The main purpose of the wire was to guard the Belgian-Dutch border. Border patrol required so many soldiers who could be deployed elsewhere, that the German occupation authorities choose for this 'efficient solution'.
But new refugees kept coming and tried to cross the border. Their reasons to flee were diverse: some felt unsafe in their German occupied country, others wanted to join their relatives who had already fled, many also wanted to take part in the war and choose this detour to join the forces on the allied front.
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