Battle of Overloon The Battle of Overloon was a Second World War battle between Allied forces and the German army which took place in and around the village of Overloon in the south - east of the Netherlands between 30 September and 18 October 1944 . The battle , which resulted in an Allied victory , ensued after the Allies launched " Operation Aintree " . The Allies went on to liberate the town of Venray . Background . In September 1944 , the Allies had launched Operation Market Garden , a major offensive from the Dutch - Belgian border across the south of the Netherlands through Eindhoven and Nijmegen toward the Rhine bridge at Arnhem , with the goal of crossing the Rhine and bypassing the Siegfried Line in preparation for the final drive toward Berlin . Allied airborne forces were defeated at the Rhine bridge in Arnhem and the advance stopped south of the Lower Rhine , resulting in a narrow salient that ran from the north of Belgium across the south - east of the Netherlands . German forces attacked this salient from a bridgehead west of the bend in the river Meuse ( known as " Maas " in Dutch and German ) near the city of Venlo . The bridgehead was established by retreating German forces who were reinforced with troops arriving from nearby Germany by crossing the Meuse in Venlo . The western edge of this bridgehead ran through the Peel , a region with bogs and several canals blocking an Allied advance . The Allies decided to attack the bridgehead from the north , and this meant they had to capture Overloon and Venray , which were on the road toward Venlo . " Operation Aintree " ( named after Aintree racecourse ) had the goal of securing the narrow salient the Allies had established between Eindhoven and Nijmegen during " Operation Market Garden " and destroying the German bridgehead west of the Meuse , in preparation for the eventual Allied advance into the nearby German Rhineland . Battle . The battle of Overloon ensued as the Allies in " Operation Aintree " advanced from nearby positions south toward the village of Overloon . After a failed attack on Overloon by the U . S . 7th Armored Division , the British 3rd Infantry Division and the British 11th Armoured Division took over . Suffering heavy losses the Allies captured Overloon and moved towards Venray . The advance on Venray resulted in heavy losses , especially around the Loobeek creek , which was swollen due to heavy autumn rains and was flooded and mined by the Germans . Casualties were heavy here among the First Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment . During the battle , the village of Overloon was destroyed . In and around Overloon , some 2 , 500 soldiers died , making it one of the bloodiest battles in the Netherlands during the Second World War . It was also the only major tank battle ever fought on Dutch soil . Dozens of tanks , mainly British , were destroyed . Aftermath . Despite the fact that both Overloon and eventually Venray were taken by the Allies , the advance toward the bend of the Meuse near Venlo was postponed . This was due to the number of casualties the Allies had sustained and because troops were needed to secure more essential targets : the Scheldt estuary , leading to the vital port of Antwerp and the west of the province of North Brabant , in between Antwerp and the salient that had been established . The offensive was eventually resumed , and by early December the German bridgehead west of the Meuse was destroyed . Remembrance . The battle of Overloon has become known as the second battle of Caen due to its ferocity and also as the forgotten battle , because like the other engagements in the Peel area it is not well known in much of the Netherlands . The tanks and other armoured vehicles which were left on the battlefield have been preserved and in Overloon a museum , which opened in 1946 , was erected to commemorate the battle . Today , two museums occupy the original museum grounds , which have been renamed Liberty Park . The National War and Resistance Museum of the Netherlands focuses on the Dutch experience of war and German occupation between 1940 and 1945 . The Marshall Museum holds a collection of armoured vehicles , weaponry and aircraft from the Second World War , much of it left on the Overloon battlefield , and focuses on the battle of Overloon and other military aspects of the Second World War . Two memorials have been erected on the battle site . On the banks of the Loobeek creek , where it is crossed by the road between Overloon and Venray , stands the Norfolk monument , dedicated to the First Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment . The liberation of Venray is one of their battle honour s . There is also another memorial in the museum grounds of Liberty Park . ( see below ) . The text of the memorial : Dutch : " STA EEN OGENBLIK STIL bezoeker en bedenk dat de grond waarop gij nu vertoeft eens een van de felst omstreden sectoren was van het slagveld Overloon . Bitter is hier gevochten in man tegen man gevechten . Vele jonge levens ontkomen aan de slagvelden van Nettuno en Normandië vonden onder deze bomen hun einde . " English translation : " TAKE PAUSE FOR A MOMENT visitor , and consider that the ground you are now on was once one of the most fiercely contested sectors of the Overloon battlefield . Bitter hand - to - hand combat ensued here . Many young lives , having escaped from the battlefields of Nettuno and Normandy , met their ends under these trees . "