1.
Western Front (World War II)
–
The Western Front of the European theatre of World War II encompassed Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. World War II military engagements in Southern Europe and elsewhere are generally considered under separate headings, the Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The second phase consisted of ground combat, which began in June 1944 with the Allied landings in Normandy. The Phoney War was a phase of World War II marked by a few military operations in Continental Europe in the months following the German invasion of Poland. Although the great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, neither side had yet committed to launching a significant attack and this was also the period in which The United Kingdom and France did not supply significant aid to Poland, despite their pledged alliance. While most of the German Army was fighting against Poland, a much smaller German force manned the Siegfried Line, there were only some local, minor skirmishes. The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while Western Europe was in a strange calm for seven months. In their hurry to re-arm, Britain and France had both begun to buy large numbers of weapons manufacturers in the United States at the outbreak of hostilities. The non-belligerent United States, contributed to the Western Allies by discounted sales of military equipment, German efforts to interdict the Allies trans-Atlantic trade at sea ignited the Battle of the Atlantic. However, when the Allies made a counter-landing in Norway following the German invasion, the Kriegsmarine, nonetheless, suffered very heavy losses during the two-months of fighting required to seize all of mainland Norway. In May 1940, the Germans launched the Battle of France, the Western Allies soon collapsed under the onslaught of the so-called blitzkrieg strategy. The majority of the British and elements of the French forces escaped at Dunkirk, with the fighting ended, the Germans began to consider ways of resolving the question of how to deal with Britain. If the British refused to agree to a treaty, one option was to invade. However, Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine, had suffered losses in Norway. With the Luftwaffe unable to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain and these were built in anticipation of an Allied invasion of France. Because of the massive logistical obstacles a cross-channel invasion would face, on 19 August 1942, the Allies began the Dieppe Raid, an attack on Dieppe, France. Most of the troops were Canadian, with some British contingents, the raid was a disaster, almost two-thirds of the attacking force became casualties. However, much was learned as a result of the operation – these lessons would be put to use in the subsequent invasion
2.
Belgium
–
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
3.
Canada
–
Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
4.
Nazi Germany
–
Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
5.
Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine
–
The Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine was a phase in the Western European Campaign of World War II. This roughly corresponds with the official United States military European Theater of Operations Rhineland, German forces had been routed during the Allied break-out from Normandy. The Allies advanced rapidly against an enemy that put up little resistance, but after the liberation of Paris in late August 1944, the Allies paused to re-group and organise before continuing their advance from Paris to the River Rhine. The pause allowed the Germans to solidify their lines—something they had been unable to do west of Paris, while Montgomery and Bradley each favored relatively direct thrusts into Germany, General Eisenhower disagreed. The rapid advance through France had caused considerable logistical strain, made worse by the lack of any major port other than the relatively distant Cherbourg in western France. Although Antwerp was seen as the key to solving the Allied logistics problems, as the campaign progressed, all the belligerents, Allied as well as German, felt the effects of the lack of suitable replacements for front-line troops. There were two major obstacles to the Allies. The first was the natural barriers made by the rivers of eastern France, the second was the Siegfried Line, which fell under the command, along with all Wehrmacht forces in the west, of Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt. Although the breakout from Normandy had taken longer than planned, the advances until September had far exceeded expectations, Bradley, for example, by September had four more divisions than planned and all of his forces were 150 miles ahead of their expected position. One effect was that insufficient supplies could be delivered to the fronts to maintain the advance. Much war material still had to be brought ashore across the invasion beaches, the availability of Cherbourg had been valuable until the breakout, but then the shortage of transport to carry supplies to the rapidly advancing armies became the limiting factor. Although fuel was pumped from Britain to Normandy via the Pluto pipeline, this still had to reach the fronts. The railways had been destroyed by Allied attacks and would take much effort to repair. In an attempt to address this shortage of transport, three newly arrived U. S. infantry divisions—the 26th, 95th, and 104th—were stripped of their trucks in order to haul supplies. Advancing divisions of the U. S. 12th Army Group left all their artillery and half their medium artillery west of the Seine. Four British truck companies were loaned to the Americans, unfortunately,1,500 other British trucks were found to have critical engine faults and were unusable, limiting assistance from that quarter. The Red Ball Express was an attempt to expedite deliveries by truck, the 6th Army Group advancing from southern France were supplied adequately from Toulon and Marseille because it had captured ports intact and the local railway system was less damaged. This source supplied about 25% of the Allied needs, the U. S. supply organization—Communications Zone —is perceived to have failed to expedite solutions and to have been far too bureaucratic, employing 11,000 staff
6.
