World Battlefronts: BATTLE OF GERMANY (West): Dutch Squeeze

In 1629 Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, required four months to reduce the fortress of 's Hertogenbosch. Last week Lieut. General Sir Miles C. Dempsey's Second British Army did it in three days.

The town's name, which means "the Duke's wood." perpetuates the memory of the Duke of Brabant, who gave it a municipal charter in 1185. (The odd-looking prefix is the Dutch sign of the possessive case.) The land around 's Hertogenbosch is low-lying and swampy. The Maas is three miles away to the north.

Last week the Germans blew up bridges...