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History

Wars & Campaigns

► Boer War ► First World War ► ► Western Front ►►►Trench Warfare: 1914-1916 ►►► Allied Offensive: 1916 ►►► Allied Offensives: 1917 ►►► German Offensive: 1918 ► ► ► Advance to Victory: 1918 ► ► Siberia ► SecondWorld War ► ► War Against Ja~an ► ► North Africa -► ► Italian Cam~aign ►►► Sicil~ - -► ► ► Southern Ital~ ► ► ► The Sangro and Moro ► ► ► Battlesof theFSSF ►►► Cassino ► ► ► Liri Valley ► ► ► Advance to Florence ► ► ► Gothic Line ► ► ► Winter Lines ► ► North-West Euro~ ► ► ► Normand~ ► ► ► Southern France ► ► ► Channel Ports ►►► Scheidt ► ► ► Nijme,gen Salient ► ► ► Rhineland ► ► ► Final Phase ► Korean War ► Cold War ► Gu~War

Operations

► GAUNTLET Aug~ (Spitsbergen) ► HUSKY Jul 1943 (Sicily) ► COTTAGE Aug 1943 (Kiska) ► TIMBERWOLF Oct 1943 (Italy) ► OVERLORD Jun 1944 (Normandy) ► MARKET-GARDEN SeR 44 (Arnhem) ► BERLIN Nov 1944 (Nijmegen) ► VERrTABLE Feb 1945 (Rhineland)

Battle Honours

Boer War ► Paardeberg 18 Feb 00

First World War Western Front

Trench Warfare: 1914-1916 ►Ywes, 1915 22Apr-25 May 15 ► Gravenstafel 22-23 Apr 15 ► St. Julien 24 Apr-4 May 15 ► Frezenberg 8-13 May 15 ►Beliewaarde 24-25 lvlay 15 ► Festubert, 1915 15-25 lvlay 15 ►i¼iuntSorrai- 2-13 Jun 16

Allied Offensive: 1916 ► Sorn me, 1916 1 Jul-18 1-Jov 16 ►Albert .1-13Jul16 ► Bazentin .14-17 Jul 16 ► Pozieres .23 Jul-3 Sep 16 ► Guillernont .3-6 Sep 16 ► Ginchy .9 Sep 16 ► Flers-Courcelette 15-22 Sep 16 ► Thie~val 26-29 Sep 16 ► Le Transloy . 1-18 Oct 16 ►Ancre Heights 1 Oct-11 Nov 16 ► Ancre, 1916 13-18 Nov 16

Allied Offensives: 1917 ► Arras 1917 8 Apr-4 11/iay 17 ► Vlmy,Jfill .9-14 Apr 17 ► Arleux 28-29 Apr 17 ► Scarpe, 1917 .3-4 May17 ► Hil l 70 .15-25 Aug 17 ► lvlessines , 1917 .7-1 4 Jun 17 ►Ypres, 1917 .. 31 Jul-10 Nov 17 ► Pilckern 31 Jul-2 Aug 17 ► Langemarck, 1917 .16-18 Aug 17 ► Menin Road .20-25 Sep 17 ► Polygon Wood 26 Sep-3 Oct 17 ► Broodseinde .4 Oct 17 ► Poelcapelle .9 Oct 17 ► Passchendaele .12 Oct 17

Battle of the Rhineland

The Battle of the Rhineland was fought in Feb-Mar 1945 between Allied forces from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States (as well as smaller national contingents), and the German forces occupying territory south and west of the Rhine River during the North-West Europe campaign of the Second World War.

Situation

In early 1945, after a long winter stalemate, military operations by the Allied armies in North-West Europe resumed. The exertions of the First Canadian Army in the Battle of the Scheidt had resulted in the port of Antwerp being opened in late 1944. A build up of Allied forces on the western front, as Southern France was cleared of German soldiers and the other Allies advanced to the German frontier, "laid the foundation for a further offensive on the western front. The enemy's costly effort in the Ardennes and imposed delay, but the broad pattern of Allied strategy remained unchanged."1

The Battle of the Rhineland would be the first of three major strategic phases envisaged by General Eisenhower:

In planning our forthcoming spring and summer offensives, I envisaged the operations which would lead to Germany's collapse as falling into three phases: first, the destruction of the enemy forces west of the Rhine and closing to that river; second, the seizure of bridgeheads over the Rhine from which to develop operations into Germany; and third, the destruction of the remaining enemy east of the Rhine and the advance into the heart of the Reich. This was the same purpose that had guided all our actions since early 1944. 2

