7th and 79th Armored Division, Sint Joost, Netherlands - World War II Sites on Waymarking.com

The Battle for the Dutch village of Sint Joost was a turning point in Operation Blackcock. After four days of fighting, the Germans were well aware that the armoured division that was facing them relied heavily on the roads to manoeuvre their vehicles, especially due to poor winter conditions. The small village of Sint Joost was on the route of the 7th Armoured Division’s drive north towards Montfort.

On 20 January, in cold and misty weather, infantry and cavalry units of the Desert Rats launched a first attack on the (assumed) two German companies of the 2nd Battalion Fallschirmjäger Regiment Hübner in Sint Joost. It would take four attacks to clear the village, the final assault taking place on Sunday, 21 January.


Soldier firing on German positions during 12th Corp's offensive north of Sittard, 16 January 1945
In total, sixty Fallschirmjäger were taken prisoner. The 9th Durham Light Infantry and 1st Rifle Brigade had suffered heavy losses in Sint Joost. The DLI suffered 33 casualties, of which eight were killed in action. The Rifle Brigade counted 34 casualties, of which three men from I Company were killed in action. More than one hundred German soldiers died, most of them lying in the houses. Those paratroopers who were not killed only dared to leave the cellars under safe cover of the civilians, afraid that they would be shot by the victors. Hübner had lost one company and a second had been nearly destroyed

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