Analysis Of Walcheren, A Small Dutch Island At The Western...

Walcheren, a small Dutch island at the Western end of the Beveland Peninsula was the setting for one of the most underrated but critical engagements of the second world war. The summer of 1944 had saw a series of almost unprecedented successes by allied forces in northwestern Europe. The Normandy landings in June had been followed by the breakout from the beachhead and an advance of some 300 miles eastward across France to the low countries. By early October the tempo of operations had slackened. The attempt in September to jump the lower Rhine at Arnhem (Op MARKET GARDEN) with airborne troops had failed. It looked as if the battlefront would remain west of the Rhine for the winter and that the war would last well into 1945. The key to the supply problems was the port of Antwerp, captured with its dock facilities only slightly damaged in September 1944. It was 50 miles from the sea and could not be used by the allied shipping until the heavily mined Scheldt estuary had been made safe, but the Allied eyes were on the Rhine crossings at Arnhem, not the lower Scheldt. By mid October the allies held most of the mainland forming the southern bank of the estuary, but the Germans still held the island of Walcheren, which guarded the port entrance. It was a matter of urgency for the allies to use Antwerp as the supply problem threatened the to curtail the allied plan of prosecuting the war on a wide front. As winter weather might be expected to start anytime, the decision was