Timeline of the Netherlands during World War II

This timeline is about events during World War II of direct significance to the Netherlands. For a larger perspective, see Timeline of World War II.

1939

 * 28 August: Mobilization of the Dutch army

1940

 * 10 January: Mechelen incident
 * 10–17 May: German invasion of the Netherlands
 * 24-25 June: an RAF raid on Den Helder results in 38 deaths.

1941

 * 3-4 October: an RAF raid on Rotterdam results in 106-130 deaths.

1942

 * The year saw RAF air raids on Rotterdam, Schiedam, Geleen, and Einhoven.

1943

 * The year saw allied air raids on Rotterdam, Tussendijken, Haarlem, Amsterdam-Noord, and Enschede.
 * 31 March: the "Forgotten Bombardment" on Rotterdam

1944
The Dutch famine of 1944–45 began late in the year.

June

 * 10 June: Anton Mussert reveals that he has become a volunteer for the Wehrmacht.

July

 * 30 July: Start of the.

August

 * 2 Aug: Gerbrandy and Van Heuven Goedhart sign the documents for the establishment of the (Dutch: College van Vertrouwensmannen)
 * 24 Aug: First meeting of the College of Trusted Men
 * 25 Aug: J.A. van Bijnen becomes the National Sabotage Commander of the (Knokploegen were Dutch resistance fighting squads)
 * 28 Aug: First new airdrop of weapons and sabotage materials for Dutch underground groups
 * 30 Aug: Hitler orders the improvement and extension of the Siegfried Line

September

 * 2 Sep: The mass exodus of NSB members from South Limburg begins
 * 3 Sep:
 * Brussels liberated
 * Prince Bernhard appointed Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces.
 * Queen Wilhelmina, via Radio Oranje, informs the population in occupied territory that 'liberation is imminent'
 * Commencement of the organized departure of German citizens from the Netherlands
 * 3 to 4 Sep: Start of systematic railway sabotage by the
 * 4 Sep:
 * Antwerp liberated
 * Hitler orders the stubborn defense of West Zealand-Flanders and Walcheren
 * Seyss-Inquart declares the state of exception, Rauter orders everyone to be indoors by 8 pm
 * The queen agrees to Colonel Kruis being appointed Chief of Staff of Military Authority
 * Mussert decides to evacuate NSB members from the western and central regions to the east
 * The Government Information Service disseminates the incorrect information that Breda has been liberated
 * 5 Sep:
 * The mass exodus of NSB members begins
 * The empties
 * Dolle Dinsdag; the population behaves as if the occupier has already been expelled
 * First major transport of prisoners from the concentration camp Vught to Germany
 * 6 Sep:
 * Prince Bernhard establishes himself on the continent
 * Second major transport of prisoners from Vught
 * 7 Sep: Formation of an illegal Top Triangle in Amsterdam
 * 8 Sep:
 * First two V-2 rockets launched at London
 * Commencement of the evacuation of the German Fifteenth Army across the Western Scheldt
 * 10 Sep: The British Second Army crosses the Bocholt–Herentals Canal at Beeringen
 * 11 Sep: Schöngarth, Commander of the Security Police and SD, issues the so-called Niedermachungsbefehl (orders to shoot resistance members on sight )
 * 12 Sep: Major General Kruis issues a First General Directive with guidelines for the arrest of 'wrongful' elements
 * 14 Sep:
 * Montgomery issues his directive for Operation Market Garden
 * Liberation of Maastricht
 * The first attempt by the Canadians to enter West Zeelandic Flanders is repelled
 * Establishment of the Militair Gezag (Military authority)
 * 15 or 16 Sep: Hitler orders the utmost fanaticism in the defense of German territory
 * 16 Sep: The illegal 'Delta Center' begins operating in Amsterdam
 * 17 to 20 September – Battle of Nijmegen
 * 17 to 26 September – Battle of Arnhem
 * 17 Sep:
 * The British Second Army launches the offensive from Beeringen
 * Large Allied airborne landings in North Brabant, in the Reich of Nijmegen, and near Arnhem
 * The Dutch government orders a general railway strike
 * The Reichskommissariat is relocated to Delden
 * 18 Sep: Liberation of Eindhoven
 * 20 Sep:
 * Entire East Zeelandic Flanders liberated
 * Conquest of the Waal bridges near Nijmegen
 * The British Airborne forces have to abandon the Rhine bridge at Arnhem
 * 21 Sep: Beginning of the German destruction of the port facilities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam
 * 22 Sep: Major van Houten grants arrest authority to the Interior Armed Forces Shock Troops
 * 24 Sep: The queen, bypassing the ministers, sends a telegram requesting the Great Advisory Commission of Illegality to be prepared to send a delegation to her
 * 25 Sep:
 * The Airborne forces leave the 'perimeter' at Oosterbeek in the night to the 26th
 * Commencement of the evacuation of Arnhem

