A Moment by the Sea

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

Today we ventured to the Netherlands to explore some of the battles of the Scheldt. On our way we passed by a rather curious lighthouse in Sluis, which was the site of a naval battle. The town used to be a port but now lies about 10 km inland, leaving the lighthouse without ships to guide.

Before crossing to Walcheren Island we stopped at Hoofdplaat and startled some sheep before discussing 9 Brigade’s landing further up the beach for their campaign in the Breskins Pocket. Clearing the Pocket was part of the larger task of forcing the German Army out of the Scheldt Estuary so the allies could safely use the liberated port at Antwerp instead of transporting supplies from Normandy, which was becoming more and more difficult. While the landings and the battles that followed were successful, the men had been fighting since June and the regiments needed more people. The divisive issue of conscription reared it’s ugly head just in time for elections in Canada. As Canadians and Mackenzie King were deciding what to do (about 16,000 conscripts would arrive in Europe in early 1945), 9 Brigade carried on.

From Hoofdplaat we stopped at the memorial to the men from 9 Brigade who died liberating the area and then crossed under the Westerscheldt, through a six km tunnel, to Walcheren Island where the 2nd Canadian Division fought some hard-won battles throughout the fall of 1944. We disembarked at Westkapelle on the west side of the island to discuss the Dutch war experience. The residents of Westkapelle had largely been spared the harsh occupation that was commonplace on the mainland. Because of this experience, the local reaction to liberation in October 1944, was mixed at best. The majority of the island is below sea level and is protected by dykes. In early October, the allies breached the dykes and flooded the town. Though the Germans did surrender, most of the residents lost their homes and their livelihoods, and some even lost their lives. The sense that liberation and destruction can be interchangeable was captured in the exhibits at the museum in Westkapelle.

Before we pressed on to the Walcheren causeway where 2nd Division had fought, I took a moment during our brief break for lunch and wandered down to the edge of the North Sea. The tour moves at such a fast pace to fit in as many places as possible (I wouldn’t have it any other way), there isn’t always time to reflect on what we see and learn. There’s a point where all the cemeteries with the white headstones blend together and you forget that each of those markers represents at least one person who was killed. This was the first day we didn’t visit a cemetery. Instead of the peaceful (and sometimes eerie) quiet of the Commonwealth cemeteries, where the only sounds are birds singing, we were on a reclaimed island where, standing at the waters edge, the only sound was the waves crashing – both peaceful and violent at the same time. It brought back the reality of everything I had seen and experienced so far and the force of it weighed heavy on my heart.

We crossed the island to the Walcheren causeway, which was a narrow, flat strip of ground. The initial attacks were repelled by the Germans who were determined to hold their position. The battle was a costly distraction to prevent the Germans from reinforcing Westkapelle. The Canadians did take the causeway after four days of fighting and almost 80 casualties. By this time, Field Marshal Montgomery was finally recognizing the necessity of supporting the campaigns in the Scheldt. The sudden availability of resources would dramatically change the shape of the campaigns the Canadians would fight in the coming weeks.

Our last stop of the day, before heading back to Brugge, was the site of the Ijzendijke explosion. On 19 October, 1944, the tank crews from 284 Armoured Assault Squadron Royal Engineers received supplies from the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade Company, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. In addition to regular supplies, such as rations, ammunition, and petrol, they also brought nitroglycerin for the “Conger.” At 1300 hours on 20 October a huge explosion rocked the camp. About 40 British and Canadian soldiers were killed and at least 50 more were wounded. Ten armored vehicles were also destroyed. The squadron was out of action for almost a month following the explosion.

With these events in mind, we returned to Belgium to decompress and prepare for the battles that were still to come.

 

Katie Beaudette

Remembering Private Albert Laubenstein

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

Today, I had the privilege of sharing the story of Private Albert Laubenstein with our group. It draws together a colourful Canadian soldier, a hobbyist here in the Netherlands, and us, the people who are remembering the Second World War.

The story begins with Govert de Lorm, as he was scanning the banks of the Mass River near Sprang-Capelle with a metal detector. He was used to finding all sorts of treasures leftover from the war. What he wasn’t used to finding were the actual remains of soldiers. Last June, he came across a tibia, fibula, and femur. Thanks to the detailed dental records kept by the Canadian Army, and the fact that this particular gentleman never seemed to brush his teeth, the Royal Canadian Dental Corps were able to identify the remains.

And that’s where we meet Private Laubenstein. His story, at least for me, really emphasized the fact that each and every man buried in the cemeteries we’ve been visiting had a personality, a character, and in many cases, plans for how they wanted to spend their time here in Europe as well as their time back at home after the war.

