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{{short description|Aerial bombing operation during World War II}}
{{Short description|1945 British military error during WWII}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict = Bombing of the Bezuidenhout
| conflict = Bombing of the Bezuidenhout
|partof = [[World War II]] [[Operation Crossbow]]
| partof = [[World War II]] [[Operation Crossbow]]
| image = Bombardement Bezuidenhout, 1945-03-03.jpg
| image = Bombardement Bezuidenhout, 1945-03-03.jpg
| image_size = 300
| image_size = 300
|caption = Bezuidenhout burning, shortly after the bombing, photographed from the tower of the Church of James the Greater, at Parkstraat in The Hague
| caption = Bezuidenhout burning, shortly after the bombing, photographed from the tower of the Church of James the Greater, at Parkstraat in The Hague
|date = 3 March 1945
| date = March 3, 1945
|place = [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]
| place = [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]
|map_type=Netherlands South Holland
| map_type = Netherlands South Holland
|coordinates = {{coord|52.084|4.338|type:event_region:NL|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|52|05|17|N|04|20|41|E|type:event_region:NL|display=inline,title}}
| result =
|result = All bombs missed the {{convert|2.4|km|adj=on}} x {{convert|0.8|km|adj=on}} forest target ([[Haagse Bos]])<ref name="remem">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2011-03-04/bezuidenhout-bombing-remembered |title=Bezuidenhout Bombing Remembered |date=4 March 2011 |accessdate=13 March 2012 |publisher=[[The Hague]] Online |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304145414/http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2011-03-04/bezuidenhout-bombing-remembered |archivedate=4 March 2012 }}</ref> by more than {{convert|500|m}} yards ("incorrect allowance for the wind"<ref name="Collier">{{cite book |last=Collier |first=Basil |year=1976 |orig-year=1964 |title=The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944–1945 |location=Yorkshire |publisher=The Emfield Press |isbn=0-7057-0070-4 |page=133}}</ref>/"map-reading error")<ref name="Garliński">{{cite book
| combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|last=Garliński|first=Józef |author-link=Józef Garliński
| combatant2 = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|year=1978 |title=Hitler's Last Weapons: The Underground War against the V1 and V2
| commander1 = Air Marshal [[Arthur Coningham (RAF officer)|Sir Arthur Coningham]]{{cnl|date=March 2023}}
|location=New York |publisher=Times Books |page=184}}</ref> and hit the [[Bezuidenhout]] neighbourhood instead.<ref name="amigoe">{{in lang|nl}} [http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd%3A010462560%3Ampeg21%3Ap008%3Aa0146 Bombardement Bezuidenhout 3 maart '45 Voor velen stortte in luttele minuten de wereld in elkaar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215185333/http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd%3A010462560%3Ampeg21%3Ap008%3Aa0146 |date=15 December 2013 }}, Amigoe di Curacao, 4 March 1965</ref><ref name="vpro">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.vpro.nl/programma/marathoninterview/afleveringen/17714408/items/18540187/ Geschiedenis van 747. Afl.4: Bombardement Bezuidenhout] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20150507024915/http://www.vpro.nl/programma/marathoninterview/afleveringen/17714408/items/18540187/ |date=7 May 2015 }}, [[VPRO]], 25 July 2004</ref><ref name="nos">{{in lang|nl}} [http://nos.nl/archief/2005/nieuws/achtergronden/60jaarbevrijding/achtergronden_bezuidenhout.html Bommen op Den Haag] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313003240/http://nos.nl/archief/2005/nieuws/achtergronden/60jaarbevrijding/achtergronden_bezuidenhout.html |date=13 March 2012 }}, [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]], 3 March 2005</ref>
| commander2 =
|combatant1={{flagicon image|Air Force Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|Second Tactical Air Force]]
| strength1 = 56 [[Douglas A-20 Havoc|Boston]] & [[North American B-25 Mitchell|Mitchell]] bombers<ref name="Garliński"/>
* [[No. 137 Wing RAF|No. 137 Wing]]
| strength2 =
* [[No. 139 Wing RAF|No. 139 Wing]]
| casualties1 =
|combatant2={{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} 902nd Artillery Regiment z.V. (Motorized)<ref>{{cite book|last=Ordway |first=Frederick I, III |author-link=Frederick I. Ordway III |author2=Sharpe, Mitchell R |year=1979 |title=The Rocket Team |url=http://www.apogeebooks.com/indices/RocketTeamindex.htm |format=hyperlink to index |series=Apogee Books Space Series 36 |location=New York |publisher=Thomas Y. Crowell |isbn=1894959000 |pages=221, 226 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304025247/http://www.apogeebooks.com/indices/RocketTeamindex.htm |archivedate=4 March 2012 }}</ref>
| casualties2 =
|commander1=Air Marshal [[Arthur Coningham (RAF officer)|Sir Arthur Coningham]]
| casualties3 = Bezuidenhout civilian casualties ([[collateral damage]]):<br/>
|commander2=
*532 killed,<ref name=sporen/> 344 injured,<ref name="amigoe"/><br/>±30,000 [[dehoused]]<ref name=nos1/>
|strength1 = 56 [[Douglas A-20 Havoc|Boston]] & [[North American B-25 Mitchell|Mitchell]] bombers<ref name="Garliński"/>
| units1 = {{flagicon image|Air Force Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg}} [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|Second Tactical Air Force]]
|strength2=
*[[No. 137 Wing RAF|No. 137 Wing]]
|casualties1=
*[[No. 139 Wing RAF|No. 139 Wing]]
|casualties2=
| units2 = {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1938–1945).svg}} 902nd Artillery Regiment z.V. (Motorized)<ref>{{cite book |last=Ordway |first=Frederick I III |author-link=Frederick I. Ordway III |author2=Sharpe, Mitchell R |year=1979 |title=The Rocket Team |url=http://www.apogeebooks.com/indices/RocketTeamindex.htm |format=hyperlink to index |series=Apogee Books Space Series 36 |location=New York |publisher=Thomas Y. Crowell |isbn=1-894959-00-0 |pages=221, 226 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304025247/http://www.apogeebooks.com/indices/RocketTeamindex.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref>
|casualties3= Bezuidenhout civilian casualties ([[collateral damage]]):<br>
*511 killed, 344 injured,<br>20,000 [[dehoused]]<ref name="amigoe"/>
}}
}}
[[File:V-2 Rocket On Meillerwagen.jpg|thumb|Motorized [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] artillery launched 1,027 [[V-2]] rockets at London from The Hague – 79 failed at launch, 600 reached London<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kooy |first1=J. M. J |last2=Uytenbogaart |first2=J. W. H. |year=1946 |title=Ballistics of the Future With Special Reference to the Dynamical And Physical Theory of the Rocket Weapons}} (Kooy-Uytenbogaart launch figures are from ''Space Travel'', Gatland & Kunesch, 1953 Second impression, p. 52-3; and Kooy-Uytenbogaart location [https://archive.org/details/gravitysrainbowc0000weis/page/62 information was used as source] for the 1973 [[Gravity's Rainbow]].)</ref>]]
[[File:V-2 Rocket On Meillerwagen.jpg|thumb|Motorized [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] artillery launched 1,027 [[V-2]] rockets at London from The Hague – 79 failed at launch, 600 reached London<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kooy |first1=J. M. J |last2=Uytenbogaart |first2=J. W. H. |year=1946 |title=Ballistics of the Future With Special Reference to the Dynamical And Physical Theory of the Rocket Weapons}} (Kooy-Uytenbogaart launch figures are from ''Space Travel'', Gatland & Kunesch, 1953 Second impression, p. 52-3; and Kooy-Uytenbogaart location [https://archive.org/details/gravitysrainbowc0000weis/page/62 information was used as source] for the 1973 [[Gravity's Rainbow]].)</ref>]]
[[File:Bezuidenhout in 1946 (The Hague, the Netherlands).jpg|thumb|The desolate landscape of the Hague neighborhood of Bezuidenhout in 1946. At the front the Bezuidenhoutseweg road. Completely at the back, behind the railroad tracks, a part of the municipality of Voorburg.]]
The '''bombing of the Bezuidenhout''' ({{lang-nl|bombardement op het Bezuidenhout}}) took place on 3 March 1945, when the [[Royal Air Force]] mistakenly bombed the [[Bezuidenhout]] neighbourhood in the Dutch city of [[The Hague]]. At the time, the neighbourhood was more densely populated than usual with evacuees from The Hague and [[Wassenaar]]; tens of thousands were left homeless and had to be quartered in the Eastern and Central Netherlands.
The '''bombing of the Bezuidenhout''' ({{langx|nl|bombardement op het Bezuidenhout}}) took place on March 3, 1945,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bombardement Bezuidenhout {{!}} DenHaag.com |url=https://denhaag.com/nl/75jaarvrijheiddenhaag/bezuidenhout |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=denhaag.com |language=nl}}</ref> when the [[Royal Air Force]] mistakenly bombed the [[Bezuidenhout]] neighborhood in the Dutch city of [[The Hague]], resulting in the death of 532 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bronnen over 'Bombardement op het Bezuidenhout' |url=https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/bronnen?term=Bombardement%20op%20het%20Bezuidenhout |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=www.oorlogsbronnen.nl |language=nl}}</ref><ref name=":2" />


