It was the night of 9 May 1940, and signs of an attack from the east had been around for days. Even so the invasion, which started at 3.55 in the morning, was sudden and overwhelming. At dawn it became clear that the 9th Division of the German army had advanced as far as the Maas valley near Grubbenvorst, just beyond Venlo. Heavy fighting broke out but German superiority was significant. Cees Sleegers was sent to defend the G141 bunker. His unit tried to hold up the Germans from the western banks of the River Maas. When his commanding officer was injured, the twenty year old Cees the youngest of the survivors took over command. But the Dutch were suffering heavy losses along the entire Maas defence line. They were either put out of action or retreated

WAR