October

 * 3 Oct: The RAF breaches the . In Eindhoven, the radio station 'Herrijzend Nederland' begins its broadcasts.
 * 3 October to 8 November – Battle of the Scheldt
 * 4 Oct: Important note from the queen: the second Gerbrandy cabinet must disappear.
 * 6 Oct: The Canadian First Army launches a major offensive against the Germans in West Zeelandic Flanders.
 * 10 Oct: The first company of the Shock Troops departs for the front.
 * 16 Oct: Montgomery grants absolute priority to operations for clearing the Wester-Schelde. In Eindhoven, the 'Bond Nederland' is founded (soon renamed 'Gemeenschap Oud-Illegale Werkers Nederland').
 * 18 Oct: Second General Directive from General Kruis.
 * 24 Oct: Start of the Canadian attack on the Kreekrak Dam.
 * 25 Oct: Commencement of the liberation of Den Bosch.
 * 27 Oct: Liberation of Tilburg.
 * 29 Oct: Liberation of Breda.

November

 * 1 Nov: Allied landings at Vlissingen and at Westkapelle.
 * 2 Nov: German resistance in and around West Zeeland-Flanders is broken.
 * 6 Nov: Liberation of Middelburg.
 * 8 Nov: An American division, part of the Canadian First Army, reaches Moerdijk.
 * 12 Nov: Assertive letter from General Kruis to prevent the arrival of ministerial 'quartermasters.'
 * 15 Nov: Kruis officially establishes a Temporary Committee of General Commissioners for agriculture, trade, and industry.
 * 21 Nov: 'Hunger demonstration' in Eindhoven.
 * 25 Nov: The ministerial 'quartermasters' establish themselves in Oisterwijk. Disturbances in the center of Brussels.
 * 27 to 30 November – Battle of Broekhuizen
 * 28 Nov: The first Allied convoy reaches the port of Antwerp.

December

 * 2 Dec: The Wehrmacht floods a large part of the Betuwe.
 * 3 Dec: In Middle Limburg, the Wehrmacht is pushed east of the Meuse.
 * 6 Dec: Meeting of Kruis in Eindhoven with top figures of the resistance in the liberated South to establish guidelines for the arrest of 'wrongful' elements.
 * 14 Dec: Kruis issues new arrest guidelines.
 * 21 Dec: The bishops of Den Bosch and Breda call on Catholics to remain loyal to their own organizations.
 * c. 31 Dec: Incorrectly believing itself to have great influence in the liberated southern Netherlands, the Communist Party of the Netherlands rebrands as the "Communistische Partij Bevrijd Gebied" (Communist Party Liberated Area).

January

 * 2 Jan: Special meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss the position of the Militair Gezag 
 * 11 Jan: The cabinet accepts that the queen does not sign the arrangement for the emergency parliament.
 * 14 Jan: Commencement of the evacuation of Venlo.
 * 20 Jan: Commencement of the evacuation of Roermond.
 * 22 Jan: The ministers approve a letter from Gerbrandy warning the queen against the formation of a royal cabinet.
 * 23 Jan: Gerbrandy dismisses Burger from the cabinet due to a radio speech and tenders the resignation of the cabinet.
 * 31 Jan: A delegation invited by the queen from the liberated South arrives in London.

February

 * 5 Feb: Minister van Kleffens refuses to form a cabinet.
 * 8 Feb: The queen instructs Gerbrandy to form a new cabinet.
 * 10 Feb: The arrestation regulations for the area to be liberated are established.
 * 15 Feb: Minister van Heuven Goedhart inaugurates the first Tribunal.
 * 23 Feb: Announcement of the composition, to the extent completed, of the third Gerbrandy cabinet.
 * 24 Feb: Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy urges Eisenhower's Chief of Staff Bedell Smith for a separate offensive for the liberation of the Netherlands north of the major rivers.

