There have been many proud chapters in Canada’s military history but one of the best known and most significant was the Liberation of the Netherlands. The Dutch people have never forgotten our brave soldiers’ efforts to free their country after years of harsh German occupation during the Second World War.

The Liberation Of Netherlands

In the final months of the Second World War, Canadian forces were assigned to liberate the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. From September 1944 to April 1945, First Canadian Army fought German forces on the Scheldt River estuary, opening the port of Antwerp for Allied use, and then—battle by battle—cleared the enemy from the country’s northern and western regions. Their efforts allowed food and relief to reach millions of desperate people.

THE ALLIED WAR MACHINE ADVANCES

UNLOCKING THE SCHELDT

WINTER WARFARE

THE BATTLE OF THE RHINELAND

THE FINAL PUSH

LIBERATION

BONDS FORGED IN BLOOD