==Bombing==
The British bomber crews had intended to bomb the [[Haagse Bos]] ("Forest of the Hague") district where the [[Nazi Germany|Germans]] had installed [[V-2]] launching facilities that had been used to attack English cities. However, the pilots were issued with the wrong coordinates so the navigational instruments of the bombers had been set incorrectly, and combined with fog and clouds which obscured their vision, the bombs were instead dropped on the Bezuidenhout residential neighbourhood.
On the morning of March 3, 1945, 51 [[medium bomber|medium]] and [[light bomber|light]] bombers of the [[North American B-25 Mitchell]] and [[Douglas A-20 Havoc|Douglas Boston]] types from [[No. 137 Wing RAF|No. 137]] and [[No. 139 Wing RAF|No. 139]] wings of the [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|Second Tactical Air Force]] took off from [[Melsbroek Air Base|Melsbroek]] near [[Brussels]] and [[Vitry-En-Artois Airport|Vitry]] in Northern France with a payload of 67,000 kg of [[Aerial bomb|high-explosive bombs]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Tinschert |first=Carlo |title=Boodschap aan de bevolking van Den Haag: oorzaken, gevolgen en nasleep van het mislukte bombardement op het Bezuidenhout, 3 maart 1945 |date=2005 |publisher=Sdu Uitgevers |isbn=90-12-11188-9 |location=Den Haag |language=nl |oclc=71711568}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Het bombardement Bezuidenhout Den Haag {{!}} Bombardement Bezuidenhout '45 |url=https://www.bb45.nl/het-bombardement |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=www.bb45.nl}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Een dodelijke vergissing |url=https://bezuidenhout.nl/3maart45/artikelen/00060603-2/ |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=3 maart '45 |language=nl}}</ref>


