Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Rotterdam

Battle of Rotterdam was a battle fought on 10 May 1940 at Rotterdam, in what is now Netherlands; it lasted 4 days. It was part of liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation, which ran from 1944 to 1945. The recorded result: German victory.

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For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Rotterdam, Brennender Flughafen Holland
For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Rotterdam, Brennender Flughafen Holland. UnknownUnknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought10 May 1940lasted 4 days
WhereRotterdam, Netherlands51.931N, 4.479E
OutcomeGerman victory
BelligerentsNetherlands; United KingdomagainstNazi Germany
Part ofliberation of the Netherlands from German occupation1944 to 1945

Record

Date10 May 1940
to 14 May 1940
PlaceRotterdam, Netherlands
51.931N, 4.479E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength7,000 soldiers; 12 artillery pieces; 6 anti-tank guns; 2 armoured cars; 1 gunboat; 1 motor torpedo boat; 1 demolition team UK1,000 soldiers; 12 float planes
Casualties and losses185 killed; 1 armoured car damaged; 3 aircraft destroyed; 1 motor torpedo boat damaged123 killed; 5 aircraft destroyed
Commanders
  • P. W. Scharroo
  • Clifford Brazier
Battle of RotterdamBattle of Rotterdamallied bombing of RotterdamRotterdam BlitzBattle of VlaardingenBattle of DelftBombing of the Bezuidenhoutallied bombing of RotterdamBattle of VlaardingenBombing of the BezuidenhoutAmsterdamBrusselsCologneAntwerpenDüsseldorfHaarlemBruggeEssen100 km51.931N, 4.479E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1940 and 1943.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1940

Battle of Rotterdam is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 277 in present-day Netherlands.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q3532325, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Rotterdam, revision 1370587708, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.