Channel Ports and the Scheldt
September – November 1944
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Module objective: Guided by both research and inquiry-based questions, students will explore the significance of the battle for the Scheldt estuary, using primary source evidence to understand the causes and consequences of the battle, as well as historical perspectives on this period including the conscription crisis.
Intended audience: Grades 10-12 Prior knowledge required: The Battle of Normandy Primary HTC addressed: Historical Significance Secondary HTCs addressed: Cause and Consequence; Historical Perspective |
Interested in combining the Lest We Forget project with some activities from this module? Here are links to the service files of two soldiers whose individual stories connect with this module’s topic:
Vincent William Beazley Lance Corporal Leonard Frank Osborne |
Problem overview
By late October 1944 Canadian led operations in the Netherlands to open the port of Antwerp became the highest priority Allied effort in the global war. More British and American troops were placed under Canadian command in addition to the British, Dutch, Polish, Czech troops already serving therein. Allied air and naval forces also joined in the Canadian-planned mission.
The whole mission stands among Canada’s largest military campaigns in history. Should that make it significant?
How does it compare with Dieppe or D-Day?
The whole mission stands among Canada’s largest military campaigns in history. Should that make it significant?
How does it compare with Dieppe or D-Day?
Problem background
From September to November 1944, after the victory in the Battle of Normandy, Allied armies surged across France towards the German border. The multi-national First Canadian Army, including British, Polish and Czech troops, formed the left wing, advancing northeast along the coast of Western Europe. There the Canadian-led force was ordered to defeat German units manning ‘Atlantic Wall’ fortresses built to control the port cities along the coast of Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The result was some of the most difficult and bloody fighting experienced by Canadian troops anywhere during the whole Second World War. The cost in Canadian lives liberated Belgium and opened key ports to Allied shipping, including Boulogne, Calais and especially Antwerp, one of the largest ports in all of Europe. Accessing those ports enabled Allied armies to move their supply and transportation base more than 500 kilometres from Normandy beaches to the very edge of the German border in preparation for both the final battles of the war and to support the massive humanitarian relief effort following behind the fighting front. For these reasons Canadian veteran and historian, Brigadier-General Denis Whitaker titled his book about the fall of 1944 Tug of War: The Canadian Victory that Opened Antwerp.
In early September 1944 Allied leaders saw signs that Hitler’s Germany might collapse before the end of 1944. In that context British and American leaders launched Operation Market-Garden, a massive parachute assault designed to penetrate and defeat Germany as quickly as possible, thereby ending the human suffering in German occupied Europe. The mission was a gamble considering the exhaustion among Allied units fighting at the end of an over-extended supply chain. However, in September 1944 many Allied leaders felt it was worth taking the chance to end the war quickly. They did not know that in the second half of 1944 Hitler’s Germany mobilized the last of their available manpower and materials for one last desperate to fight to win acceptable peace terms, much as they had done in the spring of 1918. Allied hopes to end the war quickly clashed head-on with German hopes to prolong it enough and inflict enough casualties to make either the British or Americans quit.
First Canadian Army felt the consequences of these decisions. Canadian and Canadian-led operations against German fortified ports in France, Belgium and the Netherlands initially took second priority to the Airborne and armoured drive into Germany. Canada’s effort had to be mounted with minimum numbers of troops, ammunition and weapons. Wet autumn weather and low-lying Belgian and Dutch terrain made off road travel difficult to impossible and frequently grounded supporting Allied airplanes. Canadian commanders responded by applying innovative solutions and specialized technologies to give them an edge. Yet the German opponent still fought fiercely. Over 6000 Canadians were killed and wounded that autumn, which along with heavy losses in Italy and in the air war created a manpower shortage contributing to the 1944 Conscription Crisis. Many veterans who served in the Channel Ports and in the water-logged fields around the Scheldt succumbed to battle exhaustion after countless days of hard fighting in cold, mud-filled trenches, under steady German heavy artillery fire reminiscent of the First World War.
In early September 1944 Allied leaders saw signs that Hitler’s Germany might collapse before the end of 1944. In that context British and American leaders launched Operation Market-Garden, a massive parachute assault designed to penetrate and defeat Germany as quickly as possible, thereby ending the human suffering in German occupied Europe. The mission was a gamble considering the exhaustion among Allied units fighting at the end of an over-extended supply chain. However, in September 1944 many Allied leaders felt it was worth taking the chance to end the war quickly. They did not know that in the second half of 1944 Hitler’s Germany mobilized the last of their available manpower and materials for one last desperate to fight to win acceptable peace terms, much as they had done in the spring of 1918. Allied hopes to end the war quickly clashed head-on with German hopes to prolong it enough and inflict enough casualties to make either the British or Americans quit.
First Canadian Army felt the consequences of these decisions. Canadian and Canadian-led operations against German fortified ports in France, Belgium and the Netherlands initially took second priority to the Airborne and armoured drive into Germany. Canada’s effort had to be mounted with minimum numbers of troops, ammunition and weapons. Wet autumn weather and low-lying Belgian and Dutch terrain made off road travel difficult to impossible and frequently grounded supporting Allied airplanes. Canadian commanders responded by applying innovative solutions and specialized technologies to give them an edge. Yet the German opponent still fought fiercely. Over 6000 Canadians were killed and wounded that autumn, which along with heavy losses in Italy and in the air war created a manpower shortage contributing to the 1944 Conscription Crisis. Many veterans who served in the Channel Ports and in the water-logged fields around the Scheldt succumbed to battle exhaustion after countless days of hard fighting in cold, mud-filled trenches, under steady German heavy artillery fire reminiscent of the First World War.
Key questions and debates
The three student activities in this module are designed to address the key questions and debates surrounding the topic, and are framed by the guideposts to historical thinking for each of the historical thinking concepts addressed in the module. Activities are intended to be completed in order. Please click below to see an activity overview, guiding questions, and additional topics/questions the teacher may introduce.
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Students will examine how prepared the Allies were to win the war in 1944.
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Students will engage in a case study of the decision-making for Walcheren Island.
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Students will engage in a debate in by exploring an historic actor’s position.
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Culminating activity/assessment
To demonstrate understanding, students will write a newspaper op-ed in character to follow their Parliamentary debate, arguing for what might happen if the actions they recommend are not taken. Students must use the primary source documents in the student section of the website as the basis for their arguments.
Students demonstrating sophisticated thinking will be able to demonstrate how their character's perspective reflects:
a) a larger, meaningful narrative; or
b) an emerging or enduring issue.
Students should also be able to articulate through this module their understanding that significance varies from group to group and over time.
We encourage the use of The Historical Thinking Project resources in addition to Provincial curricular recommendations to assess student thinking in this module.
Students demonstrating sophisticated thinking will be able to demonstrate how their character's perspective reflects:
a) a larger, meaningful narrative; or
b) an emerging or enduring issue.
Students should also be able to articulate through this module their understanding that significance varies from group to group and over time.
We encourage the use of The Historical Thinking Project resources in addition to Provincial curricular recommendations to assess student thinking in this module.
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