The British bombers were intended to bomb the [[Haagse Bos]] ("Forest of the Hague") district where the [[Nazi Germany|Germans]] had installed [[V-2]] launching facilities that had been used to attack English cities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=75 jaar bevrijding - Britse verklaring uitgestrooid boven getroffen Den Haag |url=https://nos.nl/75j/2328010 |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=nos.nl |date=March 23, 1945 |language=nl}}</ref><ref name=bb45>{{Cite web |title=Ontdek de historische 2e wereldoorlog wandelroute in Den Haag met kidszone! |url=https://www.bb45.nl/ |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Stichting 3 maart '45 / wandelroute BB45}}</ref> However, the pilots were issued with the wrong coordinates (vertical and horizontal interchanged),<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /> so the navigational instruments of the bombers had been set incorrectly, and combined with low fog and clouds which obscured their vision, the bombs were instead dropped on the Bezuidenhout residential neighborhood.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> Eventually, a [[Beaufort scale|wind force]] of 9 instead of the expected 5 added to the catastrophe.<ref name=":0" /> All bombs missed the rocket installations in the {{cvt|2.4|km|adj=on}} x {{cvt|0.8|km|adj=on}} forest target (Haagse Bos)<ref name="remem">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2011-03-04/bezuidenhout-bombing-remembered |title=Bezuidenhout Bombing Remembered |date=March 4, 2011 |access-date=March 13, 2012 |publisher=[[The Hague]] Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304145414/http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2011-03-04/bezuidenhout-bombing-remembered |archive-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref> by {{cvt|1.2|km|yd}}<ref name=":2" /> ("incorrect allowance for the wind"<ref name="Collier">{{cite book |last=Collier |first=Basil |year=1976 |orig-date=1964 |title=The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944–1945 |location=Yorkshire |publisher=The Emfield Press |isbn=0-7057-0070-4 |page=133}}</ref>/"map-reading error"),<ref name="Garliński">{{cite book |last=Garliński |first=Józef |author-link=Józef Garliński |year=1978 |title=Hitler's Last Weapons: The Underground War against the V1 and V2 |location=New York |publisher=Times Books |page=184}}</ref> and hit the [[Bezuidenhout]] neighborhood instead.<ref name="amigoe">{{Cite web |date=2013-12-15 |title=Historische Kranten - actualiteiten uit het verleden |url=http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd:010462560:mpeg21:p008:a0146 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215185333/http://kranten.kb.nl/view/article/id/ddd:010462560:mpeg21:p008:a0146 |archive-date=2013-12-15 |access-date=2023-05-04 }}</ref><ref name="vpro">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.vpro.nl/programma/marathoninterview/afleveringen/17714408/items/18540187/ Geschiedenis van 747. Afl.4: Bombardement Bezuidenhout] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20150507024915/http://www.vpro.nl/programma/marathoninterview/afleveringen/17714408/items/18540187/ |date=May 7, 2015 }}, [[VPRO]], July 25, 2004</ref><ref name="nos">{{in lang|nl}} [http://nos.nl/archief/2005/nieuws/achtergronden/60jaarbevrijding/achtergronden_bezuidenhout.html Bommen op Den Haag] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313003240/http://nos.nl/archief/2005/nieuws/achtergronden/60jaarbevrijding/achtergronden_bezuidenhout.html |date=March 13, 2012 }}, [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]], March 3, 2005</ref>
==Event==
On the morning of 3 March 1945, [[medium bomber|medium]] and [[light bomber|light]] bombers of the [[North American B-25 Mitchell]] and [[Douglas A-20 Havoc|Douglas Boston]] types from [[No. 137 Wing RAF|No. 137]] and [[No. 139 Wing RAF|No. 139]] wings of the [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|Second Tactical Air Force]] took off from [[Melsbroek Air Base|Melsbroek]] near [[Brussels]] and [[Vitry-En-Artois Airport|Vitry]] in Northern France. Between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning the bombers dropped 67 tonnes of high explosive bombs on the Bezuidenhout,<ref name="kb">{{cite web|url=http://www.kb.nl/themas/geschiedenis-en-cultuur/tweede-wereldoorlog/bombardement-op-bezuidenhout|title=Bombardement op Bezuidenhout maart 1945|trans-title=Bombing of the Bezuidenhout March 1945|publisher=[[National Library of the Netherlands|Koninklijke Bibliotheek]]|accessdate=5 December 2013|language=nl}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> wreaking widespread destruction.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vQfUQxCjtMC&q=razed |title=The Low Countries: arts and society in Flanders and the Netherlands, a yearbook |volume=9 |author=Stichting Ons Erfdeel |year=1998 |publisher=Flemish-Netherlands Foundation |page=113|isbn=9789075862287 }}</ref>


