(third from left) shown along with senior commanders of the First Canadian Army while visiting the headquarters of II Canadian Corps, near
Kleve, February 1945. From left to right: Major General
C. Vokes (
4th Canadian Armoured Division), General
H. D. C. Crerar (First Canadian Army), Field Marshal Sir Bernard L Montgomery (
21st Army Group, Lieutenant General
B. G. Horrocks (
XXX (British) Corps, attached to First Canadian Army), Lieutenant General G. G. Simonds (II Canadian Corps), Major General
D. C. Spry (
3rd Canadian Infantry Division), and Major General
A. B. Matthews (
2nd Canadian Infantry Division). advancing along the road from
Holten to
Rijssen, the Netherlands, April 9, 1945. II Canadian Corps engaged in combat operations in North-West Europe from the beginning of July 1944 to just before
VE Day in early May 1945. During the
Battle of Normandy, the corps was used to spearhead the British-Canadian advance from
Caen to
Falaise. With the final closure of the
Falaise Gap on August 21, 1944, the remaining German forces in northern
France were forced into a rapid retreat back towards defensive positions in port cities along the coast, and in the regions just south of the
Netherlands and outside the western borders of Germany, in
Belgium and eastern France. The First Canadian Army formed the left flank of the advancing Allied armies, and was charged with capturing or sealing off German-occupied ports in Northern France and in Belgium.
Dieppe,
Boulogne,
Calais,
Cap-Gris-Nez and
Ostend were captured in September by troops of II Canadian Corps. However, the defences of
Dunkirk proved to be so strong that it was decided to leave the German-occupied port city under siege until the end of the European war.
Antwerp had been captured by the
British Second Army on September 4, but the city's large port facilities were useless to the Allies as long as German forces continued to occupy the banks of the
Scheldt Estuary. As the spearhead of the First Canadian Army, II Canadian Corps was heavily involved in the
Battle of the Scheldt to clear out those German positions. II Canadian Corps was involved in the battles to expel German forces from the eastern provinces of the Netherlands, back across the western border of Germany, and then to drive them out from the west bank of the
Rhine River. In the final phases of the war, II Canadian Corps advanced into the northern provinces of the Netherlands and across the border into Germany towards the
North Sea coast. On May 5, 1945 Lt.-Gen. Simonds received the unconditional surrender of those German forces facing the corps in northern Germany. •
Operation Atlantic, crossing the
Orne River and unsuccessful attempt to capture
Verrières Ridge, area south of Caen, July 18–21, 1944 •
Operation Spring, assault against
Verrières Ridge, July 25–28, 1944 •
Operation Totalize, capture of Verrières Ridge and advance towards
Falaise, Normandy, August 8–13, 1944 •
Operation Tractable, capture of
Falaise, Normandy, August 14–21, 1944 • Advance up to and then across the
River Seine at
Elbeuf and
Rouen, Aug. 23–28, 1944 • Liberation of
Dieppe, abandoned by the retreating German Army, Sept. 1, 1944 •
Investment of
Dunkirk as the initial part of the 8-month-long
siege of that port city, Sept. 7-18, 1944 • Liberation of
Ostend, Sept. 9, 1944 • Liberation of
Bruges, Sept. 12, 1944 •
Operation Wellhit, capture of
Boulogne, September 17–22, 1944 •
Operation Undergo, capture of
Calais and the heavy batteries at
Cap Gris Nez, September 25–30, 1944 •
Operation Switchback, clearing area north of the
Albert Canal, Belgium, October 6 to November 3, 1944 •
Operation Vitality,
South Beveland peninsula and
Walcheren Island, the Netherlands, October 24 to November 3, 1944 •
Operation Infatuate I, South Beveland, October 26, 1944 •
Operation Veritable,
Reichwald Forest, Germany, February 8 to March 11, 1945 •
Operation Blockbuster, and the capture of
Xanten on the Rhine River, Germany, February 23 to March 3, 1945 •
Battle of Friesoythe, April 13-14 1945 •
Battle of Groningen, northern Netherlands, April 14–18, 1945 • Operation Duck, crossing of the Ems River and the capture of
Leer, April 28 to May 4, 1945 • Capture of
Oldenburg, April 25 to May 4, 1945 ==Commanders==