Walcheren campaigns (1809, 1944). This diamond-shaped island about 9 miles (14.5 km) in each direction lies on the northern edge of the Scheldt estuary, jutting out into the North Sea, and dominates all shipping moving in and out of the port of Antwerp. Much of Walcheren is below sea level, and a protective rim of sea walls, sand dunes, and dykes surrounds the whole. The British expedition to this reclaimed marsh in 1809 is remembered mainly because it lost over 23, 000 men to disease while suffering only a little over 200 casualties from combat, one of the worst disasters ever to overtake a British army.
In 1944, with his supply lines stretching back to Normandy, Montgomery was presented with the windfall that Antwerp had been seized by the local resistance before the Germans could sabotage the port as they had every other along the Channel and North Sea coast. After Arnhem he turned to clearing the Scheldt in order for his Twenty-first Army Group to be able to use the port for its forthcoming advance into the Rhineland.
The Germans defended the island in strength, with 10, 000 men and eighteen major batteries in concrete bunkers, extensive minefields, and beach obstacles. The RAF was entrusted with the preliminary bombardment during October and breached the sea walls to flood some of the German defences. Few of these were below sea level, unlike the Dutch civilian population that had not acted upon warning leaflets with sufficient alacrity.
In the meantime nearly 200 landing and support craft had been assembled for amphibious assaults on Westkapelle and Vlissingen (Flushing). Supported by battleships, INFATUATE was launched in the early hours of 1 November in poor weather. The shore batteries took a heavy toll of the landing craft, particularly at Westkapelle, and supporting armour bogged down in the soft clay. The planned close air support was initially impossible due to the weather. Elements of 4 Commando Brigade stormed Westkapelle, suffering heavy losses, while infantry battalions from 52nd Division and 41 Commando assaulted Vlissingen. By 8 November, they had taken the island and linked up with 2nd Canadian Division, advancing along the South Beveland peninsula. Minesweeping operations began immediately to clear the river, and the first convoy entered Antwerp on 27 November.
Bibliography
- Denis, W., and Whitaker, Shelagh, The Battle of the Scheldt (London, 1985)
— Peter Caddick-Adams