At 9:08 a.m. the 51 bombers dropped 67 tons of high-explosive bombs on the Bezuidenhout,<ref name=":2" /> wreaking widespread destruction.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vQfUQxCjtMC&q=razed |title=The Low Countries: arts and society in Flanders and the Netherlands, a yearbook |volume=9 |author=Stichting Ons Erfdeel |year=1998 |publisher=Flemish-Netherlands Foundation |page=113 |isbn=978-90-75862-28-7 |access-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-date=March 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303170149/https://books.google.com/books?id=_vQfUQxCjtMC&q=razed |url-status=live }}</ref>
Due to insufficient [[fire apparatus|fire engines]] and [[firefighter|firemen]] (as many of them had been either called up for [[Arbeitseinsatz|forced labour in German industry]] or had gone into hiding to prevent being signed up) the resulting fire was largely unchecked,<ref name="kb"/> killing 511 people,<ref name="amigoe"/> including eight firemen.

[[File:Db Theresiastraat-31.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Theresiastraat'' in the Bezuidenhout before World War II]]
{{Quote|text="Everyone went out and into the street. You saw people running, running, running everywhere. But whichever way you ran, there was fire everywhere."|author=Survivor|source=<ref name=bb45/>}}
As soon as the British realized the extent of the damage, they dropped fliers over the neighbourhood apologizing for the error.<ref name="v2">{{cite web |url=http://www.v2platform.nl/book/bombing.html |title=Bombardment on Bezuidenhout |first=J. R. |last=Verbeek |year=2005 |accessdate=13 March 2012}}</ref> ''[[Trouw]]'', the [[Dutch resistance]] newspaper, reported:

At the time, the neighborhood was more densely populated than usual with evacuees from The Hague and [[Wassenaar]]; tens of thousands were left homeless and had to be quartered in the Eastern and Central Netherlands.<ref name=":1" />

==Response==
Due to insufficient [[fire apparatus|fire engines]] and [[firefighter|firefighters]] (as many of them had been either called up for [[Arbeitseinsatz|forced labor in German industry]] or had gone into hiding to prevent being signed up)<ref name=":2" /> the resulting fire was largely unchecked,<ref name="kb">{{cite web |title=Bombardement op Bezuidenhout maart 1945 |trans-title=Bombing of the Bezuidenhout March 1945 |url=http://www.kb.nl/themas/geschiedenis-en-cultuur/tweede-wereldoorlog/bombardement-op-bezuidenhout |access-date=December 5, 2013 |publisher=[[National Library of the Netherlands|Koninklijke Bibliotheek]] |language=nl }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> killing 511 people,<ref name="amigoe" /> including ten firefighters at the Schenkkade.<ref name=":2" /> In total 532 people were killed by the bombing.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="sporen">{{Cite web |title=3 maart 1945 |url=https://www.wo2sporen.eu/3-maart-1945 |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=WO2 Sporen |language=nl}}</ref>

[[File:Db Theresiastraat-31.jpg|thumb|The ''Theresiastraat'' in the Bezuidenhout before World War II]]

As soon as the British realized the extent of the damage, they dropped fliers over the neighborhood expressing condolences for the civilians who were killed by their error.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="v2">{{cite web |url=http://www.v2platform.nl/book/bombing.html |title=Bombardment on Bezuidenhout |first=J. R. |last=Verbeek |year=2005 |access-date=March 13, 2012 |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220004901/http://www.v2platform.nl/book/bombing.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Trouw]]'', the [[Dutch resistance]] newspaper, reported:


