The Battle of RhineLand
In order for you to fully understand this battle you must first understand that the Rhine is a river that runs through Europe. It was a full 820 miles (1,320 km) long and only 540 miles (870 km) of it being navigable. The length was changed, however, in 2010 to be a shorter 765 miles (1,230 km) long. At the time of the war, this river was a main industrial waterway used for transportation. It was probably as valuable as a railway since it runs through Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and a few other countries. This is why the Germans had captured the Rhine and part of the reason why Canada was getting it back for the Netherlands.
After months of German occupation the Canadians finally started their move in. Sadly, this got the Dutch thinking that they were about to be freed and that wasn’t the case. You see, even though the army being used in this battle was the largest army (more than 450,000 men) commanded by a Canadian official and had three months of planning and preparation under their belt, this was not quite enough. In order to get to the Germans and the major Dutch cities, they had to get across the Rhine river. First they started with phase one which was called Operation Veritable. This started on February 8 and lasted until February 21. Operation Veritable was used to start clearing the Germans in the North. Field-Marshal Montgomery commanded the Ninth U.S. Army as well as his British and Canadian forces during this time. Next was phase 2, also known as Operation Blockbuster. It started on February 22 and lasted until March 10. In the Battle of Rhineland, the Canadians, British and the Americans pushed the Germans off of the West bank of the Rhine river and as far south as Düsseldorf. By the 23rd of March, the Allies occupied the Rhine River from Strasbourg, France, to Nijmegen, Netherlands. In the end, the total Allied casualties were 23, 000, the Canadians losing 5, 304. |
Hunger Winter
While the battle of Rhineland was going on, there was the Hunger Winter, the result of the a railway strike the Dutch government had enforced which then caused the Germans to cut off food a fuel from the western provinces. No one in the western cities got any food. Their food shortage went extremely low and millions of Dutch were affected by it. Each citizen was only allowed 320 calories daily which is an eighth of what an adult male should have. They even started to eat tulip bulbs since they were so short on food. The Canadians again came to the rescue and since there was a momentary truce and no shots were fired, the Canadians flew over the Netherlands and dropped in food by parachute to the Dutch. The Dutch were so glad for this that they painted “Thank you Canadians” on their roof tops for the Canadians to see as they flew over.
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The Liberation
The slow process of extracting the Germans from the Netherlands took some time, but at every town, the Canadians were greeted as if they were Kings. The celebration was immense as the Dutch showed their gratitude for the Canadian soldiers.
One Dutch citizen recalled seeing the Canadian tanks in the distance. There was a hush over the crowded city, then screaming and crying from everyone as they ran out to meet the Canadians who then had a personal escort of a sea of Dutch citizens all the way back to the city. After the War
A total of 7,600 Canadians died in the 9 months that it took to liberate the Netherlands.
At the end, the Germans ended up losing approximately 90,000 men, out of that 52,000 were taken prisoner. Also, any Dutch woman who had been in a relationship with a German had her hair cut off as a way to shame her. |
Veteran
Great Opa, Jhim (yim) Van Tol
Lived: Sept 24 1914 - June 23, 2003
Born: Boskoop, Netherlands
Jhim was born in Boskoop, Netherlands, September 24th in 1914.
Jhim’s life was unreal, full of terrifying moments of uncertainty and moments that no one could live through and not be changed forever. He was born the same year that World War One started, which says something right from the start. He lived in Boskoop his whole life as that was where the family greenhouse was run. He didn’t move until World War Two was over and by then he had a beautiful wife and 4 young children.
Before and during World War Two, Jhim’s wife, Hendrikje, gave birth to 8 children, of which, only 4 survived. During one of these pregnancies an amazing story was born. Since they were under German occupation at the time, they as no rubber as the Germans has taken all of it. The Germans also guarded the dikes and farm houses. At Jhim’s household, food was almost out and his wife was pregnant with twins and in need of more food than Jhim was able to provide. Seeking help, Jhim was told (from the inspector who was making sure no one stealing any food), where he could get one bag of rye seed. This rye seed, chewed well, would expand in your stomach, creating the illusion that you were full, while giving you the nutrients you needed.
One night after curfew, Jhim sneaked out with his old bike, which had no rubber, along the dikes, hiding from soldiers, until he made it to the farm house. Just as he arrived, the door to the farm house opened and closed and Jhim couldn’t tell whether someone had gone in or come out. There he stayed for a very long time until he was sure no one was outside, but just as he was about to move, the door opened and closed again, and this time Jhim was sure that there had been a soldier outside that whole time and that there was no one outside any longer. Now, he could retrieve the bag of rye seed and leave. When he made it home, his wife remembered him being as white as a ghost as he collapsed in a chair. Hendrikje had to chew on these seeds one at a time unless they had better food available and until the babies were born. Unfortunately, only one of those babies survived.
