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, started on 12 April 1945. The Allied strategy was to invade Arnhem, situated on the western side of the IJssel, from Westervoort, a 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 crafts 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 bridge head, more troops crossed the river. A Bailey Bridge was already constructed further upstream at Doornenburg, that had already been liberated. The bridge was floated into its position between Arnhem and Westervoort, 12 hours later, Canadian and Britsh armoured vehicles crossed the IJssel. Arnhem was liberated on 14 April 1945. Operation Quick Anger was conducted in conjunction with Operation Cannon Shot.

In April 2022, authentic WWII military vehicles and their owners gathered at Vredenburg House in Westervoort for the Operation Quick Anger memorial tour. In our own Ford Jeep, together with other WWII 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 part of the Netherlands. The tour ended at the memorial Crossing to Liberation at Westervoort, where many people attended the memorial and wreath-laying ceremony. The WWII memorial is situated on the east bank of the IJssel, the very spot where the Western Allies crossed the river IJssel on 12 April 1945 to liberate Arnhem. The memorial is one of the many monuments on the Liberation Route Europe.

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   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: In April 2022, over forty authentic WWII military vehicles and their owners gathered at Huize Vredenburg in Westervoort for the Operation Quick Anger Memorial Tour and the Commemoration of Operation Quick Anger, military operation to liberate Arnhem. Operation Quick Anger took place in April 1945, in the last days of WWII.

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

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   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 World War II, 335, 531 Willys MB Jeeps were produced and around 280,000 Ford GPW Jeeps. Ford and Willys produced Jeeps with fully interchangeable parts and components.

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   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: During the Operation Quick Anger Memorial Tour, treathening clouds were gathering, a heavy hailstorm was approaching and the light over the landscape changed almost every minute. The memorial tour passed through the Liemers, where in April 1945 the Allied forces advanced from the east to liberate the Netherlands.

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   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: During the Operation Quick Anger Memorial Tour, we were overtaken by heavy rain showers and hail storms. The hood and windscreen of the Jeep were covered with hail pellets. This memorial tour was one of the coldest and wettest we have ever ridden.

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   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 fougth in Operation Quick Anger, it is also dedicated to all soldiers who fought for the liberation of the Netherlands. 

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   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A 1943 Austin Tilly, a utility vecicle produced during World War Two, the name Tilly is short for Utility. When the army was mobilized for war, British car manufactures started to produce militairy utility versions of their existing mid-size civilian cars. Utility cars were used for communication, transport and evacuation of casualties.

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   Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A number of World War II Jeeps in the grounds of Huize Vredenburg. The Jeep was the result of a request of the American Army in 1940. The Army needed a general purpose vehicle that was small, lightweight, had four-wheel drive for off-road driving, able to carry a machine gun and could seat five soldiers.

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   Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: AFrom left, a1942  Willys MB Jeep, a 1942 Ford GPW Jeep and a 1943 Willys MB Jeep on the grounds of Huize Vredenburg in Westervoort. The Jeep was invented for WWII, the Jeep is the most recognizable and wildely used military vehicle in history.

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    Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: Three motorbikes, a Harley Davidson WLA, a 1939 DKW and a 1943 Matchless G3L. The Harley Davidson WLA was produced for the U.S.Army during World War II, the DKW was introduced on the market in 1939, used by civilians and the German Wehrmacht, the Matchless G3L was produced for the British Army during World War II.

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    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The memorial ceremony at Huize Vredenburg. Huize (House) Vredenburg was first mentioned in 1440. The house was built as an outbuilding of a castle. In 1680, it was converted into a farm. Nowadays, the building is used for exhibitions, gatherings and events.

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    Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The war memorial Crossing to Liberation at Westervoort, the national flags of Canada, Great-Britain and the Netherlands are half-staff in memory of the soldiers who fought and died in Operation Quick Anger. The memorial Crossing to Liberation is nowadays overshadowed by huge wind turbines.

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    Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The Mayor of Westervoort and children from a local school placed a floral wreath at the memorial Crossing to Liberation at Westervoort. The war memorial is adopted by a local school, they take care of the memorial and participate in the commemoration ceremony.

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    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: A glass memorial plaque is part of the memorial Crossing to Liberation at the village of Westervoort. The glass plaque depicts the destroyed IJssel Bridge and Allied troops. Through the glass, the national flags of Canada, Great-Britain and the Netherlands at the war memorial can be seen.

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    Westervoort, Commemoration Operation Quick Anger 2022: The war memorial Crossing to Liberation was unveiled in April 2012. On this very spot, in April 1945, the successful military Operation Quick Anger started to liberate the city of Arnhem. The memorial is a circular stone platform with tire tracks of military vehicles, a large field stone standing vertically in the middle.