Walcheren ’44 – A Hard Lesson From the Sea

Walcheren ’44 – A Hard Lesson From the Sea

07 Nov 24
Posted by: Roger Plumtree
29 minutes, 5 seconds read
Message from the Editor

Despite being described by General Eisenhower as “one of the most gallant and aggressive actions of the war,” this amphibious assault has been the subject of much critical comment after the fact. The author provides a recapitulation of events, and controversies, 80 years on. A 30 minute read.

The naval historian Captain Stephen Roskill RN was scathing of the command decisions made in the summer of 1944: “it is, of course, impossible to prove that if we had concentrated on opening the River Scheldt early in September 1944, we could have restored the Army’s mobility in time for it to strike into Germany while the enemy was still off-balance and regrouping his forces; but what seems undeniable is, firstly, that without the use of Antwerp, the Allied land forces could not undertake a large scale new offensive and secondly, that the river banks could have been cleared much sooner.” He c…

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