March

 * 1 Mar: Liberation of Roermond and Venlo.
 * 3 Mar: Bombing of the Bezuidenhout quarter in The Hague.
 * 7 Mar: Rauter is seriously wounded in an ambush at Woeste Hoeve; two hundred and sixty-three death-row candidates are executed.
 * 14 Mar: The Combined Chiefs of Staff instruct Eisenhower to launch a separate offensive for the liberation of West Netherlands.
 * 18 Mar: J.J.F. Borghouts ('Peter-Zuid') arrives in occupied territory as the Commander of the Fighting Section of the BS (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten/Interior Forces).
 * 30 Mar: Commencement of the liberation of East and North Netherlands.

April

 * 2 Apr: In a conversation with Hirschfeld, Seyss-Inquart suggests the idea of a ceasefire that would allow large-scale assistance to the famine-stricken provinces.
 * 4 Apr: Mussert flees over the Afsluitdijk to The Hague.
 * 6 Apr: Start of the Georgian uprising on Texel.
 * 7 to 8 April – Operation Amherst
 * 9 Apr: Consultation between the Trusted Men and members of Koot's staff regarding Seyss-Inquart's offer.
 * 11 Apr:
 * Buchenwald is liberated as the first concentration camp not completely evacuated by Allied forces.
 * Canadians cross the IJssel near Brummen.
 * 12 Apr:
 * Montgomery cancels the separate offensive for the liberation of the famine-stricken provinces.
 * Seyss-Inquart meets with Van der Vlugt and Six as representatives of the College of Trusted Men and Colonel Koot.
 * 12 to 16 April – Liberation of Arnhem
 * 14 Apr:
 * Himmler issues the order: 'No prisoner may fall into enemy hands alive.'
 * Arrival of Trusted Men, Van der Gaag and Neher, in the liberated South.
 * 15 Apr: Gerbrandy meets with Churchill to discuss Seyss-Inquart's offer.
 * 17 Apr: Inundation of the Wieringermeer.
 * 18 Apr: The entire East and North of the country is liberated except for the area near Delfzijl and the Wadden Islands.
 * 21 Apr: The resistance sends its first telegram to London, protesting against the negotiations with Seyss-Inquart.
 * 23 Apr: The Combined Chiefs of Staff authorize Eisenhower to conclude a ceasefire with Seyss-Inquart.
 * 28 Apr: In Achterveld, the German Schwebel and Montgomery's Chief of Staff de Guingand reach an agreement for a conference with Seyss-Inquart.
 * 29 Apr:
 * Hitler appoints Admiral Dönitz as his successor.
 * First food drops in the famine-stricken provinces.
 * 30 Apr:
 * Suicide of Adolf Hitler
 * In Achterveld, Seyss-Inquart approves arrangements for rapid assistance to the famine-stricken provinces.

May

 * 2 May: First food transports to the famine-stricken provinces by road, via Rhenen.
 * 2–3 May: Seyss-Inquart departs for Flensburg for discussions with Dönitz.
 * 4 May:
 * Montgomery accepts the capitulation of the 'Wehrmacht' in Northwest Europe, including the Netherlands.
 * 'Mobilization' of the BS (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten/Interior Forces) in the famine-stricken provinces.
 * 5 May:
 * General Johannes Blaskowitz receives the capitulation order presented by General Foulkes at Hotel 'De Wereld' in Wageningen.
 * Radio speech by Queen Wilhelmina.
 * The first food ships arrive in Rotterdam.
 * An Allied vanguard arrives in Copenhagen.
 * 6 May: General Blaskowitz signs the capitulation order presented to him the previous day in the auditorium of the Agricultural College in Wageningen.
 * 7 May:
 * First 'general' German capitulation at Reims.
 * Shooting incident on Dam Square in Amsterdam.
 * Arrest of Mussert.
 * 8 May:
 * Entry of the two divisions of the 1st Canadian Army Corps in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam.
 * General Kruis, Chief of Staff Military Authority, arrives in The Hague.
 * An Allied vanguard arrives in Oslo. Second 'general' German capitulation in Berlin.
 * 13 May: German deserter execution
 * 16 May: Dissolution of the College of Trusted Men.
 * 20 May: A Canadian force arrives on Texel and the local German forces surrender, ending the Georgian uprising on Texel. The Georgians are allowed to retain their arms.

June

 * 3 Jun: German forces on the island of Ameland surrender.
 * 11 Jun: The last 600 active German troops in the Netherlands, on the island of Schiermonnikoog, surrender to the Canadians and are evacuated from the island, completing the liberation of the Netherlands.
 * 16 Jun: The Georgian Legion is evacuated from Texel.