Terrible Victory
Page 54
12 Cecil Law, “Lochtenberg—23 Sep 44 to 2 Oct 44,” unpublished memoir, in possession of author, 7.
13 Le Régiment de Maisonneuve War Diary, September 1944, RG24., Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
14 N.a., Vanguard: The Fort Garry Horse in the Second World War (Doetincham, Holland: Uitgevers-Maatschappij, C. Misset, NV, n.d.), 77.
15 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, September 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
16 Vanguard, 77.
17 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, n.p.
18 Gérard Marchand, Le Régiment de Maisonneuve Vers la Victoire, 1944–1945 (Montréal: Les Presses Libres, 1980), 142.
19 Le Régiment de Maisonneuve War Diary, n.p.
20 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, n.p.
21 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (RHR). of Canada War Diary, September 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
22 Vanguard, 77.
23 Black Watch War Diary, n.p.
24 South Saskatchewan War Diary, 23–24.
25 Major J.H.D. Barrett, “11 Field Company, RCE: From Seine to Scheldt, 1 Sep/31 Oct 44,” 143.3f11011(d1), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, n.p.
26 Bercuson, 153–54.
27 HQ 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade War Diary, September 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 2.
28 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, September 1944, n.p.
29 HQ 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade War Diary, September 1944, 2–3.
30 Report No.188 Historical Section Canadian Military Headquarters: “Canadian Participation in the Operations in North-West Europe–Part vi: Canadian Operations, 1 Oct–8 Nov, The Clearance of the Scheldt Estuary,” Department of National Defence, 7 April, 1948, 39.
31 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Tug of War: The Canadian Victory that Opened Antwerp (Toronto: Stoddart, 1984), 115.
32 “The Clearance of the Scheldt Estuary,” 39–40.
33 Brian A. Read, No Holding Back: Operation Totalize, Normandy, August 1944 (Toronto: Robin Brass Studio, 2005), 84.
34 “The Clearance of the Scheldt Estuary,” 41–42.
35 Ibid., 42.
8: OFF OUR BACKSIDES
1 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, September 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 50.
2 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 1.
3 Ibid.
4 Col. C.P. Stacey, The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe, 1944–1945, vol. 3 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1960), 191–92.
5 “Lieutenant Colonel Donald MacLaughlan (sic), dso,” http://www.calgaryhigh landers.com/history/mac.htm July 6, 2006, 1.
6 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, 2.
7 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (RHR). of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 1.
8 Arthur K. Kember, The Six Years of 6 Canadian Field Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery: September 1939–September 1945 (Amsterdam: Town Printing, 1945), 73.
9 Black Watch War Diary, 1.
10 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 1.
11 Black Watch War Diary, 1.
12 Ibid., 4.
13 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, 2.
14 David Bercuson, Battalion of Heroes: The Calgary Highlanders in World War II. (Calgary: Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 1994), 156.
15 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, Appendix, October 1944, n.p.
16 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, 3.
17 Major J.H.D. Barrett, “11 Field Company, RCE: From Seine to Scheldt, 1 Sep/31 Oct 44,” 143.3f11011(d1), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, n.p.
18 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, September 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
19 D.J. Goodspeed, Battle Royal: A History of the Royal Regiment of Canada, 1862–1962 (Toronto: The Royal Regiment of Canada Assoc., 1962), 488.
20 Ibid., 492.
21 Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 2.
22 Goodspeed, 492.
23 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Tug of War: The Canadian Victory that Opened Antwerp (Toronto: Stoddart, 1984), 156.
24 Goodspeed, 492–94.
25 George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Victory: A Soldier’s Eye View, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, 1944–45 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1996), 45.
26 Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, October 1944, 2.
27 Goodspeed, 494.
28 Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, October 1944, 2.