Operation Astonia
–
Operation Astonia was the codename for the Allied effort to capture the German-held Channel port of Le Havre, France, during World War II. Fought from 10–12 September 1944, its objective was to secure the citys harbor facilities intact to aid the Allied supply system on the Continental Europe. However, due to damage the port was not ready for use until mid October 1944. The attack was carried out by the British 49th Infantry Division, after a substantial softening up Royal Navy bombardment ships and heavy raids by the Royal Air Force the city fell within three days of the first infantry assault. On D-Day,6 June 1944, Allied troops landed at beaches in the Normandy area of the north coast of France in Operation Overlord to begin the liberation of France. Plans for the required four ports on the French coast to be captured to allow Allied forces to be reinforced and supplied, Le Havre, Dieppe, Calais. Dieppe was evacuated by the Germans and occupied by the 2nd Canadian Division on 1 September 1944. Considered one of the strongest fortifications in the Atlantic Wall, Le Havre was also aided by strong natural defences that included bodies of water preventing access from the south, plans called for a massive naval and air bombardment to soften up the fortifications. Two Royal Navy vessels, the battleship HMS Warspite and the monitor HMS Erebus, in addition, aircraft of the Royal Air Force dropped 8,200 long tons of high explosive bombs on the city between September 5 and September 7. The attack plan was to penetrate the German defences to allow forces to attack, then further these gains. The 49th Infantry Division penetrated the north-eastern section of the Le Havre perimeter first, the assault was costly for the specialised armour, however, with the 79th Armoured Division losing 34 Crab anti-mine flail tanks, two command tanks and 6 AVRE vehicles. While there had been few military casualties during Le Havres successful capture, civilian loss was also high, but had been avoidable. Faced with the Allied policy of surrender, Colonel Wildermuth had been ordered by Hitler to defend Fortress Le Havre to the last man. Recognizing an indiscriminate pre-assault aerial bombardment would kill many innocent Frenchmen he appealed to British humanity, loss of French life was extensive, with some 2,000 dead to 19 Germans lost during the air campaign alone. The Canadians in Northwest Europe, 1944-1945, churchills Secret Weapons, The Story of Hobarts Funnies. The Polar Bears, Montys Left Flank, From Normandy to the Relief of Holland with the 49th Division, ellis, Major L. F. Butler, Sir James, ed. Victory in the West, Volume II, The Defeat of Germany, history of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK, Naval & Military Press, a photographic record of the storm of iron & fire, Le Havre 1944
7.