The initial goal was to reach the Rhine River, the last significant natural barrier between Allied forces and Germany. From their winter positions in the Nijmegen Salient, the First Canadian Army reinforced by elements of the British 2nd Army, began operations to advance south east, clearing all land west of the river. Operation VERITABLE was a costly advance through flooded terrain and German defensive lines, followed by Operation BLOCKBUSTER which succeeded in driving through almost to the banks of the Rhine River. Operation BLOCKBUSTER II cleared the town of Xanten to end the fighting in the Rhineland. A supporting operation by the US 9th Army, Operation GRENADE, was planned to coincide from the River Roer to the south but was delayed for two weeks by German flooding of the Roer valley.

The Rhineland battle was intended to be a prelude to a set-piece crossing of ' the Rhine by the 21st Army Group. While this operation did proceed in late ;, Mar 1945, American forces managed to cross the river in other locations i · with less preparation, including the capture of an intact bridge at Remagen · on 7 Mar 1945 by the US 1st Army, and a crossing by the US 3rd Army the day before the British crossing, Operation PLUNDER. PLUNDER was supported by Operation VARSITY, a large airborne drop on the far side of the Rhine in which the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion played an active part. The Rhine crossings and battles afterward comprised the Final Phase of the war in Europe.

The Battle Honour "The Rhineland" refers only to actions fought west of the river, while the Battle Honour "The Rhine" was awarded to units fighting in the crossing itself as well as on the east bank during the Final Phase.

North-West Europ

DieP.11!! · NormanQY. - Southern France - Channel Ports - §£ J:!.ijmegen Salient - Rhineland - Final Phase

The Rhineland Feb - Mar 1945

The Rhineland - The Reichswald - Waal Flats - lvloyland V Goch-Calcar Road - The Hochwald - Veen - xanten

Awaiting the final clearing of the Rhineland on 4 Mar 1945 at Kranenburg, Germany. From left to right General H.D.G. Crerar i-C First Canadian Army, Lieutenant General G.G. Simonds GC Canadian Corps, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke (CiGS), Prime Winston Churchill, and at far right Field Marshal B.L. Montgome i-C 21st Army Group

► Carnbrai, 1917 20 Nov-3 Dec 17 The Battle German Offensive: 1918

:~~1~::~1):

18 21 ~~~;J :J'r ~~ The terrain in the Rhineland was marked by clear boundaries, ► Bapaume, 1918 24-2~ M:; 18 bordered on one side by the Rhine and the other by the Maas, ► Rosieres 26-27 Mar 18 measuring about 50 kilometres long by from 20 to 30 kilometres wide ,

The Battle of the Rhine! Sfeb-11 Mar1945

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► Avre A Apr 18 widening as one moved further from the Allied start line. The first ::ts~aires ::~;:;;~ third, from the Allied viewpoint, was flooded and the other two were ► lv!sssines , 1918 1·0-11 Apr 18 covered in thick mud due to winter rains. Much of the ground was ► Bailleu! 13-15Apr18 marked by thick forests, and there were no nolicably high or low ► Kemmer 17-19Apr18 features. Engagement ranges were short. Defences were well

Advance lo Victory: 1918 . . . ► Amiens 8_11 Aug 18 prepared, as the enemy had four months to improve pos1l1ons, ► Arras, 1918 .26 Aug-3 Sep 18 including some of the pre-war Siegfried Line obstacles. The Germans ► Scarpe, 1918 26-30Aug 18. built strong points and hedgehogs - positions for all-around defence ► Drocourt-Queant

12 s·2·_3

9s0ept 1

188

against attack from any direction. All these factors "made for a very ► Hindenburg Line ep c ► canal du Nord :27 sep-2 Oct 18 complex battle, extremely difficult for higher headquarters to 'read' on ► St. Quentin canal .29 Sep-2 Oct 18 an hour-by-hour basis, and the brunt of the decision-making seems to

i:'

t ► Epehy 3-5 Oct 18 have fallen on the two corps commanders, Sir Brian Horrocks (British :~;n~i:~~;:

8 ~~; ~i: ;~ XXX Corps) and (Lieutenant General Guy) Simonds (II Canadian ► Sambre .4 Nov 18 Corps)."3