29 Goodspeed, 494.
30 Johan van Doorn, correspondence with author, Sommelsdijk, Holland, 16 September 2006.
31 Goodspeed, 494.
32 Essex Scottish War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
33 George Blackburn, The History of the 4th Field Regiment (n.p., 1945), n.p.
34 Whitaker, 153–54.
35 Jean Bouchery, The Canadian Soldier in North-West Europe, 1944–1945, trans: Alan McKay (Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2003), 102.
36 Blackburn, The Guns of Victory, 280.
37 Royal Hamilton Light Infantry War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
38 Kingsley Brown, Sr., Kingsley Brown, Jr., and Brereton Greenhous, Semper Paratus: The History of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment), 1862–1977 (Hamilton: The rhli Historical Assoc., 1977), n.p.
39 Ibid.
40 2nd Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment, RCA War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 2.
41 Whitaker, 154.
42 Kingsley Brown, n.p.
43 Whitaker, 154.
44 Kingsley Brown, n.p.
45 Royal Hamilton Light Infantry War Diary, n.p.
46 Whitaker, 154.
47 South Saskatchewan Regiment War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 2.
48 Ibid., 2.
49 Ibid., 2–3.
50 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, October 1944, n.p.
51 R.W. Queen-Hughes, Whatever Men Dare: A History of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, 1935–1960 (Winnipeg: Bulman Bros., 1960), 136–37.
52 Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 3.
53 G.B. Buchanan, The March of the Prairie Men: A Story of the South Saskatchewan Regiment (n.p., n.d.), 41.
54 N.a., Vanguard: The Fort Garry Horse in the Second World War (Doetincham, Holland: Uitgevers-Maatschappij, C. Misset, NV, n.d.), 80.
9: CLOSE TO THE DANGER LINE
1 Hen Bollen, Worsteling om Walcheren, 1939–1945 (Netherlands: Uitgeverij Terra Zuthphen, 1985), 137.
2 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Tug of War: The Canadian Victory that Opened Antwerp (Toronto: Stoddart, 1984), 118.
3 Bollen, 137.
4 Ibid., 134.
5 Andrew Rawson, Walcheren: Operation Infatuate (South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books, 2003), 28.
6 “Extract from RAF Narrative: The Liberation of North-West Europe, The Assault on Walcheren—preliminary air operations,” 570.013(D3A), Directorate of Heritage and History, DND, 4.
7 “Extract from RAF narrative,” 4.
8 Bollen, 134–35.
9 Ibid., 145.
10 Whitaker, 122.
11 Bollen, 147.
12 Ibid., 144.
13 Ibid., 148.
14 “Extract from RAF narrative,” 3.
15 Bollen, 147.
16 J.L. Moulton, Battle for Antwerp: The Liberation of the City and the Opening of the Scheldt, 1944 (New York: Hippocrene Books, 1978), 95.
17 Col. C.P. Stacey, The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe, 1944–1945, vol. 3 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1960), 374.
18 Ibid., 377–78.
19 Whitaker, 126.
20 Stacey, 379.
21 Re
port No. 188 Historical Section Canadian Military Headquarters: “Canadian Participation in the Operations in North-West Europe–Part vi: Canadian Operations, 1 Oct–8 Nov, The Clearance of the Scheldt Estuary,” Department of National Defence, 7 April, 1948, 47.
22 Stacey, 425.
23 J.L. Granatstein, Canada’s Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002), 292.
24 E.L.M. Burns, Manpower in the Canadian Army, 1939–1945 (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company, 1956), 6.
25 Bill McAndrew, Liberation: The Canadians in Europe (Montreal: Éditions Art Global, 1995), 63.
26 Ibid.
27 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (RHR). of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 23.
28 George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Victory: A Soldier’s Eye View, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, 1944–45 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1996), 49.
29 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 12.
30 McAndrew, 62.
31 “Miscellaneous Papers, 1944–1979 Regarding a Chaplain’s Role,” mg 31, vol. f18, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
32 Burns, 115.
33 Charles Goodman, interview by author, Saanichton, bc, 2 June 2006.
34 Burns, 167.
10: A HARD FIGHT
1 Oberst G. Elmar Warning, “Battles of LXVII. Inf Corps Between the Schelde and the Maas, 15 Sep–25 Nov 44,” RG24, vol. 20523, Library and Archives Canada, 19–20.