Operation Undergo
–
Operation Undergo was the 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions operation to take the fortified French port of Calais in September 1944. A subsidiary operation was executed to silence and capture the batteries at Cap Gris Nez. The operation was part of the Allied effort to capture the Channel ports, in the event, although the city had been declared a fortress, when pressed, its second-rate garrison needed little persuasion to surrender. This reluctance to fight to the end was repeated at Cap Gris Nez, the 7th and 8th Canadian Infantry Brigades started the main attack from the south west of Calais and cleared the outer defences on the citys southern and western sides. The 8th Brigade were then transferred to the side and the inner defensive lines were attacked from both sides. The Germans called for a truce which, after some misunderstanding, in the meantime, the 9th Brigade took the heavy batteries on Cap Gris Nez. Across northern France, the German army was in retreat after their military disaster at Falaise. There were no reserve defences to fall back on, as Hitler had forbidden their construction, most of them had been designated as Fortresses, to be fortified and held by their garrisons for as long as was possible. The garrison troops, however, were not first class, morale of the isolated troops was low, they were susceptible to Allied propaganda, many were Volksdeutsche, and Hiwis. A. Gunners showed any sign of good morale-and were also the only element of the whole garrison. On the other hand, after his capture Schroeder was assessed by his interrogators as a mediocre and accidental leader, the French coast goes northwards from Boulogne and turns sharply at Cap Gris Nez to a line roughly south to north-east. This alignment continues to beyond the Belgian border, there are no large natural harbours, but important docks have been formed in the low-lying land at Calais. In 1944 the Germans had 42 heavy guns in the vicinity of Calais and these were, from the south, Battery Lindemann, Battery Wissant, Battery Todt, Grosser Kurfurst and Gris Nez. The Germans had broken the drainage systems, causing much of the area to flood. To this they had added large barbed wire entanglements, minefields, kangaroo personnel carriers would be used to deliver infantry as close to their objectives as possible. The assaults were planned to approach Calais from the west and south-west, avoiding the worst inundations, the 8th Brigades western attack was against the positions at Escalles, near Cape Blanc Nez, and Noires Mottes. The 7th Brigade was to assault the garrisons of Belle Vue, Coquelles, the eastern side of the city was screened by The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa to prevent a breakout. Meanwhile, the 9th Brigade would take over from the 7th Reconnaissance Regiment at Cape Gris Nez, Montgomery had been directed to bring Antwerp into operation and, in turn, he pressed Crerar
8.
Operation Market Garden
–
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. Field Marshal Montgomerys strategic goal was to encircle the heart of German industry, the northern end of the pincer would circumvent the northern end of the Siegfried Line giving easier access into Germany. The aim of Operation Market Garden was to establish the end of a pincer ready to project deeper into Germany. Allied forces would project north from Belgium,60 miles through the Netherlands, across the Rhine, the operation made massed use of airborne forces, whose tactical objectives were to secure the bridges and allow a rapid advance by armored ground units to consolidate north of Arnhem. The operation required the seizure of the bridges across the Maas, several bridges between Eindhoven and Nijmegen were captured at the beginning of the operation. Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks XXX Corps ground force advance was delayed by the failure of the airborne units to secure bridges at Son. German forces demolished the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal at Son before being secured by the 101st Airborne Division, the 82nd Airborne Divisions failure to capture the main road bridge over the river Waal at Nijmegen before 20 September also delayed the advance of XXX Corps. At the furthest point of the operation at Arnhem, the British 1st Airborne Division encountered initial strong resistance. The delays in capturing the bridges at Son and Nijmegen gave time for German forces, including the 9th and 10th SS panzer divisions who were present at time, to organize. In the ensuing battle, only a small force managed to capture the end of the Arnhem road bridge and after the ground forces failed to relieve them. The remainder of the 1st Airborne Division were trapped in a small pocket west of the bridge, the Allies had failed to cross the Rhine and the river remained a barrier to their advance into Germany until offensives at Remagen, Oppenheim, Rees and Wesel in March 1945. The failure of Market Garden to form a foothold over the Rhine ended Allied expectations of finishing the war by Christmas 1944. After major defeats in Normandy in the summer of 1944, remnants of German forces withdrew across the Low Countries and eastern France towards the German border by the end of August. To the south, the U. S. 12th Army Group under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley was nearing the German border and had ordered to orient on the Aachen gap with Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges U. S. First Army, in support of Montgomerys advance on the Ruhr, Third Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, moved eastward towards the Saar. At the same time, the U. S. 6th Army Group under General Jacob L. Devers was advancing towards Germany after their landings in southern France. The Overlord plan had foreseen this, calling for the exploitation of ports in Brittany to move the supply points forward as the armies moved, Eisenhower persisted with his plans to capture these ports, but some argued that the capture of Le Havre and Antwerp made this unnecessary. Although over-the-beach supply operations outperformed expectations, September saw deteriorating weather and rising seas, deep-water ports were therefore required, Cherbourg was useful, but far from the front
9.