I

► Pursuit to Mons .28 Sep-11Nov Second World War war Against Japan The initial attack on 8 Feb 1945 .(Operation VERITABLE) was south-East Asia launched by three British divisions and the 3rd Canadian Infantry

< British 2nd

► Hong Kong 8-25 Dec 41 Division on the flooded left flank over the Waal Flats. The ancient city Italian Campaign of Cleve was bombed flat and the heaviest artillery bombardment of Battle of Sicily h . . I .d ' Th M rb G ·d d h

► Landing in Sicilx 9.12 Jul 43 I e entire war was a, on. e ate om ap was cons, ere I e ► Grammichele 15 Jul 43 key to the advance; 3,000 metres of open ground stretching between ► Piazza Armerina 16-17 Jul 43 Cleve and the trees of The Reichswald to the south. The British made : ?;~,'::"nera ~~:~; 3~: :; it through on 11 Feb after three costly days of fighting through the ► Leonforte 21-22 Jul 43 woods. The 3rd Division, making use of amphibious vehicles, had a ►~gl@ 24-28 Jul 43 slightly easier time and many opted to withdraw as the British ►Adrano 29 Jul-7 Aug 43 advances threatened to cut them off ► Catenanuova 29-30 Jul 43 · ► E_egalbuto 29 Jul-3 Aug 43 ► Centuri~ 31 Jul-3Aug43 As the British advance slackened, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division ► Traina Valley 2-6 Aug 43 moved up, and both divisions now had as their objective the Goch-► Pursuit to Messina 2-17 Aug 43 . .

Southern Italy Calcar ~oad, which _would be th_e Start Line for the second ~hase of ► Landing at Regg)Q 3 Sep 43 the Rhineland fighting, Operation BLOCKBUSTER. The line was ► Potenza 19-20 Sep 43 cleared at great cost; one of the fallen , Sergeant Aubrey Cosens of ► Motta Monlecorvino

31-~ 0

0cctt 4

433

Th_ e Q_ ueen's Own Rifles of Canada, was awarded a posthumous ► Termoli ~ ► Monte San Marco 6-7 Oct 43 Victoria Cross.

1 u~ t(Army_ /

► Gambatesa 7-8 Oct 43 ► CamP-Qbasso 11-14 Oct 43 ► Baranello 17-18 Oct 43

·a~2:~&.tlf // ·~ The Germans practised their traditional tactics of giving groundL..1_j __ · ___ _:"--~•· '=:"'z., _____ J::JallllllBIIL _ _j

► Colle d'Anchise 22-24 Oct 43 ► Tarella 24-27 Oct 43

The Sangro and Moro ► The Sang.[Q 19 Nov-3 Dec 43 ► Castel di Sang.[Q .23-24 Nov 43 ► The Moro 5-7 Dec 43 ► San Leonardo 8-9 Dec 43 ► The Gullx .. 10-19 Dec 43 ► Casa Berardi .. 14-15 Dec 43

under pressure but then immediately launching counter-attacks to recover the lost ground before the Canadians could consolidate their successes. When that happened, infantry companies which had been badly weakened in the initial a: were often cut off and assailed from all sides. The ultimate response was to call down artillery fire on their own positions ... Veritable ... (cost) the British nearly seven thousand casualties and the Canadians nearly two thousand - a re roughly proportionate to their respective commitments - while the Germans lost about twelve thousand killed, the samt number taken prisoner, and perhaps another twenty thousand wounded. 4

► Ortona 20-28 Dec 43 For the second phase, BLOCKBUSTER, the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division replaced the 3rd in the line. To the south, the ► San Nicola-San .31 Dec 43 American 9th Army was also advancing to the Rhine in Operation GRENADE, delayed until 23 Feb due to the German deslrL ► Point 591Tommaso29 Dec 43_ two key dams on the_ Roer River and consequent heavy flooding making the area impassable. They found, once they were m

---=ro;;:e M.Jcchia 4 Jan 44 north towards the Bnt1sh and Canadians , that most of the Germans had been moved away to oppose VERITABLE. The Gem Battles of the FSSF were desperate to hold out at long as possible west of the Rhine as at least 17 divisions were streaming to the bridges at We:

