MAY 1940 AN UNEVEN FIGHT

The Grebbe Line has a long history, but will mainly be remembered for the May days of 1940. For three days the Dutch army managed to hold out at Stoutenburg, Scherpenzeel and Ederveen. After heavy fighting on and around the Grebbeberg, the battle was over. More than 500 Dutch soldiers died in the line. Hundreds of farms had been burned. The centers of Rhenen and Scherpenzeel were destroyed.

Top display plate

A replica of a reconstruction stone is visible on the display plate. These memorial stones were built into the new farms that arose along the line. The Dutch helmet shown is missing the helmet plate with lion. The soldiers removed this plate during May, because it was said that it would make the helmet more vulnerable.

Remaining part of the display case

The uniform jacket is an off-model infantry uniform, which can be seen by the blue trim. The dot on the collar indicates an adjutant petty officer. On the right is the standard rifle of the Dutch army: the Austrian Mannlicher M95 rifle with a magazine for 5 cartridges.