The Hell of Ten Aard

The Battle of Geel continued in Ten Aard, a township of Geel. Heavy fighting persisted for nine days and nights. The entire village was destroyed.

On 14 September 1944, the 15th Scottish Infantry Division succeeded in crossing the Bocholt-Herentals Canal and forming a small bridgehead in the centre of Ten Aard. But the Germans destroyed every bridge the Scots built over the canal and flooded the fields in the area.

The Allied bridgehead just survived, but every time the Scots made any ground they were repulsed by the Germans. There was incessant artillery fire and hand-to-hand fighting. On 15 September, the British commander, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, visited the division to give a pep talk and to award decorations. The fighting in Ten Aard was to be part of Operation Market Garden, a major offensive to advance towards Arnhem in the Netherlands. It was the task of the Scottish soldiers to cover the left flank in the operation.

The fighting in Ten Aard continued. The Scots were unable to break out of the bridgehead and were ordered to withdraw. They did so on the night of 20-21 September, but the next day the Germans also left to take up positions further north.

Ten Aard was left behind in ruins. Almost a hundred of the village’s 300 houses had been burned down, destroyed or badly damaged. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The 15th Scottish Division had 112 dead, 644 wounded and 158 missing. There were 25 civilian casualties.