Battle of the Reichswald

Battle of the Reichswald was the action by the Canadian First Army to clear the west bank of the Rhine River, prior to the crossings of World War II. It was part of Operation Veritable. It started on February 8, 1945 (delayed from 12th January) and lasted until the last Germans were evacuated across the Rhine on March 10, 1945.

The battleground

The Reichswald Forest lies in Germany, to the east of Nijmegen and between the Rivers Rhine and Maas. The area is wooded and liable to flooding. In 1945, the winter had been wet and the German defenders had allowed the rivers to flood, thus negating the Allied advantages in armour and manpower. They had also had some weeks to prepare their defences and towns had been turned into fortified strongpoints.

The armies

On the Allied side, the Canadian First Army, commanded by General Henry Crerar, was reinforced by British divisions from the 2nd Army.

The Germans had an advantage in that the local garrison consisted of the 1st Parachute Army, one of the last politically committed and unbeaten German formations. Their commander, General Alfred Schlemm, was a very skillful officer. Although the accepted opinion on the German side was that the Allies would next attack from Venlo, Schlemm disagreed and ensured that his sector had prepared defensive lines and strongpoints.

The plan

Crerar intended that the defenders would be reduced by artillery and air bombardment, allowing his infantry to move rapidly through the Reichswald and freeing his armoured divisions onto the open ground beyond. This needed dry ground firm enough for armour.

In addition, Simpson's 9th Army would attack 48 hours after the Canadians and catch the German reserves while they were redeploying against the Canadians. The timing of the 9th Army depended completely upon General Courtney Hodges' US 1st Army taking the Roer dams intact and thereby removing the threat of inundation.

The battle

The action started with an Allied artillery barrage, one of the heaviest of the whole war.

Flooding and prepared defences slowed advance, allowing Schlemm to bring up reserves from Army Group H.

Cleve taken on 12th February and Reichswald cleared on 13th.

External references

* [http://www.bills-bunker.privat.t-online.de/65990.html A detailed, personal account of the battle]
* [http://www.junobeach.org/e/3/can-pep-can-crerar-e.htm A biography of Henry Crerar]
* [http://www.nunoxei.com/2008/05/27/the-lowdown-015-nijmegen-canadian-war-cemetery/ The Lowdown on the Canadian War Cemetery and Memorial] in Nijmegen, Netherlands