The battle for Monday city

On 29 September 1944, the British 49thWest Riding Infantry Division advanced on Merksplas Colony. That place was marked on military maps as Dépôt de mendicité. The Polar Bears, so named because they had spent part of the war in Iceland, bastardised that French name into Monday city. They thought it was some kind of hospital.

Monday city was heavily fortified. Dozens of German soldiers entrenched themselves behind the rampart and moat surrounding the Colony. Yet the British decided not to use artillery. They wanted to spare the colony's 'patients'.

A corporal decided the battle

The Polar Bears' offensive soon ran aground on the stiff German defences. But with a bold move, Corporal John Harper made a breakthrough. Under murderous fire, he led a group of soldiers to the ring wall. The breach he made enabled a further advance.

Yet the battle continued for hours. Horrific scenes played out. A German soldier shot a Briton in the back. His comrades retaliated by beating the German to death with their rifle butts. Only when Allied tanks showed up, the battle was over. By late afternoon, the Colony had been captured.

The British and the Germans counted dozens of dead. Among them was John Harper. For his action, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the most important British military medal. In 2004, he was also given a monument on the Colony.

Tourist information

www.merksplas.be, www.kempen.be