I had never been to The Netherlands before this battlefields trip and the country`s geography is leaving a lasting impression on me. Aptly named one of the Low Countries, The Netherlands is arguably the flattest country on earth and literally mean "low lands." Thanks, Captain Obvious, you're thinking. Now that I have your attention, think about fighting a battle on ground so flat you can barely see over the next hedgerow, let alone gain an advantage by taking a high point and seeing your enemy`s position. THERE. IS. NO. HIGH. GROUND... Indeed, several of the battles for the Scheldt were fought on land that was arguably BELOW SEA LEVEL. The low level fields called polders are bordered by dykes and criss crossed by slightly raised roads. They become lethal and complicated when considering that both the Germans and Canadians intentionally flooded the battlefields. So, now ponder slogging through a couple feet of water and mud with a seventy pound pack on your back while your enemy if strafing, mortaring, and bombing the ground around you. This is the Breskens Pocket in a nutshell, ditches and canals, below sea level fields, soaked from the incessant rains of October 1944. In the Breskens Pocket the battle involves crossing the Leopold Canal and other minor waterways. Up and over a raised ditch, across a narrow road, down the other side, repeat until you reach the Scheldt. And consider this: conditions listed above in unending 2 degree drizzle against a ferocious enemy with nothing to lose. From Breskens looking across to Walcheren Island and peninsula, one would think the reinforced German fortress, the strongest on the Atlantic built to protect the entrance to Antwerp, would be impenetrable, but it wasn`t because the brilliant Canadian general Guy Simonds said it wasn`t. With scant reinforcements and supplies, and the heavy assets needed for Market Garden, Simonds devised a plan based on the geography of Walcheren. This island penisula attached by a sliver of an isthmus only existed as physical land because the Dutch had created a massive dyke system to take it back from the sea. It is a testament to both the ingenuity of human beings and their utter fragility at the same time. We see this when General Simonds decides to blow the dykes of Westkapelle and flood Walcheren as a strategy to defeat the German fortress by handicapping German mobility and swamping many large artillery positions. Use of the "buffalo" amphibious armoured personnel carriers helped Canadians maneuver through the flooded polders. The island went from land to sea in hours and the battlefield changed once again, as the Canadian "water rats" used soaked fields to their advantage. At the same time as Walcheren was flooded and attacked, the ridge at Woenstrecht, the only high ground on the Scheldt coast, is overrun by Canadian forces making their way to the thin slip of a causeway connecting Walcheren to the mainland. Here, more conventional weapons like tanks are used because the ground allowed it. We see geography dictate the terms of the battlefield again in the Rhineland campaign. Operation Market Garden was about A Bridge Too Far (a movie too long), and the need to secure bridges across the Rhine by dropping 35000 troops behind enemy lines because if they had attacked head on the Germans would have blown all the bridges while retreating. No bridges? No largest airborne drop and attack in history. The failure of Market Garden did then mean a frontal attack across the rolling hills of eastern Holland and western Germany, the resulting destruction of several bridges by the retreating Germans, and the use by the Allies of the longest bailey bridges in history. Huge artillery and tank battles result in the largest set piece military action in history as Operation Veritable, Blockbuster and Plunder result in the destruction of German resistance and the securing of the remaining bridges and crossings of the Rhine. Again, if you don`t control the Rhine River valley, you don`t get to the Ruhr and Berlin. Today around the communites of Apeldoorn and Putten we learned that securing the smaller rivers and their river plains was crucial for the Canadian army`s strategy to drive northward and cut off the German garrison in north western Holland. The lessons learned in the Breskens Pocket and Walcheren are used here as buffaloes are used to traverse the rivers and deploy infantry and gear quickly, catching the faltering and scattering Germans on their heels.
As I look back on the geography of the battles we've covered so far, I would definitely build assignments around how the battles for the Netherlands were a shifting series of topographical challenges that required dexterity and ingenuity, and thankfully the Canadian forces had them in spades. Part of this research would involve a project of pictures only, each one signifying a specific battle. Students would use the Big 6 to explain the photos. I would also focus on Breskens Pocket and challenge my students to place it in the pantheon of nationally significant battles, and explain why it has been so under-appreciated since the war ended. A few other observations: Dutch people are gracious and appreciative of Canadian sacrifice here in WW2. An elderly couple thanked a group of us at dinner in Vlissingen. There are street signs with "Canadien" in the name. There is an intriguing new museum in Zeeland commemorating the Canadian army's achievement in the Scheldt battle with a cool outdoor artifact and interactive edutainment recreation site a couple acres in size. The Dutch war cemetery is the most unusual one of its kind. In a forest setting, the graves are spread along wide and winding pathways, with a mix of soldiers, resistance fighters and Jewish victims. The war memorial in Putten is one of the most succinct and beautifully designed small monuments I've seen in two battlefield trips. Fred Rogger Teacher, Correlieu Secondary School Quesnel, British Columbia
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AuthorsParticipating educators and high school students share reflections on their professional and personal experiences during and after the program. Some posts link to the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society's blog, Studeamus bellum causa pacis. Archives
August 2015
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