nxxb ^Hemortal The American Battle Monuments Commission 1986 Chapel Interior JVmertnm Cemetery anb LOCATION Netherlands Cemetery, the only hours), any city in Holland, or from American military cemetery in the Germany via Aachen. A bus service Netherlands, is situated near the from Maastricht railroad station southeast limit of the country in the passes the cemetery entrance. village of Margraten, 6 miles (10 km) To reach Margraten by automobile east of Maastricht, on the main from the north, west or south, fol­ highway to Aachen, Germany, low the appropriate highway to which is 14 miles (22 km) farther Maastricht, thence east along the east. Margraten is 70 miles (112 km) Cadier en Keer/Vaals highway east of Brussels and 252 miles (405 (N278); if driving from Aachen, fol­ km) northeast of Paris. low the Maastricht highway (N278) Maastricht may be reached by west for 11 miles (18 km) after pass­ train from Brussels, from Paris (Gare ing the Netherlands frontier post. du Nord — in approximately 7 There are good hotels at Maas- Memorial and Court of Honor 3 Location of Cemetery Features tricht, Valkenburg, 4.5 miles (7 km), HISTORY Aachen and at other towns in the vicinity. Three months after successfully landing on the beaches of Nor­ mandy, Allied forces had advanced HOURS farther than they had thought possi­ The cemetery is open daily to the ble. By mid-September 1944, the public as shown below: U.S. First Army had crossed Luxembourg; captured Liege, Bel­ SUMMER (16 March-30 September) gium; reached the German frontier 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. — weekdays near Aachen; and entered the 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. — Saturdays, Netherlands near Maastricht. The Sundays and holidays U.S. Third Army sweeping across WINTER (1 October-15 March) France on the right had reached the 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. — weekdays Moselle River and made contact with 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. — Saturdays, the U.S. Seventh Army driving Sundays and holidays northward from southern France. When the cemetery is open to the The British Second Army on the left public, a staff member is on duty in had liberated Brussels and Antwerp, the Visitors' Building to answer as the Canadian First Army kept questions and escort relatives to pace with it along the coast liberating grave and memorial sites (except be­ Ostend and Bruges; both Armies tween noon and 3:00 p.m. on week­ then found themselves astride the ends and holidays). Netherlands frontier. 4 At this point, enemy defenses cross. The most important bridge of began to stabilize around the Sieg­ all over the Neder Rijn (lower Rhine) fried Line, the heavily fortified cities was still ten miles away. in front of that line to the west, and Enemy reaction at Arnhem was the more easily defensible natural swift and telling, as it quickly sepa­ barriers provided by the numerous rated the battalion of the British 1st rivers and canals in the Netherlands Airborne Division that had seized to the east. the north end of the Arnhem bridge In an attempt to outflank the north from the remainder of the division end of the Siegfried Line, the Allies and encircled the drop zones west of launched a combined airborne- the city. Harsh weather further ground assault along a narrow cor­ complicated the problem by prevent­ ridor across three major rivers (the ing the cutoff battalion from being Meuse, the Rhine and the Neder supported from the air. On the 5th Rijn) and several canals, the success day, a Polish Parachute Brigade of which among other things de­ made a valiant but unsuccessful pended heavily upon surprise. At attempt to reinforce it. Even when 1400 hours on 17 September 1944, ground troops arrived on 23 Sep­ elements of three divisions of the tember (the 7th day), all attempts to First Airborne Army were landed by send reinforcements north of the parachute and glider in column river failed. After dark on 25 Sep­ along the main road from Eindhoven tember, the battalion's remnants, to Nijmegen to Arnhem, a distance less than one-quarter of those who of 64 miles from the starting point of had landed, were evacuated to the the supporting British 30 Corps. Al­ south bank. most immediately, 30 Corps, con­ Allied progress during the next sisting of one Armored and two In­ three months was slow as opposi­ fantry Divisions, encountered tion stiffened in all areas. The British stronger resistance than was anti­ Second Army concentrated on cipated. Therefore, its progress was widening the sides of the Nijmegen much slower than planned. corridor, while