German paratroopers
On Sunday 1 October 1944, the 1st Polish Armoured Division of Major General Stanisław Maczek advanced from Mewrksplas towards the Belgian-Dutch border. In Zondereigen they encountered heavy resistance, especially from the German paratroopers under veteran Captain Rolf Mager, commander of the 2nd Battalion of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6. The attack on the village began early in the morning and around noon the first soldiers of the 9th Infantry Battalion reached the church in the village centre. However, it took another half day to drive out the German forces and the village was not liberated until 18:30.

This was just the beginning of an extremely bloody battle. The next morning, Polish soldiers sighted a herd of cows approaching in the morning mist, but they didn't understand what this could mean! Suddenly, they discovered German soldiers sneaking towards them, in amongst the cattle. The attack was stopped at the last minute. The next two German counterattacks were also repelled, albeit with great difficulty. When peace was restored, the Polish spoke of an enemy who had fought ‘admirably’, praise that the Polish rarely expressed about the much-hated occupier of their homeland.