Private Laubenstein was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on March 28, 1914, the eldest son of George and Dorothy Laubenstein. Growing up, he played goal in hockey, catcher in baseball, and defense in soccer. After graduating grade 8, Albert began working as a farm labourer across the Western provinces, before settling in Edmonton.

In July 1940, he decided to enlist at Victoria and was sent overseas to Liverpool in 1941. In his records, he notes his interest in being trained in a trade, specifically in order to become a sheet metal worked upon his return to Canada. Private Laubenstein spent much of the next three years with coastal or anti-aircraft batteries, landing at Dieppe as a gunner with the 3rd Light Anti Aircraft.

This, however, isn’t what stands out most about Laubenstein’s story. In December 1941, he was sentenced to 21 days detention for being insolent to a corporal, and also forfeited 21 days’ pay. In May 1943, he was court martialled for selling cigarettes, but challenged the charges by pointing out that he had been only selling them to civilians, and not other soldiers.

In October 1943 Private Laubenstein was sent to the 4th Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit, but he made it exceedingly clear that he had no interest in being a part of the Infantry. His file includes a note from a Personnel Selection officer claiming that Laubenstein “has had no infantry training outside of long route marches; says that he has never fired a Bren, a Sten, or a Tommy, and has never used grenades.” Private Laubenstein even went so far as to say that he would deliberately fail any TOETS given to him. In the end, the instructors decided that the best course of action would be for him to remain with the Artillery, since forcing him into duty with the Infantry would “only succeed in making him a disciplinary problem.”

Despite Private Laubenstein’s determination to avoid the Infantry, he was transferred from the Artillery in October 1944. He first joined the Rocky Mountain Rangers and then the Lincoln and Welland Regiment on January 9th, 1945. Private Laubenstein was killed at the battle of Kapelsche Veer on January 26th.

That’s where the story seemed to end, until last June. Thanks to de Lorm’s discovery, Private Laubenstein was finally buried on May 6th, 2015 at Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery with military honours. His burial was made all the more special given how the timing coincided with the commemorative celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. In a sense, Private Laubenstein has come to represent the many other Canadians who gave their lives there.

May they rest in peace.

 

Heather Whiteside

May 18, 2015

 

 

Dank Ja Wel, Canada.

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

The legacy of the actions of the Canadian army in the fall of 1944 and the spring of 1945 have created a bond between Canada and the Netherlands that has lasted for 70 years and still continues to be strong today. The effects of this relationship have personally impacted my family history – as I am the granddaughter of four Dutch immigrants who came to post-war Canada in the early 1950s. It’s difficult to think what would have happened if the Netherlands had not been liberated – or what if they had not been liberated by Canadians. Would my great-grandparents have still decided to come to Canada? If not, would I be the person I am today?

Over the last two days we have learned about the first operations of the liberation of the Netherlands, beginning in October 1944. We began our tour yesterday in the town of Westkapelle on Walcheren Island. In October 1944, Bomber Command had blasted a hole in the dyke and the city of Westkapelle was under water. Canadian historiography doesn’t talk about the destruction – official WWII Canadian historian C.P. Stacy claims it was a necessary evil on the path to liberation. Here, liberation is remembered differently than it tends to be remembered in other parts of the country and it is so interesting to see how reactions to the liberations depend on locality, and on how each of these areas responded to the occupation.

We then moved on to discuss the role of the Calgary Highlanders at the Walcheren Causeway. They, like the Black Watch at Woensdrecht and the Lincoln and Wellend Regiment at Kapelshe Veer, suffered immense casualties in their attempt to achieve their very difficult objectives. These soldiers fell in order to liberate people they didn’t know and have never met. They made the ultimate sacrifice and the gratitude of the Dutch for the Canadians is apparent throughout the different monuments and battlefields that we have encountered in the last two days.

It’s incredibly moving to learn about these different battles and the regiments that fought in them, and then to go and visit their graves in the Canadian War Cemeteries. To see familiar regiments who fell on the dates of the battles you’ve learned just learned about is an experience like no other. It is completely humbling to see the rows on rows of gravestones and to know that every single one has its own unique story. And we have the privilege to present on twelve of them through this two week tour.

We’ve just started our journey into the liberation of the Netherlands, and I’m looking forward to learning more about the stories of the Dutch and the Canadians who liberated them. I’m presenting on Thursday about the struggles of the Dutch during the occupation and the liberation of northern Holland, where my family is from. I’m looking forward to sharing these stories with my fellow tour members and to see the places where this story began.

And so tonight, it is to the men of the Canadian Army and the Dutch citizens that I raise my glass.

