On may 10, 0400 hrs, German Paratroopers landed on both sides of the river Meuse in Rotterdam, trying to secure the bridges there for the expected breakthrough of German ground forces. Early that morning, after securing both sides of the bridges, Dutch forces that were available in small nrs started to probe german positions with small arms fire. Not long after that, Germans started encountering tall, strongly built men in black overcoats, their faces covered with black shoepolish and coal. German paratroopers lost several key positions on the north bank,with many casualties and several soldiers fled to the otherside of the river. Once confronted there with their officers, who asked them why the hell they were not at the north side, the germans told them the north side was crawling with Schwarze Teufel(black Devils)
They had run into the Royal Dutch Marine Corps. On the north side, Marines formed an assault squad of 12 men, all with german weapons(since their own weapons were old and ammo was low on stock)and assaulted towards the bridge. they bumped into a squad of germans underneath the bridge in the catacombs and they exchanged fire and hand grenades. 6 Marines made it to the bridge and managed to crawl underneath the roaddeck. From there they stopped german para and infantry attempts to cross the bridge for 4 days. Seeing the situation, the germans bombed the center of rotterdam, and threatened to do so to every city in holland, causing the dutch to surrender. As germans reached the north side, 4 marines crawled from underneath the roaddeck, all blackened. German para's lined up and saluted the 4 marines for their bravery. 2 marines did not make it from underneath the bridge.....one of them was my granddad....he died at 29, as a sergeant, leaving a wife and 4 children.



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*** We shall not retreat, nor shall we surrender. If we cannot stay here alive, we shall stay here dead***