Footsteps of WWII · The Netherlands

Waal crossing memorial (De Oversteek), Nijmegen

Memorial · 20 Sep 1944

The story

With German troops holding both Nijmegen road and rail bridges, General James Gavin ordered Major Julian Cook's 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (82nd Airborne Division), to cross the Waal by boat and take the north ends. Only 26 canvas assault boats arrived. At 15:00 on 20 September 1944 the paratroopers paddled across the 250-metre-wide river about two kilometres downstream of the road bridge, near the Gelderland power station, under machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire. Survivors stormed the dyke and by evening had taken the north end of the railway bridge; the road bridge also fell, and British tanks of the Guards Armoured Division crossed that evening.

What to look for

The 2013 bridge 'De Oversteek' spans the river where the boats crossed. A plaque on the Generaal Gavinsingel in Lent marks the landing. Each evening at sunset a veteran-led 'Sunset March' crosses the bridge as its 48 pairs of lights come on one by one, one for each man killed.

Plan your visit

Bridge and memorial are free and open at all times. The Sunset March starts at the south end of the bridge at sunset every day; anyone may join. Cycle or walk from Nijmegen centre (about 20 minutes).

Nearby sites

• Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and Memorial · 9 km
• Freedom Museum (Vrijheidsmuseum), Groesbeek · 11 km
• Old Church and Kate ter Horst house, Oosterbeek · 13 km
• John Frost Bridge, Arnhem · 14 km
• Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek · 14 km
• Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery · 15 km

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