#Thread I got sent this picture yesterday, that contains so much false information or simply misunderstanding that I wanted to do a thread on it, before anyone takes this to serious. I will break it down, claim by claim for those interested. 1/

1. The claim that the 'Landstorm Nederland' first fought the British at Arnhem is false. Their first contact with the British was near Hasselt in Belgium, in early september 1944. Here they fought against the Guards Armoured Division and lost most of its deployed battalion. 2/

2. The claim that they fought at Arnhem is true, be it only the 3rd battalion. And there they only arrived on the 21st of September and were held in reserve at first. Their first attack was near Elst, against the Polish. The Polish held them off and many deserted. 3/

3. The full scale division claim is as false as it can be. Whilst they were upgraded on paper to a full division, they never reached more then 3400 men. And that number includes a battalion (Wachbataillon Nordwest) of concentration camps guards with no combat effectiveness. 4/

4. Claims of 'almost exclusive Dutch' is a stretch, as almost any rank of NCO and higher were fullfiled by Germans. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 84, part of Landstorm, also had a rather high percentage of Ukrainians in their ranks. 5/

5. The claim about fits and little succes is misleading. Landstorm Nederland held a rather quite part of the frontline, with the Allies simply moving around it. Landstorm Nederland's most succesfull action was a attack on a outpost at Zetten. Defensive actions in feb. '45 saw 6/

the loss of quite some men. Morale and discipline was at a all time low, with some troops even trying to organize a mutiny and wanting to shoot the officers. Regimental command found out and shot the 4 mutineers. 7/

6. A rather unsupported claim. In postwar court hearings, many of its 'volunteers' told their reasons. So why Landstorm Nederland over Waffen-SS? Simply: Landstorm Nederland was a territorial unit, so its members were sure that they would not be posted on the Eastern Front. 8/

Also, there was a lot of pressure from the Dutch nazi party, as a large unit would make the German Nazis happy but would ensure the Dutch Nazi party still had influence on it. So they pressed many adolescents of their Youth-Storm into the Landstorm. 9/

7. Members of 'Landstorm Nederland' were less convinced about ideology. They were in it because the Landstorm made sure you got a good salary, more food and not on the Eastern Front at the end of the war. It was one of the few jobs easily availble for National Socialist men. 10/

8. Dedication claims are false. Pretty much the only thing the 'division' was dedicated to was looting and terrorising its own civilians. Ofcourse in may 1945 the unit fought more desperate, as the days of reckoning came closer. They finally surrendered on the 10th of may. / end