2 Report No. 69 Historical Section Army Headquarters: “The Campaign in North-West Europe, Information from German Sources—Part II.I.. German Defence Operations in the Sphere of First Canadian Army (23 Aug.–8 Nov. 44),” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 30 July, 1954, paras 124–26.
3 Johan van Doorn, Slag om Woensdrecht: bevrijding van de Zuidwesthoek, Oktober 1944 (Willemstad: n.p., 1995), 39.
4 Col. C.P. Stacey, The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe, 1944–1945, vol. 3 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1960), 381.
5 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Tug of War: The Canadian Victory that Opened Antwerp (Toronto: Stoddart, 1984), 167.
6 Warning, 17.
7 Ibid., 18.
8 Essex Scottish War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
9 Ibid.
10 Ken M. Hossack, Mike Target (Ottawa: n.p., 1945), 25.
11 4th Canadian Field Regiment War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 1.
12 Essex Scottish War Diary, October 1944, n.p.
13 Ibid.
14 George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Victory: A Soldier’s Eye View, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, 1944–45 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1996), 53.
15 Hossack, 26.
16 Essex Scottish War Diary, October 1944, n.p.
17 N.a., VIII CDN Recce Rgt. 14 CH: Battle History of the Regt. (n.p., n.d.), 29.
18 Blackburn, 54.
19 Essex Scottish War Diary, October 1944, n.p.
20 Royal Hamilton Light Infantry War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
21 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 3.
22 Royal Hamilton Light Infantry War Diary, October 1944, n.p.
23 D.J. Goodspeed, Battle Royal: A History of the Royal Regiment of Canada, 1862–1962 (Toronto: The Royal Regiment of Canada Assoc., 1962), 496.
24 Blackburn, 56–61.
25 I Battalion, Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 6–7.
26 George Blackburn, The History of the 4th Field Regiment (n.p., 1945), n.p.
27 Hossack, 26–27.
28 David Bercuson, Battalion of Heroes: The Calgary Highlanders in World War II. (Calgary: Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 1994), 161.
29 I Battalion, The Black Watch (RHR). of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 4.
30 N.a., Vanguard: The Fort Garry Horse in the Second World War (Doetincham, Holland: Uitgevers-Maatschappij, C. Misset, NV, n.d.), 81.
31 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, October 1944, Appendix, n.p.
32 Vanguard, 81.
33 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 4.
34 Bercuson, 161–62.
35 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, October 1944, Appendix, n.p.
36 Ernest Teagle, interview by Mark C. Hill, 20 June 1985, University of Victoria Special Collections.
37 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 22.
38 Warning, 20–21.
39 “The Campaign in North-West Europe, Information from German Sources—Part III.”, 130.
40 van Doorn, 39–40.
41 Bill McAndrew, Liberation: The Canadians in Europe (Montreal: Éditions Art Global, 1995), 53.
42 Ibid., 54.
43 II. Canadian Corps War Diary, October 1944, Appendix, Intelligence Summary No. 64, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 1.
44 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 5–6.
45 Ibid., 6.
46 van Doorn, 38.
47 Vanguard, 82.
48 van Doorn, 38.
49 Warning, 21.
50 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, 8.
11: WITH DEVASTATING EFFECT
1 D.J. Goodspeed, Battle Royal: A History of the Royal Regiment of Canada, 1862–1962 (Toronto: The Royal Regiment of Canada Assoc., 1962), 499.
2 Goodspeed, 499–500.
3 Terry Copp, The Brigade: The Fifth Canadian Infantry Brigade, 1939–45 (Stoney Creek, on: Fortress Publications, 1992), 139.
4 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (RHR). of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 5.
5 Johan van Doorn, Slag om Woensdrecht: bevrijding van de Zuidwesthoek, Oktober 1944 (Willemstad: n.p., 1995), 39.
6 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 5.
