On April 11, I leave for the Netherlands to carry out a research trip through the battlefields where First Canadian Army fought to liberate the Dutch from German occupation and bring the war to an end. Look here for notes from the field over the next few weeks.

 

 

 April 16. For the past few days I have been meeting with a Dutch expert on the First Canadian Army operations in the Netherlands. Tomorrow, I drive to Groesbeek near Nijmegen to research the Rhineland Campaign and crossing of the Rhine in March 1945 that included Operations Plunder and Varsity. So far weather in the Netherlands has been changeable, but with temperatures below average. I will try and post more about the actual visits to battlefield sites in the Rhineland region soon, but much depends on availability of internet connections.

 

April 20. Over the last couple days I have been touring the Rhineland Campaign sites from a base in Groesbeek. Because the weather was very clear and warm, it was possible to see the entire battleground clearly from the ridgeline that served as the start line for Operation Veritable and the subsequent operations that ended with First Canadian Army succeeding in driving the Germans off the southern bank of the Rhine. I visited Moyland, Reichswald, and Hochwald forests, all places where Canadians faced very stiff fighting. A highlight, though, was visiting the Canadian crossing point for Operation Plunder on March 23, 1944. From the ferry dock on the northern bank, which is no longer used, it was possible to get a very clear sense of the challenges our troops faced in gaining the northern shore. Today I leave for the Arnhem and Twente Canal areas.

 

April 28. Have been on the move for very long days researching the Liberation Campaign routes that First Canadian Army took through the Netherlands and western Germany--the latter ending in Oldenburg. Despite the relatively small size of the Netherlands, this is a large country when you consider that it fell on the Canadians and their attached Allied units to liberate it all. In most areas, the countryside is greatly changed from what was the case in 1945. But it is still possible to get a real sense of the terrain that the Canadians had to fight to win. Modern roads, of course, make the driving much easier and faster than the mostly dirt and cobble roads they had to cope with. Today I am concentrating on the Delfzijl Pocket country that 5th Canadian Armoured Division was tasked to clear. Several of the large battery positions in which the Germans had mounted heavy naval guns still exist here, so it will be interesting to see these as they posed a significant and deadly threat to the Canadian tanks and armoured cars.

 

May 25. Time races by, especially when you are on the road. At any rate there was no further opportunity or time to update the blog while I was in Holland. And now here I am back in Canada. It was, however, an amazingly worthwhile research trip. I was particularly fortunate to be there on May 4 and to witness some of the Remembrance Ceremonies. After, I also visited a large number of memorials that have been erected in various communities to honour and/or remember the Canadian liberation. At each and every one a remembrance ceremony had been held and wreaths laid by local residents and dignitaries. I was particularly moved to see at Holten Canadian War Cemetery that in front of each of the 1,400 headstones individual school children had placed a single daffodil in personal remembrance of that fallen serviceman. I have, of course, always known that the Dutch continue to place a high value on remembering the Canadian contribution to their re-gaining freedom in World War II, but to see the extent of this first hand was particularly informative. Canadians and particularly our school systems could do well to learn from the example of the Dutch resolve to continue to remember the sacrifices that a generation of Canadians made to give us the freedom we enjoy today.