On to Victory
Page 50
Royal Regiment of Canada War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
Royal Winnipeg Rifles War Diary, March-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
Seaforth Highlanders of Canada War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
“S&T Maintenance I Cdn Corps Second Maintenance Plan, Operation ‘Faust.’” RG24, vol. 10797, Library and Archives Canada.
7th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, March-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
7th Canadian Medium Regiment War Diary, March-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) War Diary, March-May 1945. RG 24, Library and Archives Canada.
17th Field Regiment, RCA War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
6th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
“Sitreps from Netherlands District, April 1945.” RG24, vol. 10538, Library and Archives Canada.
“Some notes on negotiations with the German Higher Comd in Holland, 27 Apr to 5 May, 1945 by Hist Offr I CDN Corps (Maj. L.A. Wrinch).” RG24, vol. 10796, Library and Archives Canada.
South Alberta Regiment War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
South Saskatchewan Regiment War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
“Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force: G-5 Division Historical Section- Relief for the Netherlands.” RG24, vol. 10249, Library and Archives Canada.
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders War Diary, March-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
3rd Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (Governor General’s Horse Guards) War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
13th Canadian Field Regiment, RCA War Diary, March-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
10th Canadian Independent Machinegun Company (New Brunswick Rangers) War Diary, April-May 1945. WO 179/4551, UK National Archives.
10th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, March-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada. 37th Field Battery, 17th Field Regiment War Diary. Possession of author.
“12th Canadian Field Regiment Op ‘Plunder,’” April 28, 1945.” 142.4F12011(D1), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence.
Toronto Scottish Regiment (MG) War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
“WNSR Report on Operations in Holland, 1945.” RG24, vol. 10896, Library and Archives Canada.
West Nova Scotia Regiment War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
“The Westminster Regiment (Motor) Report on Operations for Period 24 Apr-1 May 1945, Operation Canada.” 145.2W1011(D1), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence.
Westminster Regiment (Motor) War Diary, April-May 1945. RG24, Library and Archives Canada.
INTERVIEWS AND CORRESPONDENCE
Bannerman, George. Interview by author. Calgary, March 19, 2009.
Diepman, Bernard. Correspondence with author. April 3, 2009.
Dudley, Robert Woodhouse. Interview by Cameron Falconer. March 16, 1983. University of Victoria Special Collections.
Gildersleeve, Wilf and Margriet (née Blaisse). Interview by Ken MacLeod. Vancouver, 1999.
Goodman, Charles. Interview by author. Saanichton, BC, January 27, 2009.
Hoffmeister, Bert M. Interview by B. Greenhous and W. McAndrew, n.d. Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence.
——.Letter to Daniel T. Byers, March 1, 1991. Appended to: “Operation ‘Canada,’ The Canadian Attack on Delfzijl, April 23-May 2, 1945, Bachelor of Arts thesis, 1991, Wilfrid Laurier University.
Johns, Stuart Louis. Telephone interview by author. Windsor, ON, June 3, 2009.
MacGregor, Ernest Morgan. Interview by Rick Aylward. Victoria, July 22, 1986. University of Victoria Special Collections.
Parkinson, Robert H. Interview by Morgan Witzel. January 19, 1984. University of Victoria Special Collections.
Skinner, Wilhelmina (née Klaverdijk). Interview by Jackie Mill. Vancouver, 2003.
Spry, Dan. “Interview Spry, Oct/87.” Crerar Papers. MG30, vol. 1, Library and Archives Canada.
Stone, James Riley. Interview by William S. Thackray. Victoria, May 13 and 20 and June 3, 10, and 17, 1980. University of Victoria Special Collections.
van Doorn, Johan. Personal briefing with author, Sommelsdijk, Holland. May 1, 2009; conversation with author, October 22, 2009; conversation with author, December 7, 2009; correspondence with author, December 11.
NOTES
INTRODUCTION: THE SWEETEST OF SPRINGS
1 G.R. Stevens, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry: 1919-1957, vol. 3 (Griesbach, AB: Historical Committee of the Regiment, n.d.), 246.
2 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry War Diary, May 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, sheet 7.
3 Stevens, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, 246-47.
4 Reginald H. Roy, The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, 1919-1965 (Vancouver: Evergreen Press, 1969), 439.
