The plan
In the late afternoon of 4 November 1944, soldiers of the 51st Highland Division cross the Afwateringskanaal from ‘s-Hertogenbosch to Drongelen on a wide front, from Drunen to Cromvoirt. The operation is called Guy Fawkes. The attack is preceded by heavy artillery shelling. A total of no fewer than 132 guns of various calibres are arranged in a wide arc from Waalwijk to Vught. In addition, fifty tanks line up, partly in the dunes, partly just behind the canal, to join the shelling with their guns. The reason for this enormous firepower is the expected presence of thousands of German soldiers, including SS and their possible resistance.

The shelling
At 16:20, the first guns begin firing, followed 15 minutes later by the tanks. The din is unprecedented and the woods and dunes fill with the acrid smell of gunpowder vapour. During this deadly ‘organ concert’, Prince Bernhard visits Waalwijk. To local resistance fighters who want to get into Drunen as quickly as possible, he says, ‘Do your best and no pardon!’ The shelling is exceptionally heavy. In an hour and a half, about 35,000 shells fall on the three villages in the Eastern Langstraat: Drunen, Nieuwkuijk and Vlijmen. Grenades explode, houses are shaking and glass and shards fly all around. Civilians take shelter wherever they can, but many are still hit by shrapnel and debris. Fires rage everywhere and the sounds of cattle dying can be heard. The material devastation is unprecedented. The centre of Drunen is one big ruin. Several large buildings like the church are completely destroyed; others, like the town hall, are badly damaged. What is worse: no fewer than thirty-five civilians lose their lives in Drunen as a result of this and earlier Allied shelling. An even larger number is wounded.

Balance Sheet
Unfortunately, the shelling was completely unnecessary. When the first Highlanders cross the canal at 4.45 pm, they are surprised to find that the dreaded German resistance fails to materialise. As soon as the first shells begin to fall, the German soldiers pack up and rush north. Via the bridge at Heusden they reach safety. That same night Drunen and Nieuwkuijk are liberated and the advance towards the river continues. There is no celebration in the Eastern Langstraat on Sunday 5 November 1944. The suffering is too great for that.