A50 motorway (Netherlands)
Encyclopedia
The A50 is a highway in the Netherlands
, running from Eindhoven in the southeast up to Zwolle
in the northeast of the country.
It passes the cities of Eindhoven, close to (15 km) Den Bosch, Nijmegen, Arnhem
, Apeldoorn
and Zwolle
.
During the Second World War the Highway was known as Highway 69. Since 1969 it is known as N69, and now remains so named only between the border of Noord-Brabant province and the E34 Freeway.
The highway was an important and only avenue of advance during Operation Market Garden
, and after the fighting along its length between Allied
and Wehrmacht
forces it was named "Hell's Highway" so named because of the effective artillery fire directed at it by the German forces in the area. During the fighting some 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of the highway south of Eindhoven was jammed with wrecks of vehicls being attacked by up to 200 Luftwaffe
bombers requiring bulldozers and blade-equipped tanks to roam the length, pushing them off the surface to keep traffic moving. The wrecks on the soft shoulders of the highway prevented its use by other vehicles, in effect converting the highway into a narrow corridor, and slowing the movement on it to a crawl for the Allied drivers.
The fighting along N69 is depicted in a recent computer game Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, running from Eindhoven in the southeast up to Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
in the northeast of the country.
It passes the cities of Eindhoven, close to (15 km) Den Bosch, Nijmegen, Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
and Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
.
During the Second World War the Highway was known as Highway 69. Since 1969 it is known as N69, and now remains so named only between the border of Noord-Brabant province and the E34 Freeway.
The highway was an important and only avenue of advance during Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
, and after the fighting along its length between Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
and Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
forces it was named "Hell's Highway" so named because of the effective artillery fire directed at it by the German forces in the area. During the fighting some 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of the highway south of Eindhoven was jammed with wrecks of vehicls being attacked by up to 200 Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombers requiring bulldozers and blade-equipped tanks to roam the length, pushing them off the surface to keep traffic moving. The wrecks on the soft shoulders of the highway prevented its use by other vehicles, in effect converting the highway into a narrow corridor, and slowing the movement on it to a crawl for the Allied drivers.
The fighting along N69 is depicted in a recent computer game Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
On September 15, 2008, Ubisoft and Gearbox Software announced that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game had gone gold. The Windows version went gold two days later. Playable demos on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace are available now....
.
See also
- List of motorways in the Netherlands