On 8 April 1945, having arrived in Coevorden, Belgian SAS scouts immediately started reconnaissance in the direction of Hoogeveen and Emmen. While doing so, they came across the bridge over the Verlengde Hoogeveense Vaart, just south of Oosterhesselen, which was still intact. The patrol, led by Belgian Sergeant Jacques Krolikowski, moved cautiously towards the bridge, but was ambushed. They reported this to headquarters and a mortar section was ordered to fire upon and drive out the German defenders, who had settled about a kilometre from the bridge.

Arriving in Coevorden, the first Polish troops heard that the Oosterhesseler bridge was still intact and a made a plan for the next day. However, the big question was whether the bridge had sufficient carrying capacity for their 30-tonne Sherman tanks. The commander of the Internal Armed Forces from Coevorden, Piet Tijsma, was asked for advice. He brought an engineer from the Department of Public Works, who suggested reinforcing the bridge with tram rails once it was captured. Polish captain Charles Radino accepted this plan: he arranged to load a flatcar and ordered a locomotive of the Eerste Drentsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij (EDS), the First Drenthe Steam Tramway Company, to be prepared for the next day. However, the German troops did not linger and they partially blew up the bridge.

The next morning, 9 April 1945, Krolikowski was ordered to conduct another reconnaissance of the Oosterhesseler bridge and occupy it if possible. Jeeps drove to a farm about five hundred metres from the bridge. As the terrain offered insufficient protection for vehicles, the Belgian troops continued on foot. Under fire from German machine guns, they reached a forest wall three hundred metres from the bridge. At 10.30, the newly arrived Polish troops came to support them with armoured vehicles and fired with everything they had. This had dire consequences for the surrounding area: five farms and houses caught fire.

The German defenders abandoned their positions and with a storm attack the Polish forces captured the Oosterhesseler bridge. The Belgian forces immediately crossed the bridge, which remained almost undamaged, and took up positions to defend it. Polish engineers arrived with the EDS tram convoy and in an hour and a half the bridge was reinforced. A Belgian jeep section advanced across the captured bridge to Oosterhesselen and occupied the village. Three jeeps and a motorbike continued a reconnaissance towards Emmen, and that evening the first Polish Sherman tank drove over the bridge. Polish engineer troops reinforced the bridge with an emergency bridge the next day. On 10 April, the advance of the 1st Polish Armoured Division to the north began. A large stream of tanks, small armoured vehicles, trucks and jeeps moved north across the bridge.

Belgians under Polish command

By the evening of 9 April, several elements of the 1st Polish Armoured Division had arrived in Coevorden. The Polish forces, led by Lieutenant Colonel Zgorzelski, took over the tasks of the Belgian SAS unit. The latter was placed under the command of Polish General Maczek. The Belgian troops became 'the eyes and ears' of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. They made a name for themselves with their action at the Oosterhessel Bridge, which meant a tremendous gain in time for Maczek's division.