Clearing the Channel Coast

Clearing the Channel Coast
Part of Siegfried Line Campaign
The Channel coast
Date September–November 1944 Location France and Belgium Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Canada  United Kingdom Poland Czechoslovakia  Belgium  Netherlands  France	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Harry Crerar	Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
Units involved
First Canadian Army	15th Army
Strength
2 armoured divisions 4 infantry divisions	3 divisions (in France) 2 divisions (in Holland)
Casualties and losses
14,300 casualties	13,100 killed, wounded, missing 70,971 captured Total: 84,071 casualties

Clearing the Channel Coast was a World War II task undertaken by the First Canadian Army in August 1944, following the Allied Operation Overlord and the victory, break-out and pursuit from Normandy.

The Canadian army advanced from

The First Canadian Army advance to the Seine was called Operation Paddle. It had been hoped by the Allied commanders that a defeat comparable with the Falaise Pocket could be inflicted on the Germans by trapping them against the Seine and the sea. The American Third Army advanced northwards to Elbeuf, across the Second Army line of advance, to cut off the route towards Paris and was a partial success. Although much of its remaining transport and the bulk of its armour was lost west of the Seine, Army Group B held up the Canadians, protecting improvised river crossings and significant quantities of men and materiel were saved.^[5]

The towns along the

Dieppe had been abandoned by the Germans before the order Hitler sent for it to be defended as a "fortress" had been received and it was captured by the

Le Havre was attacked by the I British Corps, supported by Hobart's Funnies, specialized armoured vehicles of the 79th Armoured Division and bombardment from land, sea and air. It was taken on 12 September after 48 hours but the port needed lengthy clearance and repair.

Boulogne

Boulogne was reached on 5 September but the garrison had received the Hitler "fortress" order. The city was protected by high ground and was attacked by the 3rd Canadian Division with extensive air and artillery support from 17 to 22 September.

Rocket sites

On 1 September, the last V-1 was launched against London as the Canadians were moving through the launch areas.^[10]

Calais and Cap Gris Nez

Calais was sealed off in early September and Wissant was quickly captured, though an early attack on Cap Gris Nez failed. The assault on Calais itself opened on 25 September and the town fell on 30 September. A second attack on the

Dunkirk

Although Dunkirk had been reached by 7 September, it soon became clear that the garrison would fight to hold a port that was largely destroyed. It was then judged to be a better use of men and materiel to clear the Germans from the

Ostend had been omitted from Hitler's list of "fortresses" and so was evacuated, despite its strong defences. The port had been demolished. The 1st Polish Armoured Division crossed the Belgian border and captured Ypres on 6 September, reaching the Ghent–Bruges Canal on 9 September.^[12]

Scheldt

A long and costly operation was required to clear the Germans from both banks of the Scheldt, so that the Port of Antwerp could be opened.

Aftermath

Although Dieppe came rapidly into use, it could supply only a quarter of the needs of the 21st Army Group. The capture of Le Havre, Boulogne, Calais and Ostend only eased Allied supply problems after extensive clearance of debris and mines. Ostend was restricted to personnel only but the Boulogne terminal for a Pluto oil pipeline (Dumbo) was of great benefit, becoming the "... main supplies of fuel during the winter and spring campaigns" of the Allies.^[13] It has been questioned whether the capture of the defended ports was worthwhile, given the need for much effort to bring them into use and the greater potential benefit of Antwerp.^[13]

After the failure of Operation Market Garden, Eisenhower "turned to Antwerp, which despite the long-delayed capture of Le Havre on 12 September, of Brest on the 18th and of Calais on the 30th, remained, as the closest, largest and best-preserved of the ports, the necessary solution to the difficulties of supply." Antwerp was not opened until 29 November 1944 after the Battle of the Scheldt to clear the approaches to the Port Of Antwerp, which had been delayed by Montgomery. This largely solved Allied supply problems.^[14]

See also

• Operation Undergo
• Channel ports

Footnotes

References

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• Hinsley, F. H. (1994) [1993]. British Intelligence in the Second World War. Its influence on Strategy and Operations (abridged). History of the Second World War (2nd rev. ed.). London:
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• LeBlanc, S. S. G. (23 November 2016). Breaching the Ramparts: The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's Capture of Boulogne in World War Two (PDF) (pdf). Fort Leavenworth, KS: School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army Command and General Staff College.
  OCLC 965801279
  . Retrieved 30 November 2017.
• Plant, J. (2014). Infantry Tank Warfare (rev. enl. ed.). London: New Generation.
  ISBN 978-1-78507-158-4
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• St George Saunders, H.; Richards, D. (1975) [1954]. Royal Air Force 1939–45: The Fight is Won. Vol. III (pbk. ed.). London: HMSO.
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• Shulman, Milton (2003) [1947]. Defeat in the West (repr. Cassell Military Paperbacks ed.). London: Martin Secker & Warburg.
  ISBN 978-0-304-36603-3
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• Stacey, Colonel C. P.; Bond, Major C. C. J. (1960). The Victory Campaign: The operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945 (PDF). Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Vol. III. The Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery Ottawa.
  OCLC 606015967. Archived from the original
  (PDF) on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
• ISBN 978-0-89839-205-0
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• Clearing of the Scheldt Estuary, October–November 1944 (pdf) (Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library online ed.). 21st Army Group. 2008 [1944]. N10209. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
• Notes on the Operations of 21 Army Group, 6 June 1944 – 5 May 1945 (pdf) (Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library online ed.). British Army of the Rhine. 2004 [1945]. N13331. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
• Williams, M. P. (22 May 2014). Rough Road to Antwerp: The First Canadian Army's Operations Along the Channel Coast (pdf). Command and General Staff College (CGSC), School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) Monograph. US Army Command and General Staff College.
  OCLC 913594548. Retrieved 9 December 2017.^{[permanent dead link}
  ]