The Overloon Military Museum

During my trek through Germany and the Netherlands, I stopped at the Overloon Museum. The museum was founded in 1946 and became the first museum dedicated to the Second World War. Overloon is a village in the Netherlands south on Nijmegen and east of Eindhoven.

After Operation Market Garden where the Allies failed to capture Arnhem and the bridge across the Lower Rhine River, the Allies were attacked by the Germans in an attempt to take back the ground lost. The Germans controlled a bridgehead across the River Maas at Venlo. The land was very swampy, so the Allies had to attack from the north which meant they needed to take Overloon and Venray before moving on to Venlo.

After shelling by the British Artillery, The US 7th Armoured Division attacked Overloon, but were driven back by strong German Resistance by the 107th Brigade with Panther Tanks and 88mm Anti-Tank weapons. The Americans attempted multiple assaults but were pushed back every time until they were finally relieved by the British 3rd Infantry Division and 11th Armoured Division. On 12 Oct a ferocious artillery barrage of approximately 100,000 shells completely destroyed Overloon and killed many of the civilians.

The tanks were forced to stay on the roads, so many were taken out. On 14 Oct, Overloon was finally taken. During the battle for Overloon the Americans lost 452 men, 35 tanks, 2 planes and 43 other vehicles. The British troops lost 20 tanks and 1 plane but because they had to cross the heavily fortified Loobeek to reach Venray they lost 1426 men. The German losses were estimated by the allies. over 600 soldiers and 10 tanks. (Panthers)

The bridgehead at Venlo was not taken due to the higher priority of clearing the Scheldt Estuary, so the final objective was not achieved despite heavy losses.

The Overloon museum was founded in 1946 and contains many vehicles from the battlefield. It is interesting that they have stories of the individual vehicles and many of them show obvious battle damage. The museum holds more than 150 vehicles, many of which were donated from the Jaap-de-Groot collection. Jaap was a Dutch industrialist who collected WW2 vehicles. In 2006 after he passed away, his collection was donated to the museum. The museum is in a 15-acre park setting with the unique feature of a bike path through the museum, so riders can see the exhibits from above at no charge.

There are a large number of US vehicles in the museum including a Sherman M4 from the US 7th Tank Division.

This tank was taken from the battlefield a little worse for wear and tear. The tank took multiple hits, killing the crew who are buried in the American Cemetery Henri-Chappel in Belgium.

A Mk XIV Spitfire keeps watch over the land battle.

One of the few remaining Challenger Tanks. This tank belonged to the 1st Polish Armoured Division which fought beside the Canadian 4th Armoured Division throughout Normandy.

A tank recovery vehicle.

British Cromwell Mk IV tank. This tank took a direct hit in the rear quarter, causing the engine to catch fire, the ammunition to explode and the tank to be fully burned out.

I was curious why these vehicles looked so good after their battle damage. The vehicles were stored outside from the end of the war until 1990 and had been very weather beaten. During the first Gulf War all the British Tanks had been sent to the middle east so the commander of the British Tank repair facility in Germany volunteered to refurbish the museum’s collection to keep his workers busy. The result was immaculate restorations of the vehicles. The collection is now held indoors so the vehicles will remain in top condition.

The Jackal is a Churchill Mk V tank. This tank ran over a mine crushing the floor and burning out the tank. The driver saved 2 crew members, the other in the turret were killed instantly.

The German Panther Tank was knocked out by the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment during the battle.

The Sherman Crab is mine clearing tank. This so-called flail tank is characterized by a rotating drum with chains and round balls hitting the ground with a force of more than 150 kilograms. This caused the mines to explode in front of the tank and a passage through a minefield could be made.

This tank served with the British 79th Armored Division, 30th Armored Brigade, Westminster Dragoons. After the Battle of Overloon, the tank was still in service in North Limburg during the attack on Broekhuizen castle but was put out of action there by a Panzerfaust. The tank drum shows damage from its flailing activities.

C-47 (military version of the DC-3) used extensively in transport and delivery of paratroopers for the ill-fated Operation Market Garden.

The Horsa Glider was used extensively during Airborne invasions to deliver troops, vehicles and small artillery pieces. The glider is made mainly of wood. This Glider was built by museum volunteers using original drawings. Operation Market Garden employed 639 Horsa Gliders.

Unloading a jeep from the glider.

Glider large side door.

This glider has the markings of the glider flown by Staff Sgt Vic Miller who successfully piloted gliders into Sicily, Arnhem and the Rhine River Crossings. His medals and logbook are on display.

Side view of the Glider. The Glider was 67 ft long with an 88 ft wingspan and could deliver 30 troops, vehicles or small artillery pieces.

Over 12,000 V1 Rockets were launched from the French and Dutch coasts, 80% towards London, and most of the rest of them against Antwerp.

One of the unique displays was the Lancaster Bomber NN775, which crashed in Brunsbeek, Belgium after a raid on a Benzene factory at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The aircraft was recovered in 2016 and reassembled in the museum.

The museum also holds an annual Militracks Weekend in May, where German vehicles of all types are driven around and people can pay for rides. It would be great to see the WW2 vehicles in motion, but a bit disconcerting only German vehicles are featured.

Another very interesting museum to visit. The stories of the vehicles that fought on the site of the museum added to the impact of the displays. I only had 2 hours to spend at the museum, so concentrated on the vehicles from the battlefield and of course the Horsa Glider. If I go back I will budget at least half a day to see everything properly.

Since the museum was started right after the war by people who had suffered from its devastation, the theme of the museum is War Belongs in a Museum and cautions that the protests and conflicts that are ongoing now have the potential to grow into another global conflict.