[烛光生存狂]-V2导弹袭击安特卫普

Antwerp, "City of Sudden Death"

The historic city of Antwerp lies 80 Km from the North Sea on the Scheldt River. The river Schelde flows into the Dutch Schelde called Westerschelde. On the northern embankment of the Schelde lies Noord Brabant, then the South Beveland and Walcheren penisulas. The port is one of the Europe's great harbors, but it is not a natural harbor. Its docks were dug out and fitted with locks to regulate the water and allow transportation of goods further inland.

On September 1, 1944, as the Germans retreated toward the Reich, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower assumed overall command of General Montgomery's 21st Army Group and General Bradley's 12th Army Group. Eisenhower ordered a broad front advance to hold the Germans at bay and not overstretch the Allied supply lines. North of the line, Montgomery's forces were to be given priority until the port of Antwerp could be secured. Capture of the vast port facilities could greatly improve the supply situation for the advancing Allied armies. The British 11th Armored Division captured the city and port intact on September 4, 1944. But, they failed to seize the bridges over the Albert Canal, and when the British troops tried to cross a few days later, the bridges were blown by the retreating Germans.

The Germans still had control of South Beveland and Walcheren. This would soon hamper Allied efforts to clear and open the port area. After the failure of operation "Market Garden", the urgent need for the port at Antwerp to become operational (close to the front lines) was very apparent.

Hitler and the German High Command also understood the significance of the port to the Allies. In early October, Hitler ordered that all V-weapons should now target London and Antwerp exclusively. SS General Hans Kammler received the orders for the bombardment of Antwerp under the code name Anton. After four years of German occupation, it soon would become clear to the residents of Antwerp that the Nazi scourge on their city was not over - the German wonder weapons were about to target the historic port city.

On October 7, 1944, a V-2 range-finding shot impacted near the Belgian city of Antwerp. It fell in the community of Brasschaat, about eight kilometers to the northeast, without any casualties. A few days later, residents of Antwerp heard a tremendous explosion on the morning of Friday, October 13, when a V-2 rocket destroyed several buildings on the corner of Schildersstraat and Karel Rogierstraat. There were reports of many citizens being crushed under the tons of rubble. The infamous V-2 had just claimed its first victims in the Belgian port city. Later that same day, another rocket impacted in the city. The local residents came to the scene of the impacts for a closer inspection. Fears among the city's population were increased, but at this point no one was in panic.

Greg Hayward was an 18-year-old airman with the Royal Air Force during the invasion of Europe. He served with the 146th Wing, equipped with fighter bombers supporting the British and Canadian forces during their advance from Normandy to the German frontier. Hayward arrived in Antwerp on October 2 and was based at Deurne, a prewar civilian airport just three and a half miles from downtown Antwerp. During the following days, Hayward and his comrades witnessed the increase of V-weapon attacks. On October 19, a V-2 rocket impacted the Kroonstraat at Borgerhout, destroying 25 houses, killing 44 people and injuring about 100. The explosion on October 28 at Bontemantelstraat (one of the most densely populated parts of the city) was the first real massacre of the V-weapon campaign.

Hayward recalls a harrowing experience at Deurne: “The closest shave I experienced was on October 25 when a V-2 exploded on the airfield where, along with some 20 of my comrades, I was working on one of two aircraft dispersed for servicing. The incident left five airmen dead and a dozen or so injured. The rocket landed only 50 yards away but fortunately missed the concrete roadway and hit an area of soft ground—otherwise, I would probably be dead. I was standing on the wing of an aircraft at the time, waiting to climb into the cockpit. All I remember was a brilliant crimson flash, but no actual recollection of an explosion. Then, I was on the ground, the air around me black with smoke and dirt thrown up by the impact.” Hayward recounted, “By the time I sorted myself out and realized that I was still in one piece, the smoke and dirt had dispersed, revealing a scene of devastation and a still-smoking crater where the rocket had landed. Rescue teams were immediately on the scene and ordered me back to our workshop to clean up. One of the dead airmen was a friend of mine, we had been at training school together, he was only 18!”

The newspapers of the day gave no real hint to the actual cause of the blasts, but they did urge the Antwerp residents to take certain precautions if they encountered the German flying bomb. This is curious because in reality - no V-1 hit the city before October 25 due to bad weather conditions and high winds.

During the following days, October 15-19, more incidents occurred. On October 19, a V-2 rocket impacted the Kroonstraat at Borgerhout destroying 25 houses, killing 44 people and injuring about 100. On the morning of November 17, 1944, a V-2 struck the St. Joanna Institute at the Ferdinand Coosemansstraat. Thirty-two of the nuns there died under the massive pile of debris. The explosion on October 28 at Bontemantelstraat (one of the most densely populated parts of the city) was the first real massacre of the V-weapon campaign.

It wasn't until the last German forces were cleared from the Walcheren peninsula that the Allies were finally able to take advantage of the port's vast facilities. By the first of November, Canadian and British forces had cleared South Beveland and Walcheren. It took another two weeks for the Royal Navy to clear the mines left by the retreating Germans in the estuary. Finally, on November 28, 1944, the port of Antwerp was opened.

Unloading of supplies began immediately. Since the time the city had been captured, it had taken almost three months for secure the harbor. Unlike the ports at Brest and Cherbourg, which had been completely destroyed by the retreating Germans, Antwerp remained surprisingly intact. Close to 9,000 Belgian civilians worked daily in the port unloading equipment and supplies with the Allied troops.

V-2 rocket batteries firing toward Antwerp were stationed at several places. In October, the first and third batteries of the Art. Abt. 485 and the newly activated SS 500 Battery were all firing at Antwerp from positions near Burgsteinfurt in Germany. The second and third batteries of the Art. Abt. 836 bombarded Antwerp from firing positions near the town of Merzig and the first batterie also targeted Antwerp from positions near Hermeskeil. In November, all three of the Art. Abt. 485 batteries launched for a time from the Burgsteinfurt area against the Belgian port. The SS 500 battery had moved to new positions in Holland near Hellendoorn. All three batteries of Art. Abt. 836 fired in unison from Hermeskeil until December, when they moved across the Rhine River to the area of the Westerwald frontier.

Kenneth Hartman was a 23-year-old U.S. soldier stationed in Antwerp during the 175 days of V-weapon bombardment. His unit, Headquarters Q-189, Headquarters Company, 54th QM Base Depot, arrived in the city during October of 1944, finding neighborhoods seemingly deserted. Only a few children were seen in the streets. The job for his unit was to get the harbor open and operational. He remembers the V-weapons bearing down on the city as the symbol of the city, the bronze statue of mythical hero Brabo, held vigil in the old city center as the terror rained from the sky. “I would go to witness the result

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