I recently had the good fortune to have stumbled across the podcast that I’ve linked to below, as they conversed with one of my favorite historians & authors whose acclaimed series of books about the various Canadian theaters of war & military campaigns of WW2 I’ve reviewed at FGM previously.
In this podcast episode (running time 51 minutes), Canadian historian Mark Zuehlke delves into the bloody liberation of Western Holland and clearing of the Scheldt estuary leading to the port of Antwerp, one of Canada’s finest and most costly, military victories.
As described in Zuehlke's excellent narrative of this campaign entitled; ‘Terrible Victory – First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign September 13 – November 6, 1944’ (466 pages).
“On September 13th, the 1st Canadian Army’s most horrific battle of WW2 began, in the Belgium and Dutch lowlands near Antwerp. The sixty-mile Scheldt waterway linking Europe’s greatest port to the North Sea was absolutely crucial to support the vast Allied armies then rolling towards Germany. Told to open Antwerp at any cost, the Canadians slammed hard against extremely well fortified & entrenched German forces, who given the critical strategic importance of the port had been ordered to die in place. For fifty-five days, a titanic contest unfolded between two equally determined foes.”
Fighting in the constant cold & wet, under perpetually overcast skies, and across an unnervingly flat battlefield intersected with countless canals, dikes and flooded polders that largely confined their air, armor & artillery as by-standers to the fight, this was primarily an infantry slog, to be fought with machine-guns and rifles.
At the start of this campaign Allied forces driving to Germany were beginning to stall as they were still being supplied primarily from the Normandy beachhead. As Zuehlke recounts, it was said that because of the length of these supply lines, it purportedly cost the Allies 3 gallons of gasoline to deliver just 1 gallon of gas to the front lines and those at the tip of the spear. Such was the importance of the opening of Antwerp to help speed up and bring about the conclusion of the war.
By the conclusion of this campaign, the Canadians had suffered some 5,000 combat casualties, with a further 3,000 non-combat casualties attributed to the horrific conditions the campaign was conducted in.
The link to this podcast episode is here:
play.acast.com
Their web-site describes We Have Ways of Making You Talk as a bi-weekly show exploring the war in close up. The hosts have a stunning knowledge of their subject, but don’t expect a linear narrative. The boys love a tangent and a forgotten tale.
Cheers!
In this podcast episode (running time 51 minutes), Canadian historian Mark Zuehlke delves into the bloody liberation of Western Holland and clearing of the Scheldt estuary leading to the port of Antwerp, one of Canada’s finest and most costly, military victories.
As described in Zuehlke's excellent narrative of this campaign entitled; ‘Terrible Victory – First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign September 13 – November 6, 1944’ (466 pages).
“On September 13th, the 1st Canadian Army’s most horrific battle of WW2 began, in the Belgium and Dutch lowlands near Antwerp. The sixty-mile Scheldt waterway linking Europe’s greatest port to the North Sea was absolutely crucial to support the vast Allied armies then rolling towards Germany. Told to open Antwerp at any cost, the Canadians slammed hard against extremely well fortified & entrenched German forces, who given the critical strategic importance of the port had been ordered to die in place. For fifty-five days, a titanic contest unfolded between two equally determined foes.”
Fighting in the constant cold & wet, under perpetually overcast skies, and across an unnervingly flat battlefield intersected with countless canals, dikes and flooded polders that largely confined their air, armor & artillery as by-standers to the fight, this was primarily an infantry slog, to be fought with machine-guns and rifles.
At the start of this campaign Allied forces driving to Germany were beginning to stall as they were still being supplied primarily from the Normandy beachhead. As Zuehlke recounts, it was said that because of the length of these supply lines, it purportedly cost the Allies 3 gallons of gasoline to deliver just 1 gallon of gas to the front lines and those at the tip of the spear. Such was the importance of the opening of Antwerp to help speed up and bring about the conclusion of the war.
By the conclusion of this campaign, the Canadians had suffered some 5,000 combat casualties, with a further 3,000 non-combat casualties attributed to the horrific conditions the campaign was conducted in.
The link to this podcast episode is here:
The Canadian Story
Al Murray and James Holland are joined by one of Canada's leading military historians Mark Zuehlke to discuss the nation's effort throughout the Second World War. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website...
play.acast.com
Their web-site describes We Have Ways of Making You Talk as a bi-weekly show exploring the war in close up. The hosts have a stunning knowledge of their subject, but don’t expect a linear narrative. The boys love a tangent and a forgotten tale.
Cheers!
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