Battle for The Hague

Battle for The Hague
Part of the Battle of the Netherlands
German paratroopers above The Hague
Date 10 May 1940 Location The Hague, Netherlands 52°5′N 4°19′E / 52.083°N 4.317°E / 52.083; 4.317 Result Dutch victory Failure of the Fallschirmjäger to hold initial gains Successful Dutch counter-attacks lead to the failure of the German objective of capturing The Hague
Belligerents
Netherlands	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Henri Winkelman	Hans von Sponeck
Units involved
Royal Netherlands Army	22nd Air Landing Division
Strength
11,100 2 armoured car squadrons 4 bombers 1 destroyer	3,000
Casualties and losses
515 killed 1,000 wounded[1]	134–400 killed 700 wounded 1,745 captured 125 aircraft destroyed 47 aircraft damaged[2]

The Battle for The Hague (Dutch: Slag om Den Haag) took place on 10 May 1940 during the Battle of the Netherlands. German Fallschirmjäger units were dropped in and around The Hague to capture Dutch airfields and the city itself.

After securing a bridgehead, Nazi Germany had expected the Netherlands to surrender that day. The Germans, however, failed to achieve that objective since their forces had been unable to hold onto their initial gains. That is because the Dutch regrouped and then launched effective counter-attacks. Isolated pockets of German troops, led by Hans von Sponeck, retreated to the nearby dunes, where they were continually pursued and harassed for five days, when Henri Winkelman, the Dutch commander-in-chief, was forced to surrender by major setbacks on other fronts.^[3]