On 16 December 1944, Hitler launched the Ardennes Offensive, aiming to recapture Antwerp and its vital harbours for the German forces. Several V2 launches failed, and by the end the Volkssanatorium (public health sanatorium) located in these forests was almost destroyed—barely a wall still stood.
A tragedy also occurred in the nearby village of Luttenberg on Monday 4 December 1944 when a V2 rocket landed in the vicinity of the village. Many residents went to investigate the crash site, but about 15 minutes after it had fallen, the bomb exploded—at the exact moment it was supposed to have detonated in Antwerp. The explosion killed nineteen civilians, ranging in age from seven to 70 years. A monument at the site still commemorates this tragedy.
On 16 December 1944, more V2s were launched towards Antwerp. One of them struck the large dome of Cinema Rex, where 1,200 people were watching a film, including many Allied soldiers. The explosion killed 567 people, destroyed the cinema, and injured over 200 more. An eternal flame and several photos on the building’s façade still memorialise this disaster today. The death toll of 567 remains the deadliest single impact caused by a conventional bomb. Only the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in more casualties.
Eventually, British fighter planes discovered and destroyed the V2 launch platform. The German forces then relocated and rebuilt their installation at Estate Mataram, along the Hessenweg in Dalfsen.