Qualla: Battle of the Scheldt https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/alligator-amphibious-vehicles-.jpg Qualla: Battle of the Scheldt https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt Battle of the Scheldt: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt/ Photo credit Public domain. Admiral Bertram Ramsay had warned them in September: with the Germans controlling the Scheldt estuary, the port of Antwerp would be 'as useful as Timbuktu.' But Field Marshal Montgomery was focused on his gamble at Arnhem, and so the warning went unheeded. By the time the First Canadian Army finally turned to the Scheldt in October 1944, the Germans had flooded the polders, fortified the islands, and transformed Walcheren into what Hitler called 'Fortress Walcheren.' What followed was five weeks of the most brutal fighting Canadians would experience in the entire war: 12,873 casualties to open a port that could have been seized almost unopposed a month earlier.

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Image: Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/u14u-battle-of-the-scheldt-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of the Scheldt: The Cost of Delay https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt/ Photo credit Lieutenant Harold G. Aikman, Public domain. Antwerp's port fell to the British 11th Armoured Division on September 4, 1944, with its harbor 90% intact. It was the largest surviving port in Western Europe, captured almost undamaged. But Montgomery halted his forces short of the Albert Canal, focused instead on the audacious...

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Image: Lieutenant Harold G. Aikman | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/u14u-battle-of-the-scheldt-the-cost-of-delay.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of the Scheldt: Crossing the Leopold Canal https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt/ Photo credit Canadian government employee, Public domain. Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds planned to surprise the Germans with 'a barrage of flame.' On October 6, Canadian-built Wasp Universal Carriers equipped with flamethrowers advanced to the Leopold Canal, their fire intended to incinerate the defenders without a preliminary bombardm...

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Image: Canadian government employee | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/u14u-battle-of-the-scheldt-crossing-the-leopold-canal.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of the Scheldt: Amphibious Assault https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt/ Photo credit Stiggins (Sgt), Number 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit, Public domain. Simonds appreciated that the flooded polders made conventional advance impossible. He ordered amphibious vehicles called Buffaloes and Terrapins to carry the 9th Brigade across the flooded countryside, outflanking the German defenses. The vehicles' airplane engines roared so loud...

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Image: Stiggins (Sgt), Number 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/u14u-battle-of-the-scheldt-amphibious-assault.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of the Scheldt: The Walcheren Causeway https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt/ Photo credit Stiggens (Sgt) No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Public domain. The approach to Walcheren Island narrowed to a single causeway, barely wide enough for two vehicles. The Black Watch regiment, already devastated at Verrieres Ridge in July, was ordered to attack down this exposed corridor. They were slaughtered. The Calgary Highlanders and Regim...

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Image: Stiggens (Sgt) No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/u14u-battle-of-the-scheldt-the-walcheren-causeway.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of the Scheldt: Blood and Logistics https://qualla.com/battle-of-the-scheldt/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The five-week campaign cost 12,873 Allied casualties, with 6,367 of them Canadian. The 3rd Canadian Division had fought almost continuously since D-Day, and ninety percent of battle exhaustion cases were men who had been in combat for three or more months. The soldiers complained...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/1/5/m/battle-of-the-scheldt-wp/u14u-battle-of-the-scheldt-blood-and-logistics.mp3 0:06 6 full