<blockquote>The horrors of the war are increasing. We have seen the fires in The Hague after the terrible bombings due to the V2-launching sites. We have seen the column of smoke, drifting to the south and the ordeal of the war has descended upon us in its extended impact. We heard the screaming bombs falling on (the) Bezuidenhout, and the missiles which brought death and misery fell only a hundred metres from us. At the same time we saw the launching and the roaring, flaming V2, holding our breath to see if the launch was successful, if not falling back on the homes of innocent people. It is horrible to see the monsters take off in the middle of the night between the houses, lighting up the skies. One can imagine the terrors that came upon us now that The Hague is a frontline town, bombed continuously for more than ten days. Buildings, burning and smouldering furiously, a town choking from smoke, women and children fleeing, men hauling furniture which they tried to rescue from the chaos. What misery, what distress.<ref name="v2"/></blockquote>
<blockquote>The horrors of the war are increasing. We have seen the fires in The Hague after the terrible bombings due to the V2-launching sites. We have seen the column of smoke, drifting to the south and the ordeal of the war has descended upon us in its extended impact. We heard the screaming bombs falling on (the) Bezuidenhout, and the missiles which brought death and misery fell only a hundred metres from us. At the same time we saw the launching and the roaring, flaming V2, holding our breath to see if the launch was successful, if not falling back on the homes of innocent people. It is horrible to see the monsters take off in the middle of the night between the houses, lighting up the skies. One can imagine the terrors that came upon us now that The Hague is a frontline town, bombed continuously for more than ten days. Buildings, burning and smouldering furiously, a town choking from smoke, women and children fleeing, men hauling furniture which they tried to rescue from the chaos. What misery, what distress.<ref name="v2"/></blockquote>


==Commemoration==
==Commemoration==
[[File:Flickr - Erfgoed in Beeld - Den Haag, Juliana van Stolberg.jpg|thumb|Monument of [[Juliana of Stolberg]] and her five sons, which survived the bombing and now also doubles as a monument for its victims]]
[[File:Flickr - Erfgoed in Beeld - Den Haag, Juliana van Stolberg.jpg|thumb|Monument of [[Juliana of Stolberg]] and her five sons, which survived the bombing and now doubles as a monument for its victims]]
[[File:Denhaag monument menselijke vergissing.jpg|thumb|''Monument van de menselijke vergissing'']]
[[File:Denhaag monument menselijke vergissing.jpg|thumb|''Monument van de menselijke vergissing'']]
The bombing is commemorated every year on the first Sunday after 3 March. In 2011, Mayor [[Jozias van Aartsen]]<ref name="denhaag">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.denhaag.nl/home/bewoners/to/Toespraak-burgemeester-bij-herdenking-bombardement-Bezuidenhout-7-maart-2010.htm Speech by Mayor Van Aartsen at the commemoration of the bombing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309184718/http://www.denhaag.nl/home/bewoners/to/Toespraak-burgemeester-bij-herdenking-bombardement-Bezuidenhout-7-maart-2010.htm# |date=9 March 2012 }}, [[Municipality of The Hague]], 7 March 2010</ref> of The Hague as well as the Mayors of [[Wassenaar]] and [[Leidschendam-Voorburg]] (residents of both towns helped with firefighting and caring for the survivors) were present at the remembrance ceremony, which consisted of a [[church service]], the laying of a [[wreath]] at the ''Monument of the human mistake'' ({{lang-nl|Monument van de menselijke vergissing}}) and a remembrance concert in the [[Royal Conservatory of The Hague]].<ref name="nunl">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/2461852/honderden-herdenken-bombardement-bezuidenhout.html Honderden herdenken bombardement Bezuidenhout], [[Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau|ANP]] (published on [[Nu.nl]]), 6 March 2011</ref> A similar church service and concert were held in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2012-03-05/bezuidenhout-bombing-commemorated |title=Bezuidenhout Bombing Commemorated |date=5 March 2012 |accessdate=13 March 2012 |publisher=The Hague Online |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314202229/http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2012-03-05/bezuidenhout-bombing-commemorated |archivedate=14 March 2012 }}</ref>
The bombing is commemorated every year on the first Sunday after 3 March. In 2011, Mayor [[Jozias van Aartsen]]<ref name="denhaag">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.denhaag.nl/home/bewoners/to/Toespraak-burgemeester-bij-herdenking-bombardement-Bezuidenhout-7-maart-2010.htm Speech by Mayor Van Aartsen at the commemoration of the bombing] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309184718/http://www.denhaag.nl/home/bewoners/to/Toespraak-burgemeester-bij-herdenking-bombardement-Bezuidenhout-7-maart-2010.htm# |date=March 9, 2012 }}, [[Municipality of The Hague]], March 7, 2010</ref> of The Hague as well as the Mayors of [[Wassenaar]] and [[Leidschendam-Voorburg]] (residents of both towns helped with firefighting and caring for the survivors) were present at the remembrance ceremony, which consisted of a [[church service]], the laying of a [[wreath]] at the ''Monument of the human mistake'' ({{langx|nl|Monument van de menselijke vergissing}}) and a remembrance concert in the [[Royal Conservatory of The Hague]].<ref name="nunl">{{Cite web |last=ANP |date=2011-03-06 |title=Honderden herdenken bombardement Bezuidenhout |url=https://www.nu.nl/binnenland/2461852/honderden-herdenken-bombardement-bezuidenhout.html |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=NU |language=nl}}</ref> A similar church service and concert were held in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2012-03-05/bezuidenhout-bombing-commemorated |title=Bezuidenhout Bombing Commemorated |date=March 5, 2012 |access-date=March 13, 2012 |publisher=The Hague Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314202229/http://www.thehagueonline.com/headlines/2012-03-05/bezuidenhout-bombing-commemorated |archive-date=March 14, 2012}}</ref>


