Operation Chowhound: Famine relief for occupied Holland, May 1 through 7, 1945
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Food rations are gathered at
Schiphol Airfield, May 2, 1945. |
May 1, 1945 Nearly four hundred B-17 bombers of the 8th United States Army Airforce take off from their bases in Great Britain. This time they are not carrying a load that means death and destruction for Nazi Germany. This time they are carrying a load that will bring hope and salvation to the starving population of Nazi occupied western Holland. After the Allied operation Market Garden, intended to capture the Rhine bridge at Arnhem, had stalled, leaving parts of Holland still in German hands, the food situation for the Dutch became increasingly critical. What little transport and food was available was reserved mainly for the occupying German troops.
Hard to imagine now perhaps, in our days of abundance, but the winter of 1944-1945, meant famine for the citizens of western Holland, causing thousands to die of starvation. The Allied commanders realized that something had to be done. In January '45, the Germans allowed food to arrive from neutral Sweden by ship, but it was not nearly enough. So a truce was negotiated with the German commanders, for food to be delivered by air. The British Royal Airforce carried out the first mission of what they called Operation Manna, by April 29. America flew the first mission of what was called Operation Chowhound, on the first of May.
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Click on the picture to
see the contents of
a 10-in-1 ration. |
For the young crews of the bombers it was a radical change from the dangerous, flak ridden, high altitude bombing missions they had carried out so far. These food dropping missions had them fly so low and slow, the crowds gathered around the dropzones could see them wave. The food dropped by the Americans consisted of U.S. Army 10-in-1 rations. Sturdy boxes designed to feed 10 soldiers for one day. And though many a GI may have been 'fed up' with eating such rations day after day in the lines, for the hungry Dutch it was like manna from heaven. For many it must have been a first encounter with American foodstuffs like candy bars, soluble coffee, American bacon, cereals, chewing gum and American cigarettes, still highly prized at the time. After the German surrender on May 5, 1945, food was brought in, in much greater quantities, by trucks and ships. But those bomber crews will never be forgotten for their spectacular delivery of life saving food, those memorable days in May 1945.
For more information on the terrible plight of the Dutch people in the Hungerwinter of 1944-45, Operations Manna and Chowhound, and how these came about, please see: http://operationmanna.secondworldwar.nl/index.html.
