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...