Jacometti, Johan, born on 01-09-1887 in Lumajang, Nederlands-Indië, was a Dutch Major who was killed in the Battle of the Grebbeberg. Jacometti had already a carrier in the KNIL, the Dutch Royal Indian Army and retired because of his age of 52, but volunteered in the Army again with the threatening of a war. As a Reserve Major he got the command of the II Battalion of the 8th Infantry Regiment (II-8 R.I.)
that served in the Mai days of 1940 near the Grebbeline,
the most important defence line close to Germany.
After the Germans, the SS 22th Panzer Division “Das Reich”
under Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser,
reached the Grebbeline on 12-05-1940, Jacometti organized a counter attack and leaded the attack personal. He thought that their were only little opponents and said to his men: we will whip them out and fight with the bare Klewang, a special Indian bayonet and approached with about forty men. This was a big mistake as their were much more SS’s soldiers as he was thinking of. Not good coordinated with the other Dutch companies too, Jacometty’s group landed under friendly fire and had to retreat. The opponents had no mercy with anyone and many SS soldiers were drunk during the attack. Crossing an empty field Jacometti was killed in this counter attack and his group left the battleground in a hurry. The Dutch Army (see About) had to surrender on Mai 14th and lost about a 2000 men. A period of five years of occupation had arrived for the Dutch civilians with at the end 200.000 victims.
Death and burial ground Jacometti, Johan Henri Azon.
Jacometti and all killed Dutch and German soldiers were buried on the war cemetery of the Grebbeberg. Johan Jacometti was posthumous awarded with the Bronze Lion. Later the German victims were transferred to the large German cemetery of Ysselstein, 32.000 graves, one is the first killed German General during Operation Market Garden, Generalmajor der Infanterie, Friedrich Kussin
, who was killed and scalped by the Britisch soldiers, near Oosterbeek. Another victim on the Grebbeline was the nephew of my mother, Jan Ackermans.