the Canadian First Aided by air cover from the U.S. Army performed the difficult task of Eighth and Ninth Air Forces and the opening the Schelde estuary, so that Royal Air Force, the landings on the the port of Antwerp could begin to drop zones were extraordinarily operate on 28 November and ease successful. In the Eindhoven area, the logistical burden. The main the U.S. 101st Airborne Division Allied offensive effort during this captured all bridges except one that period was shifted to the center of was destroyed by the enemy. Con­ the enemy defenses. There, the U.S. trary to plans, the supporting First Army with strong air support ground column, did not reach Eind­ from the U.S. Ninth Air Force, broke hoven until the second day and it through the Siegfried Line and en­ was early on the third day before the circled Aachen which surrendered destroyed bridge was replaced. on 21 October. The U.S. Ninth South of Nijmegen, the U.S. 82d Army, which had been organized at Airborne Division quickly seized the Brest in Brittany, was shifted from bridge over the Maas (Meuse) River. the U.S. First Army's right flank to It was not until the 4th day (20 Sep­ its left. Together, the two Armies tember), however, that the bridge continued the assault to the Roer over the Waal (Rhine) River was cap­ River. On their right, the U.S. Third tured and not until the 5th day that Army and the U.S. Seventh Army, all defenders were cleared from the with the French First Army on the area and ground troops were able to extreme right, made substantial 5 "The Mourning Woman' 6 gains toward the German frontier. retreat across the Rhine. Despite Suddenly on 16 December 1944, constant harrassment by our air­ the Allied advance was interrupted craft, the enemy was able to de­ as the enemy launched its final molish all bridges across the Rhine. major counteroffensive of the war in On 10 March, the entire west bank of the Ardennes, followed by a second the Rhine from Dusseldorf north­ assault in Alsace to the south. By the ward was in Allied hands. end of January 1945, these offensives The major assault crossing of the were halted and all ground retaken. Rhine occurred on 23-24 March, The Allies then resumed their when the U.S. Ninth Army crossed advance, which was planned in two at Rheinberg, a city it had captured stages. The first stage was to clear all on 6 March. Advancing Allied enemy units west of the Rhine; the armies by-passed the northern second was to invade Germany Netherlands, encircled the Ruhr, itself. then pursued the retreating enemy The advance to the Rhine in the throughout Germany and Austria. north was scheduled to begin on 8 All enemy forces in Europe surren­ February 1945, with the Canadian dered on 8 May 1945. First Army attacking to the south­ east, followed in two days by a con­ verging attack to the northeast by SITE the U.S. Ninth and First Armies. The cemetery occupies 65V2 acres of When the V Corps of the First Army gently rolling farmland just south of seized control of the upstream dams the highway. The site was liberated of the Roer on 10 February, it dis­ on 13 September 1944 by troops of covered that the enemy had wrecked the U.S. 30th Infantry Division the discharge valves the evening which were advancing northeast­ before. The resultant heavy flow of ward toward the Roer River in Ger­ water halted the attack there for two many, as part of the U.S. First Army. weeks. A battlefield cemetery, one of the At 0245 hours on 23 February, first to be used for the interment of following a short but intensive air American soldiers who fell on Ger­ and artillery bombardment, the U.S. man soil, was established here on 10 Ninth Army lowered its assault November 1944 by the U.S. Ninth boats into the swirling waters and Army. began to cross the Roer River before Here rest 8,301 of our military the flood waters had completely Dead, representing 43 percent of subsided. Despite heavy enemy ar­ those who were originally buried in tillery fire, Julich was captured on this and in other temporary the first day, with the support of cemeteries in this region. Most of fighters and medium bombers of the them gave their lives in the airborne U.S. Ninth Air Force. and ground operations to liberate By 25 February, all four corps of eastern Holland, during the ad­ the U.S. Ninth Army had crossed vances into Germany over the Roer the Roer and were advancing. As the and across the Rhine and in air advance turned northward, the ar­ operations over these regions. mored units were committed. By 1 March 1945, the industrial city of ARCHITECTS Monchen-Gladbach had been cap­ tured.