Noël Taillebois

In May 1940 French reconnaissance units (GRDI) arrived in Noord Brabant. The German advance forced the French to withdraw in the direction of Antwerp. Fierce fighting took place in the vicinity of Huibergen. For every meter of ground there is a fight to cover the retreat of the (French) columns on the route Bergen op Zoom to Antwerp. One report mentions the steadfast attitude of Taillebois, the machine gun gunner. When a comrade gives him the order to retreat, his answer was, “No, I’m in an excellent place here to mow them.” His comrades hear his machine-gun bursts for half an hour, but he does not show up again. To put an end to the resistance nests, the enemy bombarded the village with many 75mm and 105mm shells, even after the French had left for some time.