Classic Car Road Trip

Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The Second Battle of Arnhem took place in April 1945. The first Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 had failed. The second battle was fought between British and Canadian forces on one side and German forces on the other. The military operation, named Quick Anger, commenced on 12 April 1945. The Allied strategy was to advance on Arnhem, situated on the western side of the River IJssel, from Westervoort, a small village on the eastern side of the IJssel. The Germans had blown up the bridge between Westervoort and Arnhem. British and Canadian troops approached Westervoort from the east, after they had seized the German town of Emmerich.

The crossing of the IJssel was assisted by landing craft of the Royal Navy. Under the cover of heavy machine guns and mortars, the first company reached the western bank of the IJssel. After establishing a bridgehead, more troops crossed the river. Meanwhile, several kilometres away, a Bailey bridge had been constructed near the village of Doornenburg – located further south and already liberated. This temporary bridge was towed northwards via the water and positioned across the IJssel between Arnhem and Westervoort. Twelve hours later, Canadian and Britsh armoured vehicles crossed the rRver IJssel. Arnhem was liberated on 14 April 1945. Operation Quick Anger was conducted in conjunction with Operation Cannonshot, the military operation to cross the IJssel at the villages of Gorssel and Wilp.

In April 2022, authentic Second World War military vehicles and their owners gathered at Huis Vredenburg in Westervoort for the Operation Quick Anger memorial tour and commemoration ceremony. In our Ford Jeep, alongside the other army vehicles, we drove through the landscape of the Liemers, a rural region east of the IJssel, where in April 1945 the Allied soldiers pushed forward to liberate the western and northern parts of the Netherlands. The tour ended at the 'Crossing to Liberation' memorial at Westervoort, where many people attended the memorial and wreath-laying ceremony. This memorial is set on the east bank of the IJssel, the very spot where the Western Allies crossed the river on 12 April 1945 to liberate Arnhem. The memorial is one of the numerous monuments on the Liberation Route Europe. Since 2011, this memorial ceremony has taken place every year to commemorate Operation Quick Anger.

➔

➔

1. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: In April 2022, over 40 authentic Second World War military vehicles and their owners gathered at Huize Vredenburg in Westervoort for the Operation Quick Anger memorial tour and the commemoration of this enormous daring military operation to liberate Arnhem. Operation Quick Anger took place in April 1945 in the last days of the Second World War.

2. 

   Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A 1942 Ford GPW Jeep painted in a camouflage pattern called the 'Mickey Mouse' pattern, due to the shapes looking like the ears of the famous Disney character Mickey Mouse. This pattern came into use in 1942. The second vehicle in the convoy is a Ford GPW RAF Jeep of the same year.

3. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The first vehicle in the convoy is a 1944 Willys MB Jeep; the second vehicle is a 1942 Ford GPW Jeep. During the Second World War, 361,339 Willys MB Jeeps were produced and around 277,000 Ford GPW Jeeps. Ford and Willys produced Jeeps with fully interchangeable parts and components.

4. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: During the Operation Quick Anger memorial tour, threatening clouds gathered over the landscape; the sky turned very dark as a heavy hailstorm approached. The light over the landscape changed almost by the minute. The tour passed through the Liemers, a region near the German border, where in April 1945 the Allied forces advanced from the east to liberate the Netherlands.

5. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: During the Operation Quick Anger memorial tour, we were overtaken by heavy rain showers and hailstorms. The bonnet and windscreen of the Jeep were covered with hailstones. This tour was one of the coldest and wettest we have ever driven. Only now could we truly empathise with how difficult it must have been for the Allies during the harsh winter of 1944–1945 in their advance towards liberation.

6. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A 1942 Ford GPW Jeep painted in Royal Air Force blue. Though the Operation Quick Anger memorial tour is dedicated to the Allied soldiers who fought in Operation Quick Anger, it is also dedicated to all soldiers who fought for the liberation of the Netherlands. Our dog Jussi, a huge fan of the Jeep, joined us on this cold tour. During the Second World War, many soldiers also had dogs with them; they were mostly deployed for guarding duties and delivering messages. 

7. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A 1943 Austin Tilly, a utility vehicle produced during the Second World War. The name 'Tilly' is short for 'utility'. When the army was mobilized for war, British car manufacturers started to produce military utility versions of their existing mid-size civilian cars. Utility cars were used for communication, transport and the evacuation of casualties. During the Second World War, the late British Queen Elizabeth II used a 'Tilly' as a young princess.

8. 

   Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A number of Second World War Jeeps in the grounds of Huize Vredenburg. The Jeep was the result of a request by the American Army in 1940. The Army needed a general-purpose vehicle that was small, lightweight, had four-wheel drive for off-road driving, was able to carry a machine gun and could seat five soldiers. The axe and shovel were used to dig the vehicle out if it got stuck in rough terrain and to cut down obstacles.

9. 

   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: Standing on the grounds of Huize Vredenburg, from left to right, are a 1942 Willys MB Jeep, a 1942 Ford GPW Jeep and a 1943 Willys MB Jeep. The Jeep was invented for the Second World War and is the most recognizable and widely used military vehicle in history. General Dwight Eisenhower called the Jeep one of the most important weapons for the Allied victory.

10. 

    Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022, Westervoort: A Harley-Davidson WLA, a 1939 DKW and a 1943 Matchless G3L. The Harley Davidson was produced for the US Army during the Second World War. The DKW was introduced to the market in 1939 and used by both civilians and the German Wehrmacht. The Matchless was produced for the British Army during the Second World War. The abbreviation DKW was popularly interpreted as 'Das Kleine Wunder', although its actual meaning is 'Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'.

11. 

    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: After the Second World War vehicles had completed the memorial tour, a static show was held on the grounds of Huize Vredenburg. After a brief speech, the vehicles set off in a convoy to the Crossing to Liberation monument on the banks of the . Huize Vredenburg was built before 1440 as an outbuilding of a castle and was converted into a farm in 1680. Nowadays, the building is used for exhibitions, gatherings and events.

12. 

    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: Dark clouds are gathering over the Crossing to Liberation monument. At the war monument, the national flags of Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands are at half-mast in memory of the soldiers who fought and died in the military Operation Quick Anger. The monument is now overshadowed by enormous wind turbines standing at Kleefse Waard on the other side of the River IJssel.

13. 

    Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The Mayor of Westervoort and children from a local school laid a wreath together at the Crossing to Liberation monument in Westervoort. The children were also allowed to raise the national flags from half-mast to full mast, together with an adult. The war memorial has been adopted by the local schools; the children take care of it and participate in the commemoration ceremony.

14. 

    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: An information panel with a glass memorial plaque is part of the memorial Crossing to Liberation in the village of Westervoort. The glass plaque depicts the destroyed IJssel Bridge and Allied troops who crossed the river here in April 1945. Through the glass panel, the national flags of Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands at the war memorial can be seen.

15. 

    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: After this extremely wet commemoration, the silence returns, and the Crossing to Liberation monument once again stands deserted. The war memorial was unveiled in April 2012. On this very spot, on 12 April 1945, the successful military Operation Quick Anger started to liberate the city of Arnhem. The memorial is a circular stone platform with tyre tracks of military vehicles and a large fieldstone standing vertically in the middle.