► Monte Camino .5 Nov-9 Dec 43 now only 15 kilometres from the Canadians and 20 from the Americans. ► Monte la D~ensa- 2-8 Dec 43

tv1onte la Rem etanea. ► Hill 720 ► Monte MajQ ► Radicosa

► Monte Vischiataro ► Anzio ► Rome ► Advance

to the Tiber. ► Monte Arrestino ► Rocca Massima ► Colle Ferro

25 Dec 43 The 2nd and 4th Canadian Divisions now advanced roughly abreast into more heavy forest; The Hochwald, Tuschenw 3-8 Jan 44. Bambergerwald, running along a low ridge and with positions improved by the Germans for the previous two weeks. l

: 3an 44 Division went straight into the Hochwald while the 4th Division aimed for a narrow gap in the woods. Two attacks went in , an

22 Jan-22 1,;,~ ~ made apparent an armoured division was not able to simply blast through; the Germans had a wide variety of close-range c .22 May-4 Jun 44 weaponry, the tanks had trouble negotiating the mud, and the Canadians didn't have enough infantry to clear a path for th,

.22 May-22 Jun 44 The battle for the Hochwald Gap lasted from 27 Feb to 3 Mar and advances were measured in hundreds of yards. The 3rd

25 Ma 44 returned to the line and the 2nd Division sent a brigade to assist in opening the gap. The other two brigades of the 2nd Divis

27 Ma~ 44 pressure on the Germans elsewhere on the line. Captain Frederick Tilston of The Essex Scottish was awarded a Victoria C 2 Jun 44 his actions in one of the many small unit actions.

Cassino ► Cassino II ► Gustav Line ► Sant' Angelo in

Teodice. ► Pignataro

Uri Valley

11-18 May 44 . 11 .18 May 44 By the second week of Mar, the Germans had fallen back to the Wesel Pocket, and final actions at Veen and Xanten had cle,

13May44 final defenders away by the 10th. A hastily organized operation to "bounce" the Rhine was scrubbed when the sound of 1

demolitions announced that the last bridges over the River had been blown up. 14-15 May44

► Liri Vallex 18-30 May 44 Casualties ► Hitler Line 18-24 May 44

: :~i:~rossing 1!;: ::~ ~ The fight to advance 20 miles into the Rhineland and clear the remaining German units west of the great river took as lor ► Ceprano 26-27 May44 month - as the 200 mile advance that would follow it. The cost in terms of casualties was also higher; 9,284 American soldi

► Torrice~:~sns:~~~sFtorenc!OMay 44 17,685 British and Canadian soldiers became casualties.5 First Canadian Army took 22,000 German prisoners and f ► Advance 17 Jul-10Aug 44 seriously wounded 22,000 more. Including the losses inflicted by the US 9th Army (which lost 7,300 men, took 29,000 prison,

to Florence. killed or seriously wounded 16,000 Germans during the Rhineland fighting) the Germans all told lost 90,000 men while i Trasimene Line 20-30 Jun 44 . . 6

► Sanfalucchio 20_21 Jun 44 23,000 Allied casualties. ► Arezzo 4-17 Jul 44 ► Cerrone . _ 25 - 31 Aug 44 Battle Honours

Gothic Line ► Gothic Line 25 Aug-22 Sep 44 ► lvbnteciccardo 27-28 Aug 44 The following Battle Honours were awarded to Canadian units participating in the Battle of the Rhineland:

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► M::mtecchio 30-31 Aug 4'I 31 Aug 4'I 1 Sep 4'I 1 Sep 4'I

1-2 Sep4'1 3-15Sep4'1

VVinter Lines

► Point 204 (Pozzo Alto) ► Monte Lura ► Bargo Santa Maria ► Tomba di Pesaro ► Coriano

► Rimini Line 14-21 Sep 4'I ► San Martino- 14-18 Sep 4'I

San Lorenzo. ► San Fortunato ► Casale ► Sant' Angelo

in Salute. ► Bulgaria Village ► Cesena ► Pisciatello

18-20 Sep 4'I 23-25 Sep 4'I 11-15Sep4'1

13-14 Sep4'1 15-20 Sep 4'I 16-19Sep4'1

• The Rhineland • The Reichswald • Waal Flats • Cleve • Mayland Wood • Goch-Calcar Road • The Hochwald

• Veen • Xanten

► Savio Bridgehead ► Monte La Pieve

20-23 Sep 4'I Notes 13-19 Oct 4'I

► Monte Spaduro ► Monte San Bartolo ► Lam one Crossing ► Capture of Ravenna ► Naviglio Canal ► Fosso Vecchio ► Fosso Munio ► Conventello-

