Luisterplek 219 - Thorn in de frontlinie

This listening spot is part of the Liberation Route. This is a remembrance route along the most important regions of the Allied advance during the Second World War. Here you will learn more about the liberation of Thorn. This place was liberated between September and mid-November by Belgian and Luxembourg soldiers, the so-called Brigade Piron. This brigade of 1,400 men had a front defense of about 20 kilometers wide in Central Limburg. Normally, many more soldiers, about ten times that amount, are deployed for such a front line. The German troops built reinforcements along the nearby Wessem-Nederweert canal and made Limburg forced laborers work for them. The Brigade Piron could hardly cope with this. The liberation of Thorn put this town on the front line. It was so dangerous that almost all residents had to be evacuated. Finally, in November the British managed to eliminate the German soldiers in this area for good.