==Casualties, losses, and damage==
==Statistics==
As a result of the bombing, there were:<ref name="amigoe"/>
*532 fatalities<ref name="sporen" />
*344 wounded
* 511 fatalities
*30,000 people left homeless<ref name=nos1>{{Cite web |title=75 jaar bevrijding - RAF-bombardement verwoest Haagse woonwijk, honderden doden|url=https://nos.nl/75j/2325540 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=nos.nl |date=March 3, 1945 |language=nl}}</ref>
* 344 wounded
*3,300 completely destroyed residences
* 20,000 people left homeless
* 3,250 burned out residences
*3,250 burned out residences
* 3,241 damaged residences
*3,241 damaged residences
* 391 irreparably damaged residences
*391 irreparably damaged residences
* 290 destroyed businesses
*290 completely destroyed businesses
* 5 destroyed churches
*5 completely destroyed churches
* 9 destroyed schools
*9 completely destroyed schools
* 10 destroyed public buildings
*10 completely destroyed public buildings<ref name=":2" /><ref name="amigoe"/>
{{Clear both}}


==Gallery==
==Bezuidenhout after the bombing==
<gallery widths="190" heights="190">
<gallery widths="190" heights="190">
Gevolgen van het bombardement op het Bezuidenhout.jpg|Unknown street in Bezuidenhout, after the bombing
Gevolgen van het bombardement op het Bezuidenhout.jpg|Unknown street in Bezuidenhout, after the bombing
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Bezuidenhout after the bombing, June1945.jpg|Unknown street in Bezuidenhout, after the bombing
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, June1945.jpg|Unknown street in Bezuidenhout, after the bombing
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, October 1945, Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië.jpg|Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië (street)
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, October 1945, Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië.jpg|Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië (street)
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, June 1945 img002.jpg|The intense fire caused numerous buildings to collapse entirely
</gallery>
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, ruins of the church of Our Lady of the Good Council.jpg|In the background: ruins of the [[:nl:Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-van-Goede-Raadkerk (Den Haag)|Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel]] at Bezuidenhoutseweg (street)
<gallery widths="190" heights="190">
Ruïne na oorlogshandelingen - 's-Gravenhage - 20326976 - RCE.jpg|Korte Voorhout (street) at the old city center
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, June 1945 img002.jpg|The intense fire made many houses collapse entirely
Derde Van den Boschstraat, de Engelse kerk na de verwoesting van 3 maart 1945.jpg|Ruins of the [[:nl:Anglican Church of St. John and St. Philip|Anglican Church of St. John and St. Philip]] in The Hague, after the bombing
Bezuidenhout after the bombing, ruins of the church of Our Lady of the Good Council.jpg|On the background the ruins of the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel at Bezuidenhoutseweg (street)
Ruïne na oorlogshandelingen - 's-Gravenhage - 20326976 - RCE.jpg|Korte Voorhout (street) at the old city center, which was also struck by the bombing
Derde Van den Boschstraat, de Engelse kerk na de verwoesting van 3 maart 1945.jpg|Ruins of the Anglican Church of St. John and St. Philip in The Hague, after the bombing
</gallery>
</gallery>


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==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*(in Dutch) Carlo Tinschert, ''Boodschap aan de bevolking van Den Haag – Oorzaken, gevolgen en nasleep van het mislukte bombardement op het Bezuidenhout'', 3 maart 1945, Sdu Uitgevers, The Hague {{ISBN|9012111889}}
*(in Dutch) Carlo Tinschert, ''Boodschap aan de bevolking van Den Haag – Oorzaken, gevolgen en nasleep van het mislukte bombardement op het Bezuidenhout'', 3 maart 1945, Sdu Uitgevers, The Hague {{ISBN|9012111889}}
*(in Dutch) [https://www.wo2sporen.eu/3-maart-1945 Extensive 2016 list of names of the citizens killed by the bombing]
*(in Dutch) [https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/mensen?theme=https%3A%2F%2Fdata.niod.nl%2FWO2_Thesaurus%2Fevents%2F6604 List of names of the citizens killed by the bombing]
*(in Dutch) [https://www.bb45.nl/ Organisation of the bombings of the Bezuidenhout]


