April 29-May 8, 1945 - Operations Manna & Chowhound drop tons of food (right) to alleviate starvation in the Netherlands. In late 1944 and early 1945, the people of the Netherlands faced starvation as food shipments were cut off by the Germans and a severe winter hammered the area. As starvation set in some relief arrived from neutral countries, however the situation remained dire in April. Approaching the Allies, the Dutch royal family asked for assistance in negotiating a truce to allow food to be air-dropped to its people. Initially skeptical, Pres. Franklin Roosevelt and PM Winston Churchill agreed to let Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower open talks with the German administration in the Netherlands. Meeting on April 28, no agreement was reached, however Eisenhower informed them that relief flights would start the next day. Organized by Air Commodore Andrew Geddes, Operation Manna began April 29 and saw the RAF's bombers dropping food at prearranged sites. A truce was agreed upon on April 30, and the next day American bombers began Operation Chowhound. Flying until the German surrender on May 8, the British and American planes delivered around 11,000 tons of food to the starving Dutch.
Photograph Courtesy of the US Air Force
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