Liberation of Arnhem

WWII expulsion of military of Nazi Germany from Arnhem, Netherlands

Operation Anger (sometimes known as Operation Quick Anger) was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is also known as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation of Arnhem. The operation was part of the Canadian First Army's liberation of the Netherlands and was led by the 49th British Infantry Division, supported by armour of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, Royal Air Force air strikes and boats of the Royal Navy. The Western Allies first tried to liberate Arnhem in September 1944 during Operation Market Garden. Poor planning, the unexpected presence of German armoured units and a delayed advance by ground forces meant that the 1st British Airborne Division were defeated and a new front stabilised south of the city. Fresh planning to take Arnhem began in the new year as the Canadian First Army sought ways to link up its units advancing into the Netherlands. However it was not until April that the liberation of the city became a distinct possibility. After II Canadian Corps secured the eastern bank of the IJssel river and advanced north, I Canadian Corps prepared to assault Arnhem. The operation began on 12 April 1945 and proceeded to plan, as the three infantry brigades of the 49th Division leapfrogged each other through the city. Within four days Arnhem was totally under Allied control, allowing the Canadians to advance further into the Netherlands. Less than two weeks after the battle a general truce brought major combat operations in the country to an end and on 5 May the German commander in chief in the Netherlands surrendered to the Canadian Army. Three days later Germany unconditionally surrendered, bringing the war in Europe to a close.

In September 1944 the Allies launched Operation Market Garden, an effort to advance around the Siegfried Line and open a route to the Ruhr. The British 1st Airborne Division landed at Arnhem and fought for nine days in the city and surrounding towns and countryside, but the British 2nd Army's advance failed to reach them and they were nearly annihilated. After withdrawing south of the Nederrijn the front line stabilised on the "Island" (the polder between Nijmegen and Arnhem) over the winter. The residents of Arnhem and Oosterbeek (over 450 of whom had been killed in the battle) were evicted from their homes which were then systematically looted of anything of value to aid refugees in Germany. The Arnhem road bridge that the British had fought so hard for was bombed by the Allies in October 1944 to deny its use to the Germans. In retaliation for a Dutch railway workers strike supposed to aid the Allies' September advance, the Germans banned all inland freight movement. This prevented food being grown in the north from reaching the south and west of the country and caused thousands of deaths amongst the Dutch population in the Hongerwinter. The Canadian Army had been instructed to plan advances across the Lower Rhine when it first assumed responsibility for the Nijmegen salient in November, but any plans were delayed by the winter and the subsequent allocation of resources for Operation Veritable. However, after Operation Veritable Crerar saw advantages to seizing Arnhem and opening a route to Emmerich during the coming crossing of the Rhine. The first draft of the plan to take the city – known as Operation Anger – was compiled in February as a subsidiary operation to Plunder, but Lieutenant General Charles Foulkes, commander of the recently arrived I Canadian Corps, thought it safer to wait until the Rhine had been crossed before launching an action on Arnhem, and Anger was shelved. After Plunder the II Canadian Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Guy Simonds, struck west and seized Emmerich, approaching the IJssel from the east. Crerar saw an opportunity to take Arnhem and open a route between the city and Zutphen to the north, and ordered his two Corps commanders to co ordinate their advances accordingly. However, he was wary of trying to seize Arnhem before the IJssel had been bridged further north. In March the 49th (West Riding) Division (nicknamed The Polar Bears), who had been on the Nijmegen Island since November, came under the command of I Canadian Corps. On 3 April elements of I Corps crossed the Nederrijn east of the IJssel and met units from II Corps in the town of Westervoort opposite Arnhem. The rest of the Island was cleared within another day and the Allies occupied the southern bank of the Nederrijn in preparation for the assault on Arnhem. Additionally reconnaissance patrols on 3 and 4 April determined that German observation posts and positions on the Westerbouwing Heights overlooking the river would make crossing the Nederrijn dangerous. Attempts were made to create smokescreens obscuring the southern bank of the Nederrijn from the watching Germans, a technique that had proved successful in the buildup to Operation Plunder. The screen stretched from the town of Randwijk, 10 mile (16 km) west of Arnhem, along the south bank of the river to Huissen, south of Arnhem, but strong winds and a lack of appropriate generators reduced its effectiveness.

The attack was necessarily delayed whilst the 49th Division moved to Westervoort and II Canadian Corps prepared to cross the IJssel further north. The attack was planned to proceed in three phases. The initial assault would be carried out by the 56th British Infantry Brigade who would cross the IJssel at night in amphibious Buffalo IVs of The Ontario Regiment before clearing the eastern and southern districts of the city. The British took several Canadian units under command along with Churchill Crocodile tanks of the 79th British Armoured Division. Most of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 5th Canadian Armoured Division were placed in support, and a composite group known as Murphyforce provided a diversion south of the Nederrijn. including the 509th LCA Flotilla and 660, 661 and 662 LCM Flotillas, a total of 45 craft. The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) would run DUKWs across the river during the operation. had recently been re designated Fortress Holland (German: Festung Holland), although this name change had little effect on the units on the ground. Approximately 10,000 troops of the 30th Army Corps were believed to be in the Arnhem–Apeldoorn area, under the command of General der Kavallerie Philipp Kleffel.

On 11 April, II Corps launched Operation Cannonshot – the crossing of the IJssel further north at Deventer – prior to striking west toward Apeldoorn. On the morning of 12 April Foulkes was informed that the operation was well underway, whereupon he ordered the 49th Division to commence their attack that evening. The whole day was spent bombarding the enemy in Arnhem using artillery and ground attack aircraft. The RAF laid on 36 Spitfire and 83 rocket firing Typhoon sorties to soften up the German positions and the attack was preceded by one of the heaviest artillery barrages ever fired by I Canadian Corps. and the Pioneer Corps fired 30,000 smoke shells over the course of the battle. The crossing was set to begin at 10:40 p. m. but was delayed by the late arrival of several assault craft. However their advance stalled and the 1/7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, originally due to cross in Phase 3, was sent over the river to support them.|group="Note" This allowed Phase 2 of the operation to proceed and soon troops of 146th Brigade and tanks of the Ontario Regiment were moving up to 56th Brigade's positions. The Germans had moved in from Oosterbeek that morning and had thus escaped the earlier bombardments. The 4th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment were tasked to clear the complex, although the Germans – being relatively fresh – were able to offer some resistance. Later in the day, Dutch soldiers of the 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland supported by armour counterattacked the Duke of Wellington's positions. The Dutch were eventually beaten back after heavy fighting knocked out their tanks, but were able to blunt a later British advance into their area. On 15 April the Duke of Wellingtons occupied the city's zoo and upon discovering a live polar bear offered it to their brigade commander, who declined. The Germans were cleared out of the precinct of Velp and the surrounding area on 15 and 16 April, bringing Operation Anger to an end. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Matthew Halton described the city as "a deserted, burning shell" and the 49th Division war diary noted that "a town had never been more wantonly destroyed." A large German force counterattacked the 5th Division on the night of the 16th at Otterlo, hoping to break out to the West, but were beaten back after heavy losses (see Battle of Otterlo). On 17 April, the 49th Division attacked Ede, occupied by the Dutch SS, and liberated the town in 24 hours. On 27 April a temporary truce came into effect, allowing the distribution of food aid to the starving Dutch civilians in areas under German control (Operation Manna),

The British recorded 62 killed and 134 wounded in the action, Units involved in the battle were later awarded the battle honour Arnhem 1945. In 1999 the Princess Louise Fusiliers were also granted the honour after research by Captain Sanchez King was able to demonstrate the regiment's entitlement.