Battle of Metz
–
The Battle of Metz was a battle fought during World War II at the city of Metz, France, from late September 1944 through mid-December between the U. S. Third Army commanded by Lieutenant General George Patton and the German Army commanded by General Otto von Knobelsdorff, strong German resistance resulted in heavy casualties for both sides. The city was captured by U. S. forces and hostilities ceased on November 22. Metz is located between the rivers Moselle and Seille, the fortifications of Metz consisted of several forts and observation posts with connecting entrenchments and tunnels. The city had fallen to the German forces when France was defeated in 1940, following the fall of France, the city was immediately annexed to the Third Reich. Most of the Nazi dignitaries assumed it was obvious that Metz, at that time, the Wehrmacht did not consider it an important location and the citys defenses were reduced with many guns and equipment removed. By the end of August 1944, German forces in Lorraine had managed to reestablish a defensive line, Third Army had come to a halt in face of the German defenses, resulting in a brief pause of operations in this area of the western front. According to an issued by Hitler in March 1944, fortress commanders were ordered to allow their forts to be surrounded if necessary and hold them. Metz was required to follow this order by early September, since the U. S, Third Army led by General George S. Patton had reached Verdun and was posing a threat to the Sarre region of Germany. The German command intended to more time for the strengthening of the West Wall through this strategy. The defense was undertaken by the German First Army, commanded by General Otto von Knobelsdorff, the number of German troops positioned in the vicinity of Metz was equivalent to four and a half divisions. On 18 September, U. S. reconnaissance units encountered Wehrmacht Panzergrenadiers again, the U. S. forces had not expected the German forces to be in the area, and had to bring together their units that were spread out. Several small scale attacks were made by the U. S. forces after this encounter, the first U. S. attack was launched by the 5th Infantry Division, in which they attempted to capture a bridgehead to the north of Metz. This attack was repelled by the German forces, as was another attack on the city that followed, in another attack, the US forces captured a small bridgehead across the Moselle to the south of Metz. By the end of September, German forces positioned to the north were relocated in the area of Metz. A number of troops were withdrawn from Metz. Following this new development, the XII Corps launched another attack but was countered by the German defenders, in the following two weeks, the U. S. forces limited themselves to small scale attacks and patrolling in the Metz area. During this time, the XX Corps underwent a training program, by this time, the U. S. command had decided to attack Metz from its rear, coming from the east
10.
Battle of Aachen
–
The Battle of Aachen was a major combat action of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 2–21 October 1944. Although most of Aachens civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U. S. forces in World War II, the battle ended with a German surrender, but their tenacious defense significantly disrupted Allied plans for the advance into Germany. By September 1944, the Western Allies had reached Germanys western border, on 17 September, British, American, and Polish forces launched Operation Market Garden, an ambitious attempt to bypass the Siegfried Line by crossing the Lower Rhine River in the Netherlands. The failure of this operation, and a supply problem brought about by the long distances involved in the rapid drive through France. In September, the Wehrmacht high commands reinforcement of the Siegfried Line brought total troop strength up to an estimated 230,000 soldiers, at the start of the month, the Germans had had about 100 tanks in the West, by the end, they had roughly 500. As men and equipment continued to flow into the Siegfried Line they were able to establish an average depth of 3.0 miles. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, set their sights on the occupation of the Ruhr, Germanys industrial heartland. General George S. Pattons Third Army was given the task of occupying the French region of Lorraine, hodges had initially hoped to bypass the city itself, believing it to be held only by a small garrison, which would presumably surrender once isolated. The ancient, picturesque city of Aachen had little value in itself. Its population of around 165,000 had not been subject to bombing by the Allies. As such, it was of immense psychological value, in several areas, German defenses were over 10 miles deep. It was, in the words of historian Stephen Ambrose, undoubtedly the most formidable man-made defense ever contrived, fighting around Aachen began as early as the second week of September, in a period known to the Germans as the First Battle of Aachen. At this time, the city was defended by the 116th Panzer Division, the proximity of Allied forces had caused the majority of the citys government officials to flee before the evacuation of its citizens was complete. He was replaced by General Gerhard Wilck, the United States VII Corps continued to probe German defenses, despite the resistance encountered on 12–13 September. Between 14–16 September the US 1st Infantry Division continued its advance in the face of strong defenses and repeated counterattacks, ultimately creating a half-moon arc around the city. This slow advance came to a halt in late September, due to the problem. The Wehrmacht took advantage of the brief respite on the front by pulling the 1st, 2nd and 12th SS Panzer Divisions, as well as the 9th and 116th Panzer Divisions, off the line
11.
