In the last year of WW2, there was harsh fighting in the Teutoburger Wald, between British and German troops. The Teutoburger Wald is an old mountain range with many rock formations, through which the British could only advance very slowly. German soldiers, many of them not even 18 years old, fought a meaningless battle there, in a war that was lost anyway.
Along the Hermannsweg, there is a small war cemetery, called Ehrenfriedhof Dörenther Klippen. It consists of small and simple limestone crosses, and a copper plaquette which tells how the men laying there came to their end:
"Die Engländer stürmen mit hochstehenden Flammenwerfern vor. Während die Artillerie in direktem Beschuß oder mit hochgezogenen Luftkrepierern die Deutschen in Deckung zwingt, brechen die Flammenwerfer im gleichen Augenblick in die Stellungen ein. Ihr Strahl ist 40 m lang und etwa einen Meter breit. Das war das Ende!
In a few words; the men in hiding were burnt to death by British troops with flame throwers.
I didn't know about this cemetery, but I was overcome by emotions when I found it, and read the above text. Yes, I know they were the "bad guys", but they also were young men who lost their lives in a terrible way, and must have been out of their mind with fear and pain.
Along the Hermannsweg, there is a small war cemetery, called Ehrenfriedhof Dörenther Klippen. It consists of small and simple limestone crosses, and a copper plaquette which tells how the men laying there came to their end:
"Die Engländer stürmen mit hochstehenden Flammenwerfern vor. Während die Artillerie in direktem Beschuß oder mit hochgezogenen Luftkrepierern die Deutschen in Deckung zwingt, brechen die Flammenwerfer im gleichen Augenblick in die Stellungen ein. Ihr Strahl ist 40 m lang und etwa einen Meter breit. Das war das Ende!
In a few words; the men in hiding were burnt to death by British troops with flame throwers.
I didn't know about this cemetery, but I was overcome by emotions when I found it, and read the above text. Yes, I know they were the "bad guys", but they also were young men who lost their lives in a terrible way, and must have been out of their mind with fear and pain.
