During the night, one of the Shermans on the left managed to become unstuck, and the tank moved to the knocked out tank to prevent it from being used by the Germans as a bunker. The Sherman remained in position without infantry support all night, firing on Germans attempting to enter the knocked out tank. No other activity took place until first light on the 31st. Fresh tank crews replaced those in the vehicles and covered the Argylls, who managed this time to move the few hundred yards to link up with the L&W at 0800.
It had been easy; the Germans had finally evacuated the garrison during the night. A handful of prisoners were all that was left, in addition to the odd mortar bomb lobbed from across the Maas. The German withdrawal had probably been precipitated not by a change of heart by Student. On the 29th, he had passed command of Army Group "H" to General Johannes Blaskowitz. The commander at Kapelsche Veer, who had complained that Student would not give authority to withdraw, evidently obtained that permission from Blaskowitz.8