7 van Doorn, 39.
8 David Bercuson, Battalion of Heroes: The Calgary Highlanders in World War II. (Calgary: Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 1994), 164.
9 Oberst G. Elmar Warning, “Battles of LXVII. Inf Corps Between the Schelde and the Maas, 15 Sep–25 Nov 44,” RG24, vol. 20523, Library and Archives Canada, 21.
10 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 5.
11 Bercuson, 165.
12 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 23.
13 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 5.
14 van Doorn, 39–41.
15 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 6.
16 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, 24.
17 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 5.
18 Harold MacDonald with M.A. MacDonald, “The Long Wait (Part 1): A Personal Account of Infantry Training in Britain,” Canadian Military History, vol. 14, Spring 2006, 37.
19 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 5.
20 Calgary Highlander War Diary, October 1944, 25.
21 Bercuson, 166.
22 Calgary Highlander War Diary, October 1944, 25.
23 Ibid., 26.
24 Ibid., 26–27.
25 van Doorn, 41.
26 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 6.
27 Fort Garry Horse War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 5.
28 Bercuson, 170.
29 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, 28.
30 Bercuson, 170.
31 Ibid.
32 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, 6.
33 Ibid.
34 Calgary Highlanders War Diary, October 1944, 28.
35 Bercuson, 170–71.
36 Johan van Doorn, correspondence with author, 1 November 2006.
37 Bercuson, 171–72.
38 Calgary Highlanders War Diary,
October 1944, 29.
39 Black Watch War Diary, October 1944, 6.
40 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, 6.
41 Black Watch War Diary, 6.
42 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, 7.
43 Bercuson, 172–73.
44 Bercuson, 173.
45 Copp, 142.
46 van Doorn, correspondence.
47 Goodspeed, 500.
48 van Doorn, Slag om Woensdrecht, 44.
49 Ist Battalion, Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 9.
50 Goodspeed, 500.
51 Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, 10.
52 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 8.
53 Goodspeed, 500.
54 van Doorn, Slag om Woensdrecht, 45.
55 Goodspeed, 501.
56 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, October 1944, 8.
57 Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, 12.
58 Goodspeed, 502.
59 van Doorn, 47.
12: DID OUR BEST
1 “21st Army Group, Clearing of the Scheldt Estuary, Oct–Nov 1944,” Crerar Papers, MG30, Library and Archives Canada, 4.
2 “Operation ‘Switchback‘: The Clearing of the South Bank of the Schelde (Battle Narrative Prepared by Historical Officer, 3 CDN INF DIV,” Canadian Operations in North-West Europe: October–November 1944, Extracts from War Diaries and Memoranda (Series 18), 018.(d2), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 3.
3 “21st Army Group,” 4.
4 Col. C.P. Stacey, The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe, 1944–1945, vol. 3 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1960), 393.
5 Brig. P.A.S. Todd, “Artillery in Operation ‘Switchback‘: Account by Brig. P.A.S. Todd, DSO, OBE, ED, CCRA, 2 CDN CORPS, given to Historical Officer 3 CDN INF DIV, 9 Dec. 1944,” Appendix ‘A,’ Canadian Operations in North-West Europe: October– November 1944, Extracts from War Diaries and Memoranda (Series 18), 018.(d2), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 18.
6 “Operation Switchback,” 4.
7 Ibid.
8 H.M. Jackson (ed), The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (PrincessLouise’s), 1928–1953 (n.p., 1953), 128.
9 “Some Aspects of the Technique of Flame Throwing: ‘WASP’ and ‘Lifebuoy’ (Account by Lt. George Bannerman, Sask L.I. (M.G.), Tech Offr (Flame), First Canadian Army, Given to Historical Officer, 2 CDN INF DIV, 26 Nov 44), Canadian Operations in North-West Europe: June–November 1944, Extracts from War Diaries and Memoranda (Series 17), 018 (d2), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 1–2.