The Moerdijk Bridges
During the May days, the Moerdijk bridges were of vital importance to German war plans. The German army, having crossed the Dutch borders, could use them to push on toward Rotterdam and The Hague, thereby deciding the battle for the Netherlands. Although the Dutch army certainly anticipated this, the defenses on 10 May 1940 proved insufficient. German paratroopers quickly overran the bridgehead and captured the bridges. Dutch forces were unable to retake them. The bridgehead did, however, come under regular fire from Dutch artillery.
On 12 May, the vanguard of the 9th Panzer Division arrived at the bridges to relieve the German paratroopers, who had already been defending the position for two days. The main force, including the tanks, arrived on the 13th, pushed on toward the Tweede Tol, and engaged Dutch troops in the city center before continuing toward Rotterdam. From that moment on, the Germans were able to use the bridges to move large numbers of troops into Holland and further toward Belgium and France.
1. Signpost near Moerdijk during the Second World War.
10. German tanks on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
11. Support troops on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
12. Support troops on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
13. Support troops on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
14. Vehicle on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
15. More tanks on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
16. Horses and wagons on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
17. More German units on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
18. German 3.7 cm Flak gun defending the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
19. German units crossing the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
2. The Moerdijk bridge in May 1940 during the Second World War.
20. Non‑motorised German units on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
21. Motorised traffic on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
22. Germans with horse‑drawn wagons on the Moerdijk road bridge.
23. Large amounts of German equipment on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
24. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
25. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
26. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
27. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
28. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
29. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
3. The road bridge at Moerdijk during the Second World War.
31. Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
32. German paratroopers with a 3.7 cm PaK near the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
33. German vehicle that drove into a Dutch roadblock near the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
34. German vehicle that drove into a Dutch roadblock near the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
35. German vehicle that drove into a Dutch roadblock near the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
36. German vehicle that drove into a Dutch roadblock near the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.
4. German Panzer III at the Moerdijk bridges during the Second World War.
5. German vehicle column at the Moerdijk bridges during the Second World War.
6. German Radfahrer troops on the Moerdijk road bridge during the Second World War.
7. German troops on the march during the Second World War.
8. German troops on the Moerdijk bridge during the Second World War.
9. More German troops on the Moerdijk bridge during the Second World War.
Troop movements across the Moerdijk bridge in May 1940.