In the fall of 1944, Canadian troops led bitter fighting to secure access to the critical port of Antwerp, freeing the Scheldt estuary and the approaches to a key supply hub as Allied forces prepared to enter Germany and bring the Second World War to an end. It was but a sliver of the occupied Netherlands. More epic combat lay ahead. Ultimately, the year 1945 will prove a happy one, as the sufferings of the Dutch populace, ravaged by almost five years of hardship and a bitterly cold winter of starvation, are brought to a bloody end.

In this special edition

Introduction

A flooded fall

The port of Antwerp opens without an official Canadian presence at the ceremony—a grievous oversight. But more important business is at hand. Much of the country remains under Nazi control and the Dutch are dying of starvation. Already down more than 6,000 casualties, the Canadians will set them free.

Part One

A bitter winter

Germans plunder food and fuel as the worst winter in more than half a century descends on northwest Europe. Hitler’s attempt to break through, the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, fails. The fighting in the Netherlands largely stagnates as the emerging Rhineland Campaign encounters a stiff German defence.

Part Two

The sweetest of springs

Canadians liberate Dutch villages and towns, and free 876 Dutch Jews destined for Nazi death camps. The Canucks are greeted by cheering crowds after each victory. But the devastation, suffering and losses they encounter help feed their anger as tankers raze the German border town of Friesoythe.

Part Three

Rejoice for summer

The Germans surrender in the Netherlands on May 6. It’s a bittersweet victory—for the Dutch have been exploited and turned inside out by their cruel occupiers, and 7,600 Canadians die in the fighting to drive them out. The last Nazi holdouts in Europe, an SS force, surrender to the Canadians 34 days after the Third Reich collapses.

Conclusion

A new fall

Dutch gratitude is undying. But back home, Canadian sacrifices and achievements in the Netherlands are all but forgotten for decades. Canadian eyes and ears are on the Cold War and the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation. It would be 1993 before a new program, Canada Remembers, along with coins, postage stamps and pilgrimages, reawakens WW II awareness. But it’s the Dutch people themselves, whose overwhelming response to veterans of the campaign warms the hearts of all Canadians, who contribute immeasurably to remembrance.