Conflict: World War II
Combatants: Anglo-American Allies vs. Germans
Location: Netherlands
Outcome: Allied victory
The campaign to free up passage to the important port of Antwerp came to a close on this day in 1944. Having already invested the South Beveland peninsula, British troops, with some American support, captured Walcheren Island in an amphibious assault.
Points of Interest:
Allied bombers destroyed the sea dikes to allow for the amphibious attack of the island.
During and after the battle, Allied minesweepers swept the 70-mile Scheldt Channel 16 times before any vessel was allowed to pass through.
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Sources:
Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
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