World War 2 In Review

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry carriers move through the Dutch village of Krabbendijke on the Beveland Causeway, 27 October 1944. (Libarary and Archives Canada) The Battle of Walcheren Causeway (Operation Vitality) was an engagement of the Battle of the Scheldt between the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade, elements of the British 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division and troops of the German 15th Army in 1944. It was the first of many conflicts on and around Walcheren Island during the Scheldt battles. It was also the second major battle fought over a terrain feature known as the Sloedam during the Second World War. Background After the breakout from Normandy by the Allied armies, beginning August 13, 1944, the German forces held on stubbornly to the French and Belgian English Channel ports. This forced the Allies to bring all supplies for their rapidly advancing armies from the artificial harbor they had constructed off the beaches of Normandy, and from Cherbourg. Because of its port cap...

As they continue to battle German troops for control of the Scheldt Estuary, Canadian soldiers traverse a flooded area in an amphibious vehicle. The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations by Canadian, British and Polish formations to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies in northwest Europe. Led by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands from October 2 to November 8, 1944. The well-established Wehrmacht defenders staged an effective delaying action, during which the Germans flooded land areas in the Scheldt Estuary, slowing the Allied advance. After five weeks of difficult fighting, the Canadian First Army, at a cost of 12,873 Allied casualties (half of them Canadian), was successful in clearing the Scheldt after numerous amphibious assaults, obstacle crossings, and costly assaults over open ground. Both land and water were mined, and...