The 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and V-E Day

In 1945, 175,000 Canadian soldiers took part in the campaign to liberate the Netherlands from occupying German forces.

Nazi occupation of Western Europe started in 1940 and lasted until early May, 1945; at which point, the German Army officially surrendered.

The images above are from Veterans Affairs Canada and portray the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops.

During the occupation, the First Canadian Army “played a leading role in opening Belgium and the Netherlands' Scheldt estuary (tidal river), gateway to the port of Antwerp.” This was an essential access point for maintaining supply lines to Allied armies in order to continue to push the Germans to their defeat.

The estuary was opened with a four-phased plan. “The first was to clear the area north of Antwerp and secure access to South Beveland. The second was to clear the Breskens "pocket" behind the Leopold Canal, and the third was the capture of South Beveland. The final phase would be the capture of Walcheren Island.” The plan was launched on October 2nd, 1944 “and by November 8th all enemy opposition (had) ended.” With the supply line open, convoys were able to enter the port and the essential lifeline for the Allies was secured.

With this line secured, the Canadians were able to operate many more campaigns from air, land and sea in order to push the Germans troops out of the Netherlands. The official surrender occurred on May 5th and was formally signed on May 7th, 1945.

Throughout the many battles that took place to get to this point, the Victoria Cross for gallantry and courage was given to Canadians Sergeant Aubrey Cosens and Major F.A. Tilston for the “formidable defenses of the Hochwald Forest and Balberger heights.” Canadian medical orderly, F.G. Topham, also won the award “for his heroic care of a wounded man” during “the crossing of the Rhine at Rees.”

The success and partnership of the Canadian and Dutch Army’s resulted in a friendship between the countries that has lasted to this day. Each year, the Netherlands presents Canada with 20,000 tulip bulbs as an expression of gratitude.

This year, the commemorative Liberation75 tulips were presented and sold to Canadians nation wide in order to display our “proud support of the Canadian Armed Forces while honouring the fallen Canadians of the Liberation of the Netherlands.” If you received some of these tulips, please share their bloom on social media tagging us @hohtribute using #Netherlands75 and #TulipsAtHome.

Source: liberation75.ca

For more information, visit veterans.gc.ca or liberation75.ca