Last Days of WW2


7 days from £999pp

About the tour: Last Days of WW2


Tour Introduction

Eighty years ago, the campaign in the North West of Europe came to an end, as units of the British and Commonwealth forces fought their final battles from the Netherlands onto German soil. In this fascinating tour, we look at some of these forgotten battlefields of 1945, visit the British war cemeteries in western Germany, and discuss how the discovery of Nazi crimes at places like Bergen-Belsen led to our understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust.

Tour Includes


  • 6 nights hotel with continental breakfast
  • Specialist Battlefield Guide
  • Convenient local joining points
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(Deposits from £50pp)

Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -

  1. Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
  2. Send payments via online banking.
  3. Send payments via cheque.
  4. Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.

Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.

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Tour Itinerary

Day 1

Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to Holland for a two-night stay.

Day 2 - Hertogenbosch to Liberation

Our tour begins in the Hertogenbosch area, looking at the battle that took place here in the autumn of 1944, following Operation Market Garden. We follow the story of the 53rd (Welsh) Division troops who captured the town.

We then discuss the static nature of warfare in the Netherlands in the winter of 1944/45, and move up to the area north of Arnhem where the Canadians fought in 1945. Here, visit Canadian memorials, the Canadian War Cemetery and its visitor centre at Holten, and look at where the Canadian fighting was at its most fierce in April 1945, which led to the liberation of the Netherlands the following month.

We also take time to visit the Memory Freedom Museum at Nijverdal, established to perpetuate the memory of the Second World War.

Included meals: Breakfast

Holten Canadian War Cemetery

Holten Canadian War Cemetery (2)

Key Visits

  • Holten Canadian War Cemetery
  • Hertogenbosch Battlefield
  • Memory Freedom Museum

Day 3 - The Battles of 1945

We depart the Netherlands and travel into Germany, following the advance of men from the 21st Army Group and the British 30 Corps as they took the war onto German soil. We see the battlefields around the Ems Canal, following the advance of British tanks in 1945 and the fighting at Lingen.

The day ends at Sage War Cemetery, where some of the earliest British casualties of WW2 lay alongside the dead from the final weeks of the war.

We then continue to our hotel in Bremen for a two-night stay.

Included meals: Breakfast

Sage War Cemetery

Sage War Cemetery (2)

Key Visits

  • Sage War Cemetery
  • Ems Canal Battlefield
  • Lingen Battlefield

Day 4 - Becklingen War Cemetery & German Panzer Museum

Today, we look at the end of the war in Germany in May 1945, visiting the large Becklingen War Cemetery where some of the final casualties of the conflict in the West are buried; among them, Edward Charlton VC of the Irish Guards. He was the last Victoria Cross of the war in Europe.

We then visit the German Panzer Museum at Munster, a world-renowned museum with a major collection of tanks and armour from WW1 to modern times.

Later, we visit Lüneburg Heath and see where Bernard Montgomery took the surrender of German forces in May 1945, visiting the memorial.

Included meals: Breakfast

German Panzer Museum

German Panzer Museum (4)

Key Visits

  • German Panzer Museum
  • Lüneburg Heath
  • Becklingen War Cemetery

Day 5 - Bergen-Belsen & Hannover

This morning, we visit Bergen-Belsen. A former Prisoner of War Camp, it became a Concentration Camp and work camp, and was the first one reached by British troops in 1945. For many veterans, it was a defining moment of the war where they understood what it was they had been fighting for.

We see the Visitor’s Centre, walk the site of the camp, and see the memorial to Anne Frank who is one of the most-known victims of the Holocaust, having been the voice for so many who died under Nazi tyranny.

Later, we visit Celle War Cemetery to see the graves of the men who fell in this area in 1945. Then, at Hannover, we discuss the air war over Germany in 1945, visiting the impressive Hannover War Cemetery where the men of Bomber Command are buried.

We then continue to our hotel in the Hannover area for an overnight stay.

Included meals: Breakfast

Bergen_Belsen-BELSEN

Bergen-Belsen (2)

Key Visits

  • Bergen-Belsen
  • Hannover War Cemetery
  • Celle War Cemetery

Day 6 - Munster Heath & Reichswald Forest

We travel across the ground where British forces advanced in 1945 and visit Munster Heath War Cemetery. Set in a wooded area, we find some of the final casualties from the fighting in this area in the last days of the Second World War.

We then continue to the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, the largest British and Commonwealth Second World War Cemetery in Europe with over 7,500 graves.

Later, we look at the Battle for Arnhem in 1945, seeing the Arnhem War Museum which tells the story of the whole war in the city.

We then continue to the Arnhem area for an overnight stay.

Included meals: Breakfast

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery (2)

Key Visits

  • Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
  • Munster Heath War Cemetery
  • Arnhem War Museum

Day 7

Return home.

Included meals: Breakfast

Specialist Battlefield Guides

All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.

Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.

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Hotel

You will stay for two nights at the Van der Valk Zaltbommel, two nights at the Dorint City Hotel Bremen, one night at the Wyndham Hannover Atrium, and one night at the Hotel WICC, Wageningen near Arnhem.

Wyndham Hannover Atrium

Wyndham Hannover Atrium

About the hotel

Featuring contemporary architecture and interiors, plus a dramatic, light-filled atrium, this 4-star hotel sits on the edge of the peaceful Eilenriede Forest in Hannover. Expect comfortable bedrooms and a bright and airy restaurant.

Hotel Features

  • Bar
  • Bureau de Change
  • English Speaking Staff
  • Lift
  • Restaurant
  • WiFi Available

Room Features

  • Bath and/or Shower
  • Hairdryer
  • Telephone
  • TV

Travel Options

All our coaches and transfer vehicles operate a 'no smoking on board policy'. The use of electronic cigarettes is strictly forbidden.
In the interest of fellow guests, do not take hot food or ice cream on board.
alcohol can only be taken on board our vehicles at the discretion of your driver.

When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.

Silver Service Coach

Silver Service, refreshments
Silver Service, lounge
Silver Service, entertainment

Silver Service Features

  • Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
  • Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
  • Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
  • Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
  • Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
  • Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
  • With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
  • Onboard toilet

Silver Service Seating Plan

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Travel Extras

With an overnight stay, a Door-to-Door pick up or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...

Join coach at Interchange

Join your tour coach at the interchange.

On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.

Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.

Door-to-Door service

On Battlefield tours of 7 days’ duration or more, you don’t even have to think about getting to your local joining point. Our Door-to-Door Service collects you from your home and takes you to meet your transfer vehicile, then brings you back at the end of the holiday. Door-to-Door Service is available within a 20-mile radius of one of our free joining points and is from £90 per car, return (up to 4 passengers per vehicle).

If you live a little further afield, you can also take advantage of this convenient option for an additional charge – please enquire at the time of booking.

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