[1][2] The province of Zeeland had received little attention from the Dutch government prior to the German invasion of the Low Countries in May 1940.

[3][4] In an attempt to raise morale amongst the Allies and to stem the tide of the German onslaught, several Dutch battalions—most notably the 14th Border Infantry Battalion—rapidly constructed defensive lines in Zeeland.

The first—the Bathline (named after the nearby medieval fortress of Bath)—was little more than a tank barrier, slightly reinforced with 12 concrete casements.

The Germans were awaiting reinforcements from other sectors of their occupied territory, the Dutch were improving their defenses and waiting for the arrival of a contingent of French troops.

During the day, the Dutch army in the south, which was in retreat after their defenses at the Peel-Raamline had been broken, reestablished their positions in the area of Bergen op Zoom.

The Allied ships in the port immediately opened fire on the German aircraft, as did Dutch and French AA guns.

Cranes, offloading systems, storage buildings and the office of the local ferry line were destroyed or damaged.

The German advance through North Brabant prevented the French from forming a firm and well prepared screen around Antwerp, on Dutch soil.

Moreover, the Belgian first defense line along the Albert Canal had also given in under the pressure of two tank divisions and overwhelming air assaults.

In the Bathline, which was the closest to North Brabant, the fourth day introduced the men to the rumbling sound of the ground war.

The sound of German heavy artillery that would eventually reach Moerdijk caused the men of the Bathline to realize that their future opponents were closing in on their position.

In the course of the day, panic broke out amongst the men when a rumor spread that German troops had reached the island and were heading for Vlissingen.

People suddenly saw light signals from houses and secret marks were read from laundry that was waving on drying-lines.

The bombers that had been active over Zeeland, were now raiding Dutch artillery and infantry positions in the south-front of "Fortress Holland".

Early in the morning the men of the SS Deutschland Regiment cautiously approached the Bathline; when they found the trenches and fox-holes empty, they hurried through.

The de facto capital on the island was a small town, also named Tholen, which had the only connection with the North Brabant mainland.

The Germans suffered heavy casualties, some men jumped into near-by pools of water to escape the shooting.

The Luftwaffe continued its morale-sapping presence, forcing considerable numbers of French soldiers to flee their positions along the canal.

The French feared the lack of precision of their own artillery, many company commanders ordered their units a few hundred meters back from their positions along the canal.

Soon afterward, the entire French occupation of the canal defensive area in the northern sector gave way, resulting in a desperate dash for safety.

At one location close to the Postbrug, a squad of French colonial soldiers held out, but a storm-troop was quickly organized and this position was soon abandoned.

The Dutch commander, as soon as his troops were attacked, gave orders to retreat, leaving the entire coastline open to the Germans.

Some mud flats on both sides of the 'dam' made it possible for light infantry to cross the Sloe, but it was a tricky business, some parts were very swampy and one could easily sink and drown.

The French artillery and the joint Allied navy units replied with a heavy barrage on the first German troops.

The assault stalled immediately and for the first time in the Zeeland campaign the Germans faltered and withdrew, leaving a considerable number of dead and wounded behind.

The Germans then launched a massive assault onto the French defenses, by the end of the day Walcheren lay open to the SS.

Van der Stad was repeatedly queried by his officers and the mayor of Middelburg about when the capitulation of Walcheren would be offered to the Germans.

Half an hour later, Lieutenant-Colonel Karel himself went to the road east of Middelburg along which German troops were heading southward.

He was transported to a hotel near Vlissingen, close to the sluices, where he officially informed SS-Standartenführer Steiner—commander of the SS Regiment—of the capitulation of the Dutch forces on Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland.

Noord-Beveland was officially not part of the armistice, but on the morning of the 18th a German officer was sent over under a flag of truce, he brought the news of the Dutch surrender elsewhere.