5 Diary of Major Durnford, RG24, vol. 20405, Library and Archives Canada, 139.
6 Wilf and Margriet Gildersleeve, interview by Ken MacLeod, Vancouver, 1999.
7 Wilhelmina (née Klaverdijk) Skinner, interview by Jackie Mill, Vancouver, 2003.
8 Jean E. Portugal, We Were There: The Navy, the Army and the RCAF-A Record for Canada, vol. 5 (Shelburne, ON: Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 1998), 2308.
9 George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Victory: A Soldier’s Eye View, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, 1944-45 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1997), 484-85.
10 G.L. Cassidy, Warpath: From Tilly-la-campagne to the Kusten Canal (Markham, ON: PaperJacks , 1980), 370-71.
11 1st Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry of Canada: 1940-1945 (Galt, ON: Highland Light Infantry of Canada Assoc., 1951), 112.
12 Highland Light Infantry War Diary, May 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 2.
13 Ibid., 8.
1: NO POSSIBILITY OF DOUBT
1 Jean E. Portugal, We Were There: The Navy, the Army and the RCAF-A Record for Canada, vol. 4 (Shelburne, ON: Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 1998), 1826.
2 G.W.L. Nicholson, The Gunners of Canada, vol. 2 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972), 422.
3 Ibid., 422-23.
4 Portugal, We Were There, vol. 5, 1827.
5 James C. Bond, “The Fog of War: Large-Scale Smoke Screening Operations of First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe, 1944-1945,” Canadian Military History, vol. 8, no. 1 (Winter 1999), 55.
6 “12th Canadian Field Regiment Op ‘Plunder,’” April 28, 1945, 142.4F12011(D1), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 2.
7 T.J. Bell, Into Action with the 12th Field (Utrecht: J. van Boekhoven, 1945), 125.
8 “12th Canadian Field Regiment Op ‘Plunder,’” 2.
9 Bell, 125.
10 Nicholson, 422.
11 A.M. Lockwood, History of the 7th Canadian Medium Regiment, R.C.A.-From 1st September, 1939 to 8th June, 1945 (Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada, 1945), 69-70.
12 7th Medium Regiment, RCA War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
13 “Report No. 19 Historical Section Army Headquarters: ‘Operation ‘Plunder:’ The Canadian Participation in the Assault Across the Rhine and the Expansion of the Bridgehead by 2 Cdn Corps 23/24 Mar-1 Apr 45,” Department of National Defence, June 26, 1948, para. 40.
14 C.P. Stacey, The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe, 1944-1945, vol. 3 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1960), 528.
15 Ibid.
16 Stephen Hart, Montgomery and “Colossal Cracks”: The 21st Army Group in Northwest Europe, 1944-1945 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000), 141.
17 Stacey, The Victory Campaign,
524.
18 Brian Horrocks with Eversley Belfeld and H. Essame, Corps Commander (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1977), 182-83.
19 Paul Douglas Dickson, A Thoroughly Canadian General: A Biography of General H.D.G. Crerar (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007), 390.
20 Dan Spry, “Interview Spry, Oct/87,” Crerar Papers, MG30, vol. 1, Library and Archives Canada, 14-15.
21 Ibid., 4-5.
22 Dickson, 359.
23 Stacey, The Victory Campaign, 530-37.
24 “Report No. 17, Historical Section (G.S.) Army Headquarters, The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in the Low Countries and in Germany: Final Operations (2 January-18 February and 24 March-5 May 1945),” Department of National Defence, October 27, 1947, para. 28.
25 Stacey, The Victory Campaign, 530-37.
26 “Report No. 19,” para. 40.
27 “Report No. 181 Historical Section Canadian Military Headquarters, Operation ‘Goldflake,’ the Move of 1 Cdn Corps from Italy to North-West Europe, February- March 1945, Appendix A,” Department of National Defence, August 7, 1947.
28 Horrocks, 207.
29 Samuel Alexander Flatt, History of the 6th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers: 1939-1945 (New Westminster: n.p., 1946), 104.
30 “Report No. 19,” para. 14.
31 Stacey, The Victory Campaign, 532.
32 “Report No. 19,” paras. 14-16.