{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}{{RAF WWII strategic bombing}}{{World War II city bombing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bezuidenhout, Bombing of the}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bezuidenhout, Bombing of the}}
[[Category:1945 in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:1945 in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Aerial bombing operations and battles]]
[[Category:Aerial bombing operations and battles of World War II]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of The Hague]]
[[Category:History of The Hague]]
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[[Category:V-weapons]]
[[Category:V-weapons]]
[[Category:World War II strategic bombing of the Netherlands|Bezuidenhout]]
[[Category:World War II strategic bombing of the Netherlands|Bezuidenhout]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II by populated place]]

Latest revision as of 00:23, 7 November 2024

Bombing of the Bezuidenhout
Part of World War II Operation Crossbow

Bezuidenhout burning, shortly after the bombing, photographed from the tower of the Church of James the Greater, at Parkstraat in The Hague
DateMarch 3, 1945
Location52°05′17″N 04°20′41″E / 52.08806°N 4.34472°E / 52.08806; 4.34472
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham[not verified in body]
Units involved

Second Tactical Air Force

902nd Artillery Regiment z.V. (Motorized)[1]
Strength
56 Boston & Mitchell bombers[2]
Casualties and losses

Bezuidenhout civilian casualties (collateral damage):

Bombing of the Bezuidenhout is located in South Holland
Bombing of the Bezuidenhout
Location within South Holland
Motorized Nazi artillery launched 1,027 V-2 rockets at London from The Hague – 79 failed at launch, 600 reached London[6]
The desolate landscape of the Hague neighborhood of Bezuidenhout in 1946. At the front the Bezuidenhoutseweg road. Completely at the back, behind the railroad tracks, a part of the municipality of Voorburg.

The bombing of the Bezuidenhout (Dutch: bombardement op het Bezuidenhout) took place on March 3, 1945,[7] when the Royal Air Force mistakenly bombed the Bezuidenhout neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague, resulting in the death of 532 people.[8][9]

Bombing

[edit]

On the morning of March 3, 1945, 51 medium and light bombers of the North American B-25 Mitchell and Douglas Boston types from No. 137 and No. 139 wings of the Second Tactical Air Force took off from Melsbroek near Brussels and Vitry in Northern France with a payload of 67,000 kg of high-explosive bombs.[10][9][11]

The British bombers were intended to bomb the Haagse Bos ("Forest of the Hague") district where the Germans had installed V-2 launching facilities that had been used to attack English cities.[12][13] However, the pilots were issued with the wrong coordinates (vertical and horizontal interchanged),[9][11][12] so the navigational instruments of the bombers had been set incorrectly, and combined with low fog and clouds which obscured their vision, the bombs were instead dropped on the Bezuidenhout residential neighborhood.[9][12] Eventually, a wind force of 9 instead of the expected 5 added to the catastrophe.[12] All bombs missed the rocket installations in the 2.4 km (1.5 mi) x 0.8 km (0.50 mi) forest target (Haagse Bos)[14] by 1.2 km (1,300 yd)[9] ("incorrect allowance for the wind"[15]/"map-reading error"),[2] and hit the Bezuidenhout neighborhood instead.[4][16][17]

At 9:08 a.m. the 51 bombers dropped 67 tons of high-explosive bombs on the Bezuidenhout,[9] wreaking widespread destruction.[18]

"Everyone went out and into the street. You saw people running, running, running everywhere. But whichever way you ran, there was fire everywhere."

— Survivor, [13]

At the time, the neighborhood was more densely populated than usual with evacuees from The Hague and Wassenaar; tens of thousands were left homeless and had to be quartered in the Eastern and Central Netherlands.[10]

Response

[edit]

Due to insufficient fire engines and firefighters (as many of them had been either called up for forced labor in German industry or had gone into hiding to prevent being signed up)[9] the resulting fire was largely unchecked,[19] killing 511 people,[4] including ten firefighters at the Schenkkade.[9] In total 532 people were killed by the bombing.[9][3]

The Theresiastraat in the Bezuidenhout before World War II

As soon as the British realized the extent of the damage, they dropped fliers over the neighborhood expressing condolences for the civilians who were killed by their error.[12][20] Trouw, the Dutch resistance newspaper, reported:

The horrors of the war are increasing. We have seen the fires in The Hague after the terrible bombings due to the V2-launching sites. We have seen the column of smoke, drifting to the south and the ordeal of the war has descended upon us in its extended impact. We heard the screaming bombs falling on (the) Bezuidenhout, and the missiles which brought death and misery fell only a hundred metres from us. At the same time we saw the launching and the roaring, flaming V2, holding our breath to see if the launch was successful, if not falling back on the homes of innocent people. It is horrible to see the monsters take off in the middle of the night between the houses, lighting up the skies. One can imagine the terrors that came upon us now that The Hague is a frontline town, bombed continuously for more than ten days. Buildings, burning and smouldering furiously, a town choking from smoke, women and children fleeing, men hauling furniture which they tried to rescue from the chaos. What misery, what distress.[20]

