On the 7th April 1945, 702 French members of the Special Air Service parachuted into the Netherlands to recapture Dutch canals, bridges and airfields in the fight against the occupiers. This was one of the last major airborne missions of the Second World War and, despite a multitude of difficulties, it resulted in the liberation of parts of the Netherlands and paved the way for the Canadian advance. Joël Stoppels is a battlefield guide and founder of Battlefield Tours, he takes us through the mission and its challenges, and explores some of the atrocities perpetrated throughout the war and during the German retreat, discovered by the advancing French paratroopers.

Joël’s website can be found here.

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