33 Stacey, The Victory Campaign, 533.
34 Chester Wilmot, The Struggle for Europe (London: Collins, 1952), 681.
35 “Report No. 19,” para. 45.
2: NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN
1 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Rhineland: The Battle to End the War (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1989), 284-85.
2 Ralph Bennett, Ultra in the West: The Normandy Campaign, 1944-45 (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1980), 217.
3 Robert S. Wistrich, Who’s Who in Nazi Germany (New York: Routledge, 2001), 14.
4 Whitaker and Whitaker, 284-85.
5 Justin L.C. Eldridge, “Defense on the Rhine,” vol. 21, issue 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995), Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, 38-44.
6 “Report No. 19, Historical Section Army Headquarters: Operation ‘Plunder’: The Canadian Participation in the Assault Across the Rhine and the Expansion of the Bridgehead by 2 Cdn Corps 23/24 Mar-1 Apr 45,” Department of National Defence, June 26, 1948, paras. 30-31.
7 Bennett, 220.
8 Eldridge, 38-44.
9 “Report No. 19,” para. 28.
10 Ibid., para. 32.
11 Bennett, 223.
12 Whitaker and Whitaker, 285.
13 Eldridge, 38-44.
14 William B. Breuer, Storming Hitler’s Rhine: The Allied Assault, February-March, 1945 (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1985), 203.
15 Ibid., 216.
16 William W. Barrett, History of 13th Canadian Field Artillery (n.p., 1945), 118.
17 13th Canadian Field Regiment War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 6.
18 Robert A. Spencer, History of the 15th Field Regiment (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1945), 233-34.
19 7th Canadian Medium Regiment War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, n.p.
20 Spencer, 234.
21 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 10.
22 T.J. Bell, Into Action with the 12th Field (Utrecht: J. van Boekhoven, 1945), 126-27.
23 “Almost Continuous Roar,” in Heroes Remember,Glen Tomlin, Tomlin interview, March 7, 2005, Veteran Affairs, www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/hrp/hrp_detail&media_id=2150 (accessed November 24, 2008).
24 “4th Canadian Light Anti Aircraft Regiment From: 18 February 1941 to 8 May 1945,” Canadian War Museum, 20.
25 “Report on Pepperpot; Operation Plunder, 4 Cdn. Lt. A.A. Regt., RCA, Various Accounts, 25 Mar. 1945,” 142.82A4013(D3), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, n.p.
26 “4th Canadian Light Anti Aircraft Regiment,” 20.
27 Ibid.
28 “Report on Pepperpot, Operation Plunder,” n.p.
29 “Report No. 19,” para. 49.
30 Brian Horrocks with Eversley Belfeld and H. Essame, Corps Commander (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1977), 209-10.
31 Winston S. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy (Toronto: Thomas Allen, 1953), 411.
32 Stacey, The Victory Campaign, 535.
33 Whitaker and Whitaker, 295-97.
34 Breuer, 190.
35 Churchill, 411-12.
3: GO FOR THE GODDAMN WOODS
1 “Report No. 19 Historical Section Army Headquarters: ‘Operation ‘Plunder’: The Canadian Participation in the Assault Across the Rhine and the Expansion of the Bridgehead by 2 Cdn Corps 23/24 Mar-1 Apr 45,” Department of National Defence, June 26, 1948, para. 50.
2 Highland Light Infantry War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 9.
3 Ibid., 9.
4 “Operation Plunder: Report Prepared by Hist Offr HQ 3 C DN INF DIV 20 Apr 45,” RG24, 10.907, 269, Library and Archives Canada, 3.
5 “Report No. 19,” paras. 60-61.
6 Justin L.C. Eldridge, “Defense on the Rhine,” Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, vol. 21, issue 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1995), 38.
7 Lee Windsor, “‘Too Close for the Guns!’ 9 Canadian Infantry Brigade in the Battle for the Rhine Bridgehead,” Canadian Military History, vol. 13, nos. 1 and 2 (Winter/ Spring 2003), 9.
8 Brian Horrocks with Eversley Belfeld and H. Essame, Corps Commander (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1977), 212.
9 “Report No. 19,” para. 61.