Commemoration

[edit]
Monument of Juliana of Stolberg and her five sons, which survived the bombing and now doubles as a monument for its victims
Monument van de menselijke vergissing

The bombing is commemorated every year on the first Sunday after 3 March. In 2011, Mayor Jozias van Aartsen[21] of The Hague as well as the Mayors of Wassenaar and Leidschendam-Voorburg (residents of both towns helped with firefighting and caring for the survivors) were present at the remembrance ceremony, which consisted of a church service, the laying of a wreath at the Monument of the human mistake (Dutch: Monument van de menselijke vergissing) and a remembrance concert in the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.[22] A similar church service and concert were held in 2012.[23]

Casualties, losses, and damage

[edit]
  • 532 fatalities[3]
  • 344 wounded
  • 30,000 people left homeless[5]
  • 3,300 completely destroyed residences
  • 3,250 burned out residences
  • 3,241 damaged residences
  • 391 irreparably damaged residences
  • 290 completely destroyed businesses
  • 5 completely destroyed churches
  • 9 completely destroyed schools
  • 10 completely destroyed public buildings[9][4]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ordway, Frederick I III; Sharpe, Mitchell R (1979). The Rocket Team. Apogee Books Space Series 36. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell. pp. 221, 226. ISBN 1-894959-00-0. Archived from the original (hyperlink to index) on 4 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b Garliński, Józef (1978). Hitler's Last Weapons: The Underground War against the V1 and V2. New York: Times Books. p. 184.
  3. ^ a b c "3 maart 1945". WO2 Sporen (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "Historische Kranten - actualiteiten uit het verleden". 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b "75 jaar bevrijding - RAF-bombardement verwoest Haagse woonwijk, honderden doden". nos.nl (in Dutch). 3 March 1945. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  6. ^ Kooy, J. M. J; Uytenbogaart, J. W. H. (1946). Ballistics of the Future With Special Reference to the Dynamical And Physical Theory of the Rocket Weapons. (Kooy-Uytenbogaart launch figures are from Space Travel, Gatland & Kunesch, 1953 Second impression, p. 52-3; and Kooy-Uytenbogaart location information was used as source for the 1973 Gravity's Rainbow.)
  7. ^ "Bombardement Bezuidenhout | DenHaag.com". denhaag.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Bronnen over 'Bombardement op het Bezuidenhout'". www.oorlogsbronnen.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Het bombardement Bezuidenhout Den Haag | Bombardement Bezuidenhout '45". www.bb45.nl. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b Tinschert, Carlo (2005). Boodschap aan de bevolking van Den Haag: oorzaken, gevolgen en nasleep van het mislukte bombardement op het Bezuidenhout, 3 maart 1945 (in Dutch). Den Haag: Sdu Uitgevers. ISBN 90-12-11188-9. OCLC 71711568.
  11. ^ a b "Een dodelijke vergissing". 3 maart '45 (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e "75 jaar bevrijding - Britse verklaring uitgestrooid boven getroffen Den Haag". nos.nl (in Dutch). 23 March 1945. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Ontdek de historische 2e wereldoorlog wandelroute in Den Haag met kidszone!". Stichting 3 maart '45 / wandelroute BB45. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Bezuidenhout Bombing Remembered". The Hague Online. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  15. ^ Collier, Basil (1976) [1964]. The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944–1945. Yorkshire: The Emfield Press. p. 133. ISBN 0-7057-0070-4.
  16. ^ (in Dutch) Geschiedenis van 747. Afl.4: Bombardement Bezuidenhout Archived May 7, 2015, at archive.today, VPRO, July 25, 2004
  17. ^ (in Dutch) Bommen op Den Haag Archived March 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, NOS, March 3, 2005
  18. ^ Stichting Ons Erfdeel (1998). The Low Countries: arts and society in Flanders and the Netherlands, a yearbook. Vol. 9. Flemish-Netherlands Foundation. p. 113. ISBN 978-90-75862-28-7. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Bombardement op Bezuidenhout maart 1945" [Bombing of the Bezuidenhout March 1945] (in Dutch). Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Retrieved 5 December 2013.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ a b Verbeek, J. R. (2005). "Bombardment on Bezuidenhout". Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  21. ^ (in Dutch) Speech by Mayor Van Aartsen at the commemoration of the bombing Archived March 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Municipality of The Hague, March 7, 2010
  22. ^ ANP (6 March 2011). "Honderden herdenken bombardement Bezuidenhout". NU (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Bezuidenhout Bombing Commemorated". The Hague Online. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.

Further reading

[edit]