Germans lost a considerable number of men during three days of ground war in Zeeland, but bearing in mind that they were the assaulting side, their losses could be regarded as light.

Including the action at Tholen, which was relatively costly [20 men KIA], the German army loss was 89 men KIA. Their heaviest losses at one location were at Tholen and at Oostdijk, when the point SS unit was trapped by cunningly laid land-mines. It costed them at least 10 men KIA alone [against 22 KIA total at that location]. An additional eight Luftwaffe crew men perished with their planes, adding up a total of 97 men KIA. The retaking of Walcheren four years later would cost the Allies much more ...

The losses at Zeeuws-Vlaanderen are unknown. No figures whatsoever of French, Belgian or Germans have been found. It shall not have been high figures, for apart from one or two skirmishes the only action at this area was executed by the airforces. Some Luftwaffe raids must have costs the Allies some losses, but as said, they are unknown. We shall therefore leave it at that.

Remarkable

Two remarkable losses. First of all the combat death of Brigadier-General Deslaurens, the brave commander of the 60th Infantry Division. The circumstances under which he was killed were already addressed before.

On the German side a Colonel [Oberst Oskar von dem Hagen] of the 225th Infantry Division died. He was commander of the 376 IR. He had been the commander of the 18th I.D. in the period 1931-1934. Born on 13 April 1883, he died at the age of 57 years. He was posthumously promoted to General-Major. The circumstances under which he died are unknown, but according to German records succumbed of fatal wounds at the 17th of May in Ossendrecht. 225th ID was indeed active in this area, but only to the rear of the SS Regiment Germania. Possibly the Colonel was a victim of Allied air-raids which were quite frequently executed in this area in those days.

Both officers were the most senior in rank to die on Dutch soil in those days. On the Dutch side three Lieutenant-Colonels were killed or fatally wounded during the same period, but none of these three in Zeeland. They were the most senior Dutch officers to get killed.

Airforce losses

The confirmed and identified losses of German planes are also specifically known, although many French and Dutch military reports speak of more losses and crashes in the sea [which obviously prevents us of wreckage verification].

The registered losses of the German, French, Belgian and British airforces during the 10-27 May episode generate the following figures.

The Luftwaffe lost the highest number of planes, 26 planes: 12 off He-111, 5 off Ju-88, 3 off Bf-109's, 2 off Do-17's, 2 off Bf-110's and 1 He-115.

The French airforce lost 7 registered planes: 3 off Hawk-75's, 2 off Potez-63.11, 1 off Ms-406 and 1 off Chance Vought.

The British and Belgian losses were very low, both one plane. A Blenheim nearby Flushing and a Fairley Fox of the Belgian airforce in Zeeuws Vlaanderen.  

The Dutch lost one modern Fokker T-V medium bomber, seven old C-V recce and light ground-support bi-planes and many air-training planes on Zeeland soil. The T-V bomber had been hit by [own] AA over Veere and appeared to be a total write-off after landing at Haamstede AFB. The seven C-V's were all destroyed on the ground whilst another two C-V's were shot down close to Rotterdam on a mission from Haamstede AFB to Waalhaven. All destroyed training planes had fallen victim to Luftwaffe bombs or strafing.

Balance