230px, Peel-Raam Line The Peel-Raam Line (Dutch: Peel-Raamstelling) was a Dutch defence line built in 1939 and attacked and conquered on 10 May 1940 by the German forces. The defence line was behind the Maas Line (about 9 km to 21 km awau) and started at

Grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

, where a barrack complex was built as part of the Peel-Raam line. From there, the line passed by

Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile manufacturing, Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the A ...

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel Island, Queensland *Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated communi ...

along the

Zuid-Willemsvaart The Zuid-Willemsvaart (; translated: ''South William's Canal'') is a canal in the south of the Netherlands and the east of Belgium. Route The Zuid-Willemsvaart is a canal in the provinces Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg (Belgium) and North Br ...

until the

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

border nearby

Weert Weert (; li, Wieërt ) is a municipality and city in the southeastern Netherlands located in the western part of the province of Limburg. It lies on the Eindhoven–Maastricht railway line, and is also astride the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal. Popu ...

. In the north, the defence line was connected to the Grebbe Line. The line could profit from the natural protection of the swamps, rivers and canals in the area. In the north, an artificial barrier was made, the Defensiekanaal, which was a canal. The line was made of

casemates A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mean ...

(200 m apart) and

barbwire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...

obstructions. The railway bridge on the Defensiekanaal near Mill, also had a spargel-obstruction (precursor of the Rommelspargel which the German Army used from 1943 onwards). On the first day of the German invasion, 10 May 1940, a German train crashed into this spargel-obstruction. There were not many communication lines between the casemates and the main force of the infantry was far behind the line of casemates. The Dutch would like to have connected their defence line with the one along the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel ...

, in Belgium, but the

Belgian army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard ...

wanted a new defence line (the ''Orange Line (Dutch Oranjelinie)'' along the line

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-lar ...

Waalwijk Waalwijk () is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of in and is located near the motorways A59 and N261. The villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang (the former municipality of Sprang-Capelle) and W ...

and the Bergsche Maas. That meant the line was vulnerable, and the enemy could go around the line to cross into Belgian soil. The Peel-Raam Line is, for most part, intact; particularly the northern part. The stretch between Griendtsveen and De Peel Air Base and the spot nearby

features several visible remains. The fortifications and the

in the municipalities of Deurne,

Venray Venray or Venraij (; li, Venroj) is a municipality and a city in Limburg, the Netherlands. The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as of July 2016. About 30,000 of those inhabitants live in the ...

and

Mill en Sint Hubert Mill en Sint Hubert () is a former municipality in the province of North Brabant, the Netherlands. Mill en Sint Hubert, Boxmeer, Cuijk, Grave, and Sint Anthonis merged into the new municipality of Land van Cuijk on 1 January 2022. Populati ...

are protected as national monuments. Image:Peelraamstelling.jpg, Casemate remains nearby Griendtsveen along the Defensiekanaal Image:Mill, bunker Peelraamstelling.JPG, Casemate near Mill Image:Mill Rijksmonument 509273 aspergeversperring op spoordijk oost van Defensiekanaal.JPG, Spargelobstruction near Mill (reconstructed as national monument). 10 May 1940, a German train crashed on this obstruction.

References

{{commons category-inline
articles on TracesOfWar.com
by Wilco Vermeer, copyright STIWOT
article on waroverholland.com
copyright Stichting de Greb / Stichting Kennispunt Mei 1940'' Military history of the Netherlands World War II defensive lines World War II sites in the Netherlands History of Limburg (Netherlands) History of North Brabant

See also

References