Sporen van de Oorlog, deel 7/8

During the liberation of Drenthe in April 1945, the Allied army was confronted with kilometers of anti-tank ditches, trenches, machine-gun positions, and bunkers on either side of the Drentsche Hoofdvaart. These ran from Meppel along the canal to Bovensmilde, from there through the Witterveld and the Asser Bos east of Assen, and further across the Balloërveld to the north. Remnants of anti-tank ditches can also be found in the Vijftig Bunder nature reserve near Midlaren. This was the Frieslandriegel, also known as the Assener Stellungen. It was a north-south defensive line constructed by forced laborers that connected to the IJssel Line in the south and was intended to extend north as far as Delfzijl. The failed intention was to halt an Allied invasion from the (north)west across the Wadden Sea. More RTV Drenthe? https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl   / rtvdrenthe     / rtvdrenthe     / rtvdrenthe