May 5 National Liberation Day. The day that the Netherlands commemorates and celebrates the liberation from the German yoke at the end of the Second World War. But not for the Texel residents. For them, the war only ends on May 20, 1945, when Canadians set foot ashore. The Canadian invasion ends 'The Russian War'; An uprising that leaves deep marks for many.
The Second World War seems to be passing by on Texel. Of course the inhabitants of Texel suffer under the German occupation, but bombardments or famine are foreign to the inhabitants of the island. Until that April 6 in 1945. A flare above Den Burg; the beginning of the Georgian Uprising (or “The Russian War”). Eight hundred Georgian prisoners of war rebel against the German occupier.
How the Georgians end up on Texel? Watch the following film clip:
Georgian prisoners of war included in the German army. They carry out the jobs for the German occupier with fresh reluctance. A hard life, but acceptable. Until they are told that they are being transported to Arnhem to take on the ever faster advancing Allies. “We decided it was better for us to fight to death on Texel,” said one of the surviving Georgians. And so it happened…
At the sight of the rocket, at the stroke of 1 a.m., the Georgians take action. With knives and bayonets they kill all German soldiers near them. "In all places where Germans and Georgians were housed together in fifteen minutes, and this was the case in almost all bunker positions, streams of blood flowed," writes J.A. van der Vlis in his Tragedy on Texel. A few of the four hundred German soldiers of the Georgian battalion survive the massacre. Not all insurgents adhere to the code not to make a sound. In some bunkers, the explosion of a hand grenade or the rattle of a machine gun can be heard. It alerts the Germans in other parts of the island. At the crack of dawn the first German reinforcements land from Den Helder. But the Georgian insurgents are not sitting still either. In Den Burg they put up placards on which they called on all Texel men to report to the Texla bunker complex and take up arms against the occupier. Of the two hundred reporters, half have military experience and receive a weapon.
Cover
What happens next is not entirely clear. While the Georgians celebrate their victory, the remaining Germans plot to crush the uprising. At 4.30 pm on April 6, all hell breaks loose in the streets of Den Burg. Thousands of shells explode. Dozens of citizens of Texel die. At the end of the day, Den Burg is again in the hands of the Germans. Under pressure from new German troops from Den Helder, the Georgians also had to give up Oudeschild the next day. The insurgents retreat to Polder Eierland after which they stop the advancing Germans in De Dennen. The next day the situation of the Georgians becomes more dire. The Germans are chasing the Georgians further and further into the Eierland.
A rescue plan should bring solace to the rebellious Georgians. Shortly after midnight on April 9, four Georgian soldiers and ten people from Texel venture into the rescue boat Joan Hodshon from the boathouse near the lighthouse. the crossing to England. While the boat runs aground on the coasts of England 24 hours later, the battle on Texel continues unabated. Although numerically in the majority, the Germans fail to annex Texel. With heavy artillery they bombarded the Eierland and Vlijt airport from the Ruigendijk. Many farms in Eierland burn to the ground. Fearing the many shelling, the residents of Cocksdorp leave their beloved hometown. The German attacks are successful; the Georgians have to give up De Koog.
Airport Diligence
The focus of the insurgents will now be on Vlijt airport. Convinced that the decisive battle will be struck there, the Germans gather in De Waal. They confiscate barns and houses and store their ammunition in them. In the early morning of April 12, the German guns roar. From the Ruigendijk, the Germans shelled with heavy artillery the farms along the Postweg to Zuid-Eierland and the bunkers of Vlijt airport. From polder Het Noorden they target the farms along the Hoofdweg. Soon a large part of Eierland is ablaze; the residents pack their bags and scatter in all directions. Although the number of Germans far exceeds the number of Georgians, the Germans do not succeed in taking Vlijt. At nightfall they feel compelled to withdraw to Ruigendijk.
At daybreak, the Germans made a new attempt to recapture Vlijt airfield on 13 April. After heavy shelling, the German infantry spring into action at 3 p.m. But the small group of Georgians bravely hold their ground. Sensing their end approaching, the insurgents decide to retreat to the dunes and around the lighthouse the following night, morning and days. The Georgians in Cocksdorp also hide in the dunes.
Battle for the lighthouse
The battlefield is moving. Around the Texel lighthouse; there the decisive blow will be struck. The Germans place a cordon of artillery pieces around the complex, fortified with minefields and barbed wire positions, around the lighthouse. About 110 Georgians are incarcerated. The final battle will start on Friday 20 April. At night, 36 Georgians still manage to sneak through the German cordon. They entrenched themselves in the Eierland dunes and split up into partisan groups. For two days the Germans and Georgians still fight at the lighthouse, which is having a hard time under the shelling. The situation of the Georgians is becoming increasingly hopeless. Lack of water, food, ammunition and exhaustion are an additional enemy.
On Sunday, April 22, the Georgians must surrender at the lighthouse. Germans take them to the yard of Buitenzorg farm. Held under fire by the Germans, dozens of Georgians are digging their own graves. Then they have to undress; after all, they are unworthy of the German uniform. Next comes the bullet.
Purge action
The suffering is not over yet. In the afternoon, the Germans start a purge, an undertaking that will last four days. The occupier moved south across the island in a long line from De Cocksdorp. Shooting anything that looks Georgian. Many Georgians hide in the dunes north of De Koog and around the Slufter. There they build a new minefield that will stop the Germans. Other Georgians are rescued by the Texel population, who hide them in cellars, cisterns and haystacks. Dangerous game as the Germans threaten to kill collaborators and set their houses on fire.
After four days, the Germans regained control of Texel, except for the area around De Koog and De Slufter. It is the beginning of an armed peace. Every now and then shelling takes place between the German occupier and the Georgian insurgents. Even after 5 May, the day that Germany surrenders, there are still regular firefights. Only when the Canadians set foot on Texel soil on 20 May will the Second World War be over for Texel and its residents.
Deep traces
The Russian war leaves deep traces. The more than five hundred bunkers and beaches and dunes strewn with bombs is the least bad. Of the eight hundred Georgians, 228 insurgents survive the battle on Texel. Many years later, the Soviet authorities rehabilitate the 822nd Georgian battalion. The number of cases of Germans is less clear. The liberators of Texel, the First Canadian Army Corps, speak of 2,347 fallen Germans; the Wehrmacht calls the number 420. In addition, 117 civilians are killed. Most of the farms in the Eierland polder are located in ash. Large parts of Den Burg have been transformed into ruins.
The inhabitants of Texel are divided about the Russian war. Sure, Texel has been liberated from the occupying forces. But many residents are still angry about what they see as hasty actions in Georgia. The islanders who commemorate the insurgents in the Cold War are having a hard time; they are taken for Communist…