Liberation of the Netherlands
The Canadian Armed Forces played a vital role in liberating the Netherlands at the end of the Second World War. A series of battles took place between September 1944 and May 1945 that ultimately freed the Netherlands.
The Battle of the Scheldt began in mid-September 1944, as the Allies moved across Europe following the Normandy Landings. The Scheldt River was still in German hands when the Allies captured the port city of Antwerp, Belgium. The Scheldt connects Belgium to the North Sea and mostly runs through the Netherlands. Canadians led this campaign, which lasted until November 1944 when the Allies secured the river and made Antwerp accessible to Allied shipping. Approximately 6000 Canadians were killed, wounded or captured in this battle.
The winter of 1944/1945 has come to be called the “Hunger Winter” in the Netherlands. Thousands of men, women, and children lost their lives from bitter cold temperatures and starvation. By this point, the Dutch had already been under Nazi occupation for four long years. Canadians helped to hold the front line in the Netherlands throughout the winter, and in February 1945 a new offensive was launched to push the Germans across the Rhine River. This signaled the beginning of the liberation as Germans were continually pushed eastward.
CANADIAN TROOPS IN RIJSSEN-HOLTEN IN APRIL 1945. IMAGE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
Some Allied troops pushed across the Rhine towards Germany, and many Canadians continued through the Netherlands to push the remaining German troops out. Canadians faced difficult terrain as much of the Dutch infrastructure, like bridges and roads, had been destroyed by the retreating German forces. Canadians advanced, liberating towns on their way through the Netherlands. In these towns Canadian troops were met with joyful and relieved Dutch people. To this day Canada and the Netherlands share a special relationship because of WWII. Not only did Canada help to liberate the country but the royal family was relocated to Canada for the duration of the war and Princess Margriet was actually born in Ottawa in 1943! Every year there is a tulip festival in Ottawa that showcases flowers donated by the Netherlands to Canada to commemorate the role of Canadians during WWII. The liberation of the Netherlands cost more than 7 600 Canadian lives.
Our exhibit is focused on the Home Front, where the majority of Canadians, especially women and children, would have experienced the war. However, there were just over a million Canadians who left home and served in the conflict. This blog series will look at 5 major battles or campaigns that involved Canadians during WWII: Dunkirk, Dieppe, Sicily, Normandy, and the Netherlands.