In
September 1944, First Canadian Army swept
north along the coast of the English
Channel liberating the heavily-fortified
ports of Boulogne and Calais. At the
same time, the British captured the Belgian
port of Antwerp, desperately requiring
its docking facilities to bring in supplies.
However, the Germans occupied both banks
of the 70-kilometre long Scheldt River
estuary linking Antwerp to the sea. Most
of this territory was in the Netherlands.
In a month-long campaign beginning 6
October, the Canadians fought in appalling
conditions over open, flooded ground
to capture the approaches to Antwerp.
They lost over 6300 killed or wounded
in the process.
See also :
Canadian
Newspapers and the Second World War : The North West Europe Campaign, 1944-1945
Canadian
Newspapers and the Second World War : The Liberation of the Netherlands, 1944-1945
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