10 “Operation ‘Varsity,’ the Airborne Crossing of R. Rhine, detailed account of operation in which 1 Cdn Para Bn participated-Apr 45, Operation Report as of 30 March, 1945” RG24, vol. 10.825, box 228, Library and Archives Canada.
11 Bernd Horn and Michel Wyczynski, Paras Versus the Reich: Canada’s Paratroopers at War, 1942-45 (Toronto: Dundurn, 2003), 198-99.
12 “Report No. 17 Historical Section (G.S.) Army Headquarters: The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in the Low Countries and in Germany, Final Operations (2 January-18 February and 24 March-5 May 1945),” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, para. 37.
13 Dan R. Hatigan, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Assault on the Rhine: The Ride, The Drop, and The Objectives (Calgary, privately published, 1988), 2-3.
14 “Operation Varsity-Plunder, 1 CDN BN OO No. 1,” March 1945, possession of author.
15 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Rhineland: The Battle to End the War (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1989), 321-23.
16 “Report No. 17,” para. 38.
17 John A. Willes, Out of the Clouds: The History of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (Port Perry, ON: Port Perry Printing, 1995), 137-38.
18 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 3.
19 Gary C. Boegel, Boys of the Clouds: An Oral History of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (Victoria, BC: Trafford, 2005), 278-79.
20 “Report No. 17,” para. 39.
21 “Narrative of Operation Varsity, 24 March 1945,” RG24, vol. 10825, box 228, Library and Archives Canada, 5.
22 “Narrative of Operation Varsity,” 5.
23 Horn and Wyczynski, 199.
24 Hartigan, 4.
25 “Narrative of Operation Varsity,” 5.
26 Hartigan, 4-6.
27 Winston S. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy (Toronto: Thomas Allen, 1953), 413.
28 Ross Munro, Gauntlet to Overlord: The Story of the Canadian Army (Toronto: Macmillan, 1945), 256.
29 Hartigan, 7.
30 Ibid., 10.
31 Willes, 140.
32 Hartigan, 5.
33 Boegel, 299-300.
34 Horn and Wyczynski, 200-01.
35 Hartigan, 10.
36 “Canadian Army Overseas Honours and Awards Citation Details,” Dire
ctorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/cao-aco/details-eng.asp?firstname=JamesOliver&lastname=Quigley&rec=id740 (accessed June 26, 2009).
37 Horn and Wyczynski, 201.
38 “Canadian Army Overseas Honours and Awards Citation Details,” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/cao-aco/details-eng.asp?firstname=GeorgeWilliam&lastname=Green&rec=id4929 (accessed June 26, 2009).
39 Horn and Wycznski, 203-05.
40 “Canadian Army Overseas Honours and Awards Citation Details,” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/cao-aco/details-eng.asp?firstname=GeorgeFraser&lastname=Eadie&rec=id2051 (accessed June 26, 2009).
41 Hartigan, 11.
42 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion War Diary, March 1945, 4.
43 Ibid.
44 Willes, 141.
45 “Narrative of Operation Varsity,” 7.
46 “Report No. 17, Appendix 1,” 1.
47 Horn and Wycznski, 205-06.
48 Ibid.
4: RUGGED RESISTANCE
1 “Report No. 17 Historical Section (G.S.) Army Headquarters: The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in the Low Countries and in Germany, Final Operations (2 January-18 February and 24 March-5 May 1945),” Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, para. 44.
2 “Report No. 19 Historical Section Army Headquarters: ‘Operation ‘Plunder’: The Canadian Participation in the Assault Across the Rhine and the Expansion of the Bridgehead by 2 Cdn Corps 23/24 Mar-1 Apr 45,” Department of National Defence, June 26, 1948, para. 61.
3 W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker, Tug of War: The Canadian Victory that Opened Antwerp (Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1984), 292.
4 1st Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry of Canada: 1940-1945 (Galt, ON: Highland Light Infantry of Canada Assoc., 1951), 97.
5 “Report No. 19,” para. 62.
6 “Artillery Notes on Operation Plunder,” 142.4F14011(D1), Directorate of Heritage and History, Department of National Defence, 1-2.
7 Highland Light Infantry War Diary, March 1945, RG24, Library and Archives Canada, 9.