Moerkerke

German Forces

Infanterie Division 245 was mainly responsible for the defence of this area. According to the Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War:

At this moment the Leopold (Canal), from the point where it crossed the Bruges-Sluis Canal to the main Knocke road, east of Moerkerke, was held by the 245th German Infantry Division, under Lieut.-General Erwin Sander. This formation is stated to have been reduced to approximately 5000 men and to have lost much equipment, including most of its anti-tank artillery. It nevertheless retained considerable fighting power and, as events were to prove, reserves were available. Sander's left (eastern) flank was protected by the 64th Infantry Division, which was soon to assume responsibility for the entire "pocket" south of the Scheldt.¹

The Battle

The Algonquins moved through the bridgehead created by STEWART Force during the Moerbrugge fighting. The belief that the Germans were still in a general retreat was reinforced by the tactical withdrawal of the defenders at Moerbrugge. At Moerkerke, the Leopold Canal and the Canal de Dérivation de la Lys were separated by only 60 feet and it was felt that a surprise crossing of both these major water obstacles would be successful.

Forty assault boats, crewed by soldiers of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, transported the Algonquins across the obstacles, with the entire divisional artillery of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division as well as the divisional MG company (mortars and machine guns of the New Brunswick Rangers) firing in support.

The two canals - each 90 feet wide - were crossed just before midnight on 13 Sep under light harassing fire. Engineers attempting to bridge the canals were stopped by small arms fire, and at first light, artillery and mortar fire intensified, preventing not only bridging operations but also ammunition resupply attempts. Both battalion headquarters and the Regimental Aid Post of the Algonquins were hit in Moerkerke. A request for aerial resupply was denied due to lack of aircraft. By 1200, a withdrawal order was issued, and a heavy artillery barrage and smoke screen was laid down to cover the move. Enemy troops had infiltrated as far as the dyke separating the canals, and the withdrawal was hampered by small groups of Germans along the way. With most of the boats destroyed by Germans shelling, some men swam back - without equipment. Some 240 men had crossed the bridgehead; 40 were wounded, 66 were taken prisoner, and 28 had been killed.²

The Canadian plan of attack had been to put ashore all four rifle companies of The Algonquin Regiment near the hamlet of Molentje, north of the Leopold. Each company had a fighting strength of 90 men, and made the crossing in assault boats augmented by civilian craft. A ferrying party was also provided by The Lincoln and Welland Regiment. The attack had gone in at 23:30hrs on the 13th, and navigational errors and 20mm gunfire proved hazardous to the venture. Confusion in finding landmark compressed the assault into a narrow bridgehead. Counter-attacks began immediately.

Evidently fully alive to the grave threat which our bridgehead represented to his control of Antwerp and the Fifteenth Army's escape route through Breskens, the enemy took effective counter-measures. When news of the attack reached General Freiherr von und zu Gilsa, commanding the 89th German Corps, he immediately saw Sander, "giving him the strictest instructions that the bridgehead must at all costs be eliminated" and promising him the Corps reserve to help him.

During the early hours of the 14th the opposition to our narrow bridgehead stiffened. The enemy's infantry infiltrated the Algonquins' lines; his mortars and artillery maintained a heavy fire not only on the forward troops but also on the bridge construction and the regimental headquarters. The latter was shelled accurately and repeatedly at successive locations; later the battalion heard that a German sympathizer, complete with wireless set, had acted as observer for the enemy's gunners. By dawn, one of the Algonquin companies had had 75 per cent casualties. Many of the assault boats had been destroyed and shellfire compelled the engineers, after persistent efforts, to suspend work on the bridge. Worst of all, ammunition was running low in the bridgehead; and one attempt after another to ferry new supplies across the canals was frustrated by the storm of fire.³

By 10:00hrs a fresh German battalion had developed a new counter-attack, and by 11:00hrs the order had been issued by the divisional commander to withdraw the Canadians. Heavy artillery and mortar fire covered their extraction, which was completed at about 14:00hrs on the 14th. During a period of 24 hours, Canadian artillerymen fired 11,000 rounds of ammunition in support of the attempted crossing.

Aftermath

The German divisional commander is quoted at length by Terry Copp:

On Sep (14) the Canadians succeeded in forcing a bridgehead at Moerkerke which, if it had been allowed to develop, would have not only cut short any further evacuation through Breskens, but would have secured the vital ground south of the Scheldt which commanded the estuary and which at this stage the Germans were determined not to give up. When news reached the Corps Commander, du Gilsa, he came down personally to Gen. Sander at Lapscheure giving him the strictest instructions that the bridgehead must at all costs be eliminated, promising him the Corps reserve to help him achieve his task. During this time the division was making every effort to eliminate the bridgehead without extra aid but despite every attempt, the Canadians maintained their precarious foothold. After the meeting between Corps and Divisional commanders and before the Corps reserves could arrive, the Canadians withdrew under cover of the most incredible artillery barrage that Sanders had ever seen. No one was more surprised than he when at the conclusion of this prodiguous effort, instead of renewal of the conflict which he considered was imminent as a result from this fire, he found the enemy had retired and had used this form of cover to evacuate his troops. Not all the Canadians, however, were evacuated and his division succeeded in taking 60 prisoners.⁴

Aftermath

The German commander had expected a full scale assault and was surprised at both the intensity of Canadian artillery, and the fact that follow up attacks never came. The Canadians had expected no resistance. The Leopold Canal would be the site of another opposed crossing - but that attack would not take place for another month, during the Battle of the Scheldt. The 4th Division moved to the northeast as the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division moved up to fight in the Breskens Pocket.

One soldier of the Algonquins, Corporal R. W. Ellenwood, MM, was killed, nullifying a nomination for the Distinguished Conduct Medal (only two awards for valour could be made posthumously in the Second World War, the Victoria Cross, and a Mention in Despatches). His body was not discovered until 1947.⁵

Battle Honours

The following Canadian units were awarded the Battle Honour "Moerkerke" for participation in these actions:

4th Canadian Division

• 29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment)

• The New Brunswick Rangers

10th Canadian Infantry Brigade

• The Algonquin Regiment

Notes

1. Stacey, C.P. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Volume II: The Victory Campaign. p.361

2. Copp, Terry A Canadian's Guide to the Battlefields of Northwest Europe (The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Waterloo, ON, 1995) ISBN 096979553X

3. Stacey, Ibid, p.362

4. Copp, Ibid, pp.110-111.

5. Cassidy, G.L. Warpath: From Tilly-la-Campagne to the Küsten Canal (Ryerson Press, Toronto, ON, 1948) PaperJacks Edition 1980 ISBN 0-7701-0147-X p.182

Photo Credit

• The photo is a Second World War aerial photo, the overprint info comes from Copp, Terry A Canadian's Guide to the Battlefields of Northwest Europe (The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Waterloo, ON, 1995) ISBN 096979553X. It is believed use of this image falls under legitimate fair use.