By the time Jhim and his family made it out to Canada, they had four children of their own. They took a boat for five days over the Atlantic Ocean over to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. Here they spent their fifth day stuck on board. This is because they arrived in harbour on July 1st which is Canada’s birthday. On this day, no one worked, therefore, no one was able to bring them to shore. They spent their fifth night there and in the morning they were brought to land where they boarded an old steam train and begin another leg of their journey, traveling to British Columbia. Here they started their new life by living in an “Emigration Building” for six weeks. They finally found a nice house to live in which is where they settled and lived for the rest of their lives, learning their new language, English, making lasting friends, and raising the family I am proud to be part of today.
Lived: Sept 24 1914 - June 23, 2003
Born: Boskoop, Netherlands
Jhim was born in Boskoop, Netherlands, September 24th in 1914.
Jhim’s life was unreal, full of terrifying moments of uncertainty and moments that no one could live through and not be changed forever. He was born the same year that World War One started, which says something right from the start. He lived in Boskoop his whole life as that was where the family greenhouse was run. He didn’t move until World War Two was over and by then he had a beautiful wife and 4 young children.
Before and during World War Two, Jhim’s wife, Hendrikje, gave birth to 8 children, of which, only 4 survived. During one of these pregnancies an amazing story was born. Since they were under German occupation at the time, they as no rubber as the Germans has taken all of it. The Germans also guarded the dikes and farm houses. At Jhim’s household, food was almost out and his wife was pregnant with twins and in need of more food than Jhim was able to provide. Seeking help, Jhim was told (from the inspector who was making sure no one stealing any food), where he could get one bag of rye seed. This rye seed, chewed well, would expand in your stomach, creating the illusion that you were full, while giving you the nutrients you needed.
One night after curfew, Jhim sneaked out with his old bike, which had no rubber, along the dikes, hiding from soldiers, until he made it to the farm house. Just as he arrived, the door to the farm house opened and closed and Jhim couldn’t tell whether someone had gone in or come out. There he stayed for a very long time until he was sure no one was outside, but just as he was about to move, the door opened and closed again, and this time Jhim was sure that there had been a soldier outside that whole time and that there was no one outside any longer. Now, he could retrieve the bag of rye seed and leave. When he made it home, his wife remembered him being as white as a ghost as he collapsed in a chair. Hendrikje had to chew on these seeds one at a time unless they had better food available and until the babies were born. Unfortunately, only one of those babies survived.
By the time Jhim and his family made it out to Canada, they had four children of their own. They took a boat for five days over the Atlantic Ocean over to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. Here they spent their fifth day stuck on board. This is because they arrived in harbour on July 1st which is Canada’s birthday. On this day, no one worked, therefore, no one was able to bring them to shore. They spent their fifth night there and in the morning they were brought to land where they boarded an old steam train and begin another leg of their journey, traveling to British Columbia. Here they started their new life by living in an “Emigration Building” for six weeks. They finally found a nice house to live in which is where they settled and lived for the rest of their lives, learning their new language, English, making lasting friends, and raising the family I am proud to be part of today.
Works cited:
"Canada - Netherlands." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Canada–Netherlands Relations." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Dec. 2016
"Canada - Netherlands." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2016
Greenhous, Brereton. "Battle of the Rhineland." The Canadian Encyclopedia. HISTORICA CANADA, 7 Feb. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Greenhous, Brereton. "Liberation of the Netherlands." The Canadian Encyclopedia. HISTORICA CANADA, 20 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Netherlands in World War II." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"The Liberation of the Netherlands, 1944-1945." WarMuseum.ca. Canadian Museum of History, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"The Rhineland Campaign." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Sinnhuber, Karl A., and Alice F.A Mutton. "Rhine River." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2016. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Pictures on this page:
Evans, Mary. The Bridge of Remagen. 1945. Netherlands. Holts Tours. Web. 14 Dec. 2016
Greenhous, Brereton. "Liberation of the Netherlands." The Canadian Encyclopedia. HISTORICA CANADA, 20 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Lieut. Donald I. 1945. Library and Archives Canada, Deventer, Netherlands. Waterloo Stories. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Netherlands." EuroVelo 15. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Canada - Netherlands." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Canada–Netherlands Relations." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Dec. 2016
"Canada - Netherlands." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2016
Greenhous, Brereton. "Battle of the Rhineland." The Canadian Encyclopedia. HISTORICA CANADA, 7 Feb. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Greenhous, Brereton. "Liberation of the Netherlands." The Canadian Encyclopedia. HISTORICA CANADA, 20 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Netherlands in World War II." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2016. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"The Liberation of the Netherlands, 1944-1945." WarMuseum.ca. Canadian Museum of History, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"The Rhineland Campaign." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Sinnhuber, Karl A., and Alice F.A Mutton. "Rhine River." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2016. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Pictures on this page:
Evans, Mary. The Bridge of Remagen. 1945. Netherlands. Holts Tours. Web. 14 Dec. 2016
Greenhous, Brereton. "Liberation of the Netherlands." The Canadian Encyclopedia. HISTORICA CANADA, 20 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Lieut. Donald I. 1945. Library and Archives Canada, Deventer, Netherlands. Waterloo Stories. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
"Netherlands." EuroVelo 15. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.