Race to the Rhine

The speed of the German Blitzkrieg in 1940, the relative ease with which they brushed aside the Allied defenses, and took the Low Countries, meant five years of occupation. But in 1944, the Allied advance after the destruction of German forces in the Falaise pocket was as quick as the Blitzkrieg had been: the pocket closed on August 14; by September 6, British troops were in Ghent and Liege; Canadian forces liberated Ostend on the 8th allowing the Belgian Government in exile to return to its country; in northeast France, Patton's Third Army was moving rapidly to the German border, taking Rheims on August 29 and Verdun on the 30th. Paris was liberated on August 25th. The liberation of the Low Countries would not prove as straightforward, however. Operation Market Garden -- Montgomery's brave thrust toward Arnhem -- started on September 17, and hoped to end German resistance in the Low Countries at a stroke. It ended in failure on the 25th with over 6,000 paras captured, the bridge at Arnhem being the bridge too far. V-1 flying bombs had been launched from northern France and the Low Countries from August 1944. During September, the first V2s were fired, with Antwerp and Liege significant targets. In late October, operations began around Walcheren to clear the Scheldt and open the port of Antwerp to the Allies. Hard fighting continued until November 8 and mopping up operations after that, but by the 28th, the first Allied convoy entered Antwerp. Belgium was almost free of the Nazi yoke and the Netherlands looked likely to be cleared before Xmas. Then, on December 16, came Hitler's last roll of the dice: a major German counter-offensive began in the Ardennes aiming to split the Allied armies and retake Antwerp; in early 1945, the Germans also attacked along the Saar, hoping to take Strasbourg. It turned out to be their last try: the American defenderes held and with better weather, Patton's army and Allied air superiority told: the battle of the Bulge ended with Germany further weakened and after Operation Blackcock cleared the Roer triangle in January 1945, the Allies were poised to cross the Rhine into Germany. In the Netherlands, the cold winter of 1944-1945 and the German decision not to distribute food saw 30,000 Dutch civilians starve. In early 1945, the Canadians liberated the eastern and northern parts but they did not push west for fear of huge civilian casualties. Indeed, it took until three days before war's end for the Germans to surrender their grip on the Netherlands. Race to the Rhine is a companion to The Normandy Battlefields, and links modern aerial photography with contemporary illustrations to provide a modern interpretation of the battles, highly illustrated with maps, diagrams, and photographs. It is nearly 70 years since the Low Countries were freed from their occupation and Race tothe Rhine provides the armchair enthusiast with a graphic view of the battles. For those interested in visiting the sites, it will supply a guide to the places that best represent the battles today. About the Authors: Collaborators on a recent book on Normandy Battlefields, Leo Marriott and Simon Forty have worked together for more than 25 years. Leo is a retired Air Traffic Controller who has had more than 30 books published on his specialist subjects: naval warfare and aviation. He is an experienced pilot and accomplished aerial photographer, as his work in this book shows! Simon Forty has been working in publishing as an editor and an author for 35 years and edited Leo's first book, on Royal Naval Frigates, in time for the Falklands War-- and a subsequent sellout. He has cycled and toured the Low Countries' battlefields on many occasions.