Battle of the Scheldt
–
Led by Guy Simonds, the battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands during World War II from October 2 to November 8,1944. The well-established Wehrmacht defenders staged an effective delaying action, during which the Germans flooded the Scheldt Estuary, both land and water were mined, and the Germans defended their line of retreat with artillery and snipers. But the advance halted with the British in possession of Antwerp, little was done about the blocked port of Antwerp during September because Operation Market Garden was to form a buffer between Germany and Antwerp, which it succeeded in doing. In the meantime, German forces in the Scheldt were able to deploy defensively, the first attacks occurred on September 13. In early October after operation Market Garden, Allied forces led by the Canadian First Army set out to bring the give the port of Antwerp access to the sea, Montgomery then decided that the importance of Antwerp was such that the actual capture of Dunkirk could be delayed. Under command at that time was Canadian II Corps, with the Polish 1st Armoured Division, 49th and 52nd Divisions attached, Montgomery promised the support of RAF Bomber Command in attacking the German fortifications and that of the USAAF 8th Air Force On the day concerned. The 51st Infantry Division was to give up its transport to enable the movement of forces into position for the battle, abandoning the capture of Dunkirk freed the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The plan for opening the Scheldt estuary involved four main operations conducted over daunting geography, the first task was to clear the area north of Antwerp and secure access to South Beveland. Second was to clear the Breskens pocket north of the Leopold Canal, third, dubbed Operation Vitality, was the capture of South Beveland. The final phase would be the capture of Walcheren Island, which had been fortified into a powerful German stronghold, as part of the Atlantic Wall, Walcheren Island was considered to be the strongest concentration of defences the Nazis had ever constructed. The Polish 1st Armoured Division headed for the Dutch-Belgian border further east, an attack was mounted in the vicinity of Moerkerke, crossing the canals and establishing a bridgehead before counter-attacks forced a withdrawal with heavy casualties. The 1st Polish Armoured Division enjoyed greater success to the east as it advanced northeast from Ghent, on October 2, the Canadian 2nd Division began its advance north from Antwerp. Stiff fighting at Woensdrecht ensued on October 6, the objective of the first phase, the Germans—reinforced by Battle Group Chill—saw the priority in holding there, controlling direct access to South Beveland and Walcheren Island. There were heavy casualties as the Canadians attacked over open, flooded land, driving rain, booby traps and land mines made advance very difficult. On October 13, what would come to be known as Black Friday, the Calgary Highlanders were to follow up with a more successful action, and their Carrier Platoon succeeded in taking the rail station at Korteven. Heavy fighting at Hoogerheide also ensued, but by October 16, Woensdrecht was secured, cutting the link to South Beveland. The Canadians had achieved their first objective, but suffered heavy casualties, at this point, recognizing the opportunity, Field-Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery issued a directive that made the opening of the Scheldt estuary the top priority of 21st Army Group. To the east, the British Second Army attacked westward to clear the Netherlands south of the Maas River, meanwhile, Simonds concentrated forces at the neck of the South Beveland peninsula
Canada
Germany_-_Monument.jpg)
_-_Canadian_Soldiers.jpg)
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}