Battlefield Tours Veritable

Name: Battlefield Tours Veritable
Address: Gennep, 6591TG, NL
Telephone: +31653929245
Price range: £

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Gennep
Battlefield Tours Veritable

Battlefield Tours Veritable leidt u rond langs belangrijke punten van het Rijnland offensief.

04/08/2026

I have been on the road for the last few days.

During my ride I visited the Hanover War Cemetery. It is one of those special places where not only victims of the Second World War are buried, but also soldiers, staff and family members who lived in the nearby barracks when the UK was helping to keep the peace in Germany. So you see over 3000 grave of soldiers who died in the 1950s, some spouses of those soldiers, and graves of children. It is a reminder that keeping the peace also comes with a price.

What was also special is that on the other side of the cemetery there was a “Mahnmal Ahlem”, a warning monument for the outside camp of Neuengamme. Many forced labourers and Jews died here under horrific circumstances. On the 6th of April, when the camp was about to be liberated, the ** forced the prisoners into another death march. Some who survived this march reached Bergen‑Belsen on the 8th of April. On the 10th of April American troops freed KZ‑Ahlem, but for many it was too late. They had suffered too much and died shortly afterwards.

I have seen this combination of camp and cemetery before. It is very poignant. It reminds us why liberation was so badly needed and what the cost was. It was not only a matter of pride to free Germany from the **‑regime, but also to stop the suffering.

Lest we forget. And we should vote wisely when we can. Simple solutions are often too simple. Democracy, where we live in peace with a fair balance between giving and taking, is not easy, but it is the only real option we have. I have seen the adverts for the upcoming vote in Germany in September. How simple answers and slogans can lead you into a trap, and what the consequences can be, is shown here on this ground in Hanover.

More about the Mahnmal (It is in German, but google can translate it) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/KZ-Au%C3%9Fenlager_Hannover-Ahlem
More about the Hanover War Cemetery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover_War_Cemetery

27/07/2026

A special and enjoyable ride through an area I rarely visit. The Hürtgen Forest in Germany, the High Fens in Belgium, and the Ostkantons all carry a deeply tragic history.

On Saturday I visited the German War Cemetery at Vossenack. I would have liked to stay longer, but at least I was able to get a first taste of the area — its history, its landscape, and of course the pleasure of riding there.

On Sunday I visited the memorial for the Wereth 11. It had been on my list for a long time, and everything finally came together. It is one of those stories where the brutality of war and the cruelty of an evil regime stand in stark contrast to the bravery and kindness shown by the Langer family. Eleven African-American soldiers were murdered by the ** during a time when segregation in the US Army was still a humiliating reality.

The humanity shown by the Langer family ensured that these men were not forgotten. Today, the memorial honours the eleven soldiers and all other African-Americans who gave some, or gave all.

27/07/2026

On 30 June 2026, I had the privilege of attending the burial service for Private Robert Lock at the Warlencourt war memorial.

Robert was killed on 7 October 1916, when the 12th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, attacked the sunken road near La Sars, on the road between Albert and Bapaume. He was only 20 years old. His body was never recovered, so his name was recorded on the Thiepval Memorial.

In October 2022, a body was found after a farmer had been ploughing his field. Careful research and a final DNA match with a family member proved that the body was Robert Lock.
Robert now rests about a mile from where he died, after being missing for more than a century.

I cannot imagine what it means for a family to have someone missing. It leaves a gap in the family tree and an empty place around the table. Thanks to the good work of many people, that gap has now been closed. Robert is back.

26/04/2026

Preparations for an upcoming battlefield tour. Always nice to take the bike out when the sun is shining.

22/03/2026

A glorious day for a remembrance. 24th of March 81 years ago, operation Varsity took place. Today we went to the Reichwald war cemetery to remember the men that fell, the ones that were caught and had to endure a few month in PoW-camps and the wounded, mentally or physically. With a small group we stood still and remembered.

Then we rode to the "Liberation Tower". An electrical transformer station that stood in the middle of a landing zone. There was a small exhibition inside and a larger static show outside.

To finish the day off, I rode to the monument for the Dambuster AJ-E that crashed near Haldern.

02/03/2026

It is rare that I "stumble" over a war cemetery I did really know about.

When riding towards a meeting in Belgium I passed by the Maarheeze (Sterksel monastry) war cemetery. The monastry used to be a field hospital, hence the cemetery.

I size, it is odd that there is a Cross of Sacrifice, for 42 grave. A peacefull setting nonetheless.

15/02/2026

Tomorrow, 16 februari, it will be 81 years when the 52nd Lowland Division took over the positions of the 51st Highlanders at Heijen. This to clear the Broedersbosch from German defences, to take Afferden and to cross the anti-tank ditch behind Castle Bleijenbeek.

The circumstances proved negative for the 52nd Lowlanders. The defence of the Germans, first in the forest, then at the castle with behind it the anti-tank ditch proved to be untakeable.

About 2 weeks, the division was stagnant and only when the 51st Highland division pushed in for Siebengewald and threatened to cut off the German battalions, they gave up the castle and the area south of it.

This period proved to be costly for the 52nd and the 1st Canadian Army. The time spend in that area, in combination with the US-army being unable to cross the river Ruhr in the south, made it possible for the German army to retreat a lot of forces back to Wesel and to built up a new line of defence behind the river Rhine.

In honour to the men of the 52nd, whose story became so vivid to me, I rode a little ride throught the Broederbosch forest and around the castle.

08/02/2026

Today, traditionally the remembrance of the start of Operation Veritable in Groesbeek. Not at the cemetery, not with a lot of decorum, but personal stories at the Zuidmolen. A mill that was pivotal for the start of the operation.

The remembrance was organised by the Groesbeek Airborne Vrienden.

16/11/2025

Volkstrauertag in Ysselsteyn, de oorlogsbegraafplaats waar (nagenoeg) alle, in Nederland, omgekomen Duitse soldaten, Nederlandse collaborateurs en landverraders begraven liggen, bijna 32000 in totaal.
En hoe verhoud je dan als jeugdige hiertoe, als rabbijn, als geestelijke, als mens. Hoe verhoud je hiertoe als kind of kleinkind van. Mag je van jouw voorvader houden, ook wanneer het schuurt?

De laatste woorden van de rabbijn, die sprak vanuit wie hij is als persoon, waren:
"Ik geloof in de zon, zelfs als hij niet schijnt.
Ik geloof in liefde, zelfs als ik haar niet kan voelen.
Ik geloof in God, zelfs als Hij zwijgt."
(geschreven door een Joodse gevangene in Duitsland tijdens de Holocaust)

En zo is het. Het is er, ook wanneer het er soms niet lijkt te zijn,

Adres

Gennep
6591TG

Telefoon

+31653929245

Website

http://www.battlefieldtoursveritable.nl/

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