The Battle of Overloon – The British and Operation Aintree

Between September 30 and October 18, 1944, a heavy battle was fought in the Overloon – Venray area. This battle, a direct result of Operation Market Garden, went down in history as one of the heaviest battles on Dutch soil. After the American 7th Armored Division failed to advance to Venlo via Overloon after seven days, this division was withdrawn. The British took back the front line as the commander of the British 8th Army Corps, General O’Conner, came up with a plan to attack from different sides. The first and most important attack would be on Overloon and Venray. Unlike the Americans, the British used tactics in which units would attack limited targets and different units would leap-frog their way forward. Support by artillery, tanks and air support was also planned coordinated more consciously and extensively.

On October 12, 1944, the British 3rd Infantry Division attacked and captured Overloon at the end of the day, although the last Germans did not surrender until October 14. After that, the British cleared the Overloonse forests in preparation for the final attack on Venray on October 16, 1944.