In peace,
Danielle Brouwer
18 May 2015

History in the Mist

Posted on by CBF Students - Étudiants FCCB

Today was a really good day. We started our misty rainy morning at Moerbrugge, where Geoff and Dave told us about the Lincoln and Welland Regiment’s disastrous attempt to cross the canal into the town. We talked about how optimistic a lot of people on the Allied side were about the German retreat, especially after Antwerp fell to the British. Moerbrugge was the first real proof that defeating the Germans in this area was not going to be the easy task higher officials thought it would be. There’s a really neat memorial to this event at the canal made out of an M10 carrier.

After Moerbrugge, we drove a short distance to the Leopold and Deprivation de la Lys canals, right outside the village of Moerkerke, where I delivered a short presentation on the efforts of the Algonquin Regiment to cross the canals and capture the German position. Very similar to the attempt at Moerbrugge, the Algonquin were unsuccessful and suffered heavy casualties. They were required to carry assault boats across dry land, launch them across one canal, carry them up an embankment and across land to the second canal, and cross again. All while under fire, of course. Again, this was further proof that the Germans were not about to hand over their strong points in Belgium and be chased in their retreat. Moerkerke is also an example of the discrepancies taking place between the goals of the military commanders and their men on the ground. The soldiers of the Algonquin knew how insane this crossing attempt was in reality, but went along with it because it was part of the “larger picture” envisioned by those above them. The outcome of this event was tragic, with 28 of the Algonquin killed, 40 wounded, and 66 taken prisoner. The Algonquin would continue fighting throughout the war, participating in other actions in the Scheldt. It was an honour to tell part of their story and chilling to do it on the very spot where many of them fell.

DSCN0982

Once my presentation was over, we drove to the Canada-Poland Museum in Adegem. The building and grounds are an interesting amalgam of museum, restaurant, dance school, and Japanese gardens, all run by an incredibly enthusiastic gentleman called Gilbert Van Landschoot. Gilbert told us about his father’s efforts at hiding people from the Gestapo during the Second World War and his immense gratitude towards the Canadian and Polish forcesDSCN0982 who liberated the country. He took us into his workshop and showed us the new exhibit he’s working on, explaining that many of the buildings on his scale models of battlefields he hand-crafts himself. His collection consists of donated items and items that he has been able to purchase over the years, including many of the regimental badges of the Canadian Army. Gilbert was a pretty entertaining guy and our visit was really enjoyable. He was sure to give us all pieces of chocolate as well, explaining that the Canadian soldiers handed it out to liberated Dutch and Belgian children. It was a very heartfelt and gracious exchange.

After saying our goodbyes to Gilbert, we headed back out towards the Leopold Canal (further down from Moerkerke this time), where Sébastien told us about the crossing of the canal and Operation Switchback. He provided a lot of context to this discussion, touching on the issues of supplies, technology, and battle fatigue. He also outlined the four major phases of Switchback and examined their outcomes.

DSCN1007

We finished off our day at Adegem Cemetery. This was our first Second World War Cemetery and our first Canadian designated war cemetery (in contrast to the Commonwealth cemeteries we had previously visited). For me, this visit turned into one of the most emotional yet. While walking along the second row of graves I came across Private R.J. Lacombe from the Algonquin Regiment who was killed in action at Moerkerke on 14 September, 1944 – the battle I had just talked about that morning. My heart sunk a little as I quietly gave Private Lacombe my thanks for his service and planted a Canadian flag next to his grave marker. I was so sad for him, yet immensely proud of his bravery in such an impossible task. This was probably the first time the reality of it all hit me.

DSCN1020

As I continued down Private Lacombe’s row, I found more and more members of the Algonquin Regiment and my heart sank lower and lower. I don’t have a personal relation to any of them, I don’t recognize their names, but I felt connected to them still. I had just been talking about these men and now I was looking at their gravestones lined up one after one in the cemetery. It was heartbreaking.

Adegem Cemetery continued to test my emotions when it was pointed out to me that there were members of the Essex Scottish Regiment laid to rest there as well, the regiment from my hometown. As I read the names one immediately stood out – Sergeant E.E. Rivait, a relative of the soldier I’ve chosen to present on during this trip. The Rivait family of Windsor was a large one, so I initially thought this was one of my soldier Lawrence’s brothers (Lawrence came from a family of 12 children and he had a brother named Edward who served with the Essex Scottish during the Second World War), but it turns out that Sergeant E.E. Rivait was actually a cousin of his. Nonetheless, seeing that last name and associating it not only with home but with this soldier that I’ve come to research and know considerably was also emotional.

All of this has just reiterated in my mind how important it is to remember the individuals in the wider context of the World Wars. The numbers and statistics were real people; they had names and families and loved ones who were devastated by their passing. Adegem served as a striking reminder as to why I wanted to participate in the battlefield tour in the first place. I’m now more proud than ever to be able to learn about and share these stories with others.

Paige McDonald

May 16, 2015.