Com acchio. ► Granarolo

19-24 Oct 4'I 11-14 Nov4'1 2-13 Dec 44

3-4 Dec 4'I 12-15 Dec 4'I 16-18 Dec 4'I 19-21 Dec 4'I

2-6 Jan 45

3-5 Jan 4'I Northwest Europe

► DieP.R§! 19 Aug 42 Battle of Normandy

► NormandY. Landing 6 Jun 4'I ► Authie 7 Jun 4'I ► Putot-en-Bessin 8 Jun 4'I ► Bretteville 8-9 Jun 4'I

-l'Orgueilleuse ► Le Masnil-Pat[)I ► CarJ1Lquet ► Caen ► The Orne (Buron) ► Bourguebus Ridg.§ ► Faubour~

Vaucelles ► S~ur-Orne ► Malt6t ► Verrieres Ridge-Tilly.::

la-Cam1<,1g!!.§ ► Falaise ► Falaise Road ► Quesnay Road ► Clair Tizon ► The Laison ► Charnbois

► St. Larnbert-sur-Dives

11 Jun 4'I 4-5 Jul 4'I

4-18 Jul 4'1 8-9 Jul 4'1

18-23 Jul 4'1 18-19 Jul 4'I

19-23 Jul 4'I 22-23 Jul 4'I

25 Jul 4'I

7-22 Aug 4'I 7-9 Aug 4'I

10-11 Aug 4'I 11-13Aug4'1 14-17 Aug 4'I 18-22 Aug 4'I 19-22 Aug 4'I

► Dives Crossing 17-20 Aug 4'I ► Foret de la Lande 27-29 Aug 4'I ► The Seine, 1944 25-28 Aug 4'I

Southern France ► Southern France 15-28 Aug 4'I

Channel Ports ► Dunkirk 1944 8-15 Sep 4'I ► Le Havre 1-12 Sep4'1 ► Moerbrugg.§ 8-10 Sep 4'I ► Moerkerl<e 13-14 Sep 4'I ► Boulgg!!.§, 1944 17-22 Sep 4'I ► Calais, 1944 25 Sep-1 Oct 4'I ► Y!{y_Q_eghem 21 -22 Sep 4'I ►AntwerR-Turnhout 24-29 Sep 44

Canal. The Scheidt

► The Scheid! 1 Oct-8 Nov 4'I ► LeoRold Canal 6-16 Oct-44 ► Woensdrecht 1-27 Oct 4'I ► Savojaards Platt 9-10 Oct 4'I ► Breskens Pocket 11 Oct -3 Nov 4'I ► The Lower Maas 20 Oct -7 Nov 4'I ► South Beveland ► Walcheren

24-31 Oct 4'I 31 Oct -4 Nov 4'I

CausewaY.. Nijmegen Salient

► Ardennes Dec 4'1-Jan 45 ► ~Relsche Veer 31 Dec 44-

►The Roer Rhineland

21Jan 45 16-31 Jan 45

► The Rhineland 8 Feb-10 lvlar 45 ► The Reichswald 8-13 Feb 45 ► Waal Flats 8-15 Feb45 ► Moyland Wood 14-21 Feb 45 ► Goch-Calcar Road 19-21 Feb 45 ► The Hochwald 26 Feb-

► Veen ► Xanten

Final Phase

4 Mar 45 6-10 Mar45

8-9 Mar 45

► The Rhine 23 Mar-1 Apr 45 ► Emmerich-Hoch 28 Mar-1 Apr 45

1. Stacey, C.P., The Canadian Army 1939-1945: An Official Historical Summary (Queen's Printer, Ottawa, ON, 1948), p.236 2. Quoted in Stacey, Ibid, p.236 3. Marteinson, John. We Stand on Guard: An Illustrated History oflhe Canadian Army (Ovale Publications, Montreal, PQ, 1992) ISBN 2894290438 p.317 4. Ibid, pp.318-319 5. Whitaker, Denis & Shelagh Rhineland: The Battle to End the War (Stoddart Publishing Company, Ltd., Toronto, ON, 1989) ISBN 0773753907 p.347. William

below for reference) gives a fiture of 15,634, broken down as 10,300 British and 5,655 Canadian. 6. Williams, Jeffery The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944-45 (Stoddart Publishing Company, Ltd., Toronto, ON, 1988) ISBN 077372'

p.251

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