Quattro storie poco conosciute sulla Seconda guerra mondiale in Gheldria

The city of Antwerp had already been captured by Allied forces on 4 September 1944 with its deep-sea port intact. However, to solve the supply problems, the Allied nations needed to gain access to the North Sea, to facilitate material provisioning and personnel reinforcements. At this point, the canals, rivers, and waterways around Antwerp toward the North Sea, including the 95-kilometre-long Western Scheldt, were still in German hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gaining full access to the port of Antwerp was essential, because the city and port of Rotterdam had been heavily bombed in 1940 during the Nazi’s invasion of the Netherlands. Additionally, the artificial Mulberry Harbour off the coast of Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy, which was working above its capacity, had already been left far behind by the Allied troops in their advance along the Western Front. Despite some smaller French port cities being liberated since D-Day (6 June 1944), the Allies needed another major port to ensure adequate supplies for their troops throughout the coming winter months.&nbsp;Clearing the Scheldt Estuary&nbsp;The First Canadian Army under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds was responsible for this great battle, while American and British troops had led Operation Market Garden (17 to 25 September 1944), the attempted advance into the Netherlands across the Lower Rhine River. The unsuccessful execution of this operation caused a delay in the battle for the Scheldt, which gave the German Wehrmacht time to reinforce their defences and personnel along the Scheldt Estuary.&nbsp;The clearing of this strategic area took the Canadian, British, Polish, US-American, Belgian, Dutch, Free French and Norwegian units several weeks. The strong defence facilities, called the German Atlantic Wall, in combination with the fierce resistance of dug-in German troops made it hard for the Allies to obtain the upper hand over the region’s various islands and riverbanks.&nbsp;Poor battle conditions&nbsp;Bad, rainy weather resulting in muddy ground made the fighting unbearable and seemingly hopeless at times. In numbers, however, the Allies were stronger than the Germans. Roughly 135,000 Allied soldiers faced some 90,000 battle-hardened Wehrmacht troops. The British Royal Air Force strategically breached some dykes to weaken the Nazi defences, causing inundations and facilitating the use of amphibious vehicles.&nbsp;The Battle of the Scheldt was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the Second World War on Belgian and Dutch soil. Numerous amphibious assaults, obstacle crossings and attacks over open ground made the Allied soldiers vulnerable to hostile fire. Despite taking more than 40,000 prisoners, and clearing the Scheldt Estuary as ordered, the Allies sustained heavy losses. Almost twenty-one thousand Allied soldiers (among them over six thousand Canadians) lost their lives during these weeks.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Supplying the Allied advance&nbsp;Clearing the port of mines after its capture took another three weeks, with the first Allied supply ships finally landing in Antwerp on 29 November 1944. This reinforcement was sorely needed for the further advance through the Netherlands into Germany and for the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, which was imminent in the winter of 1944/45 (16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945). Between November 1944 and the end of the Second World War in Europe (8 May 1945), 2.5 million tons of supplies arrived through the port of Antwerp, which were critical for finally defeating the German troops.&nbsp;

Battle of the Scheldt – A costly Allied advance on the Western Front

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/themed-routes/18/battle-of-the-scheldt">Percorso escursionistico La Battaglia della Schelda</a> Questo itinerario segue la storia di una delle battaglie più significative della Seconda guerra mondiale, la Battaglia della Schelda. Questa serie di operazioni militari, svoltesi nell'autunno del 1944, ha cambiato per sempre il corso della storia della Zelanda e del Brabante occidentale.Attraverserete le colline che separano la Zelanda dal Brabante, camminando attraverso i luoghi in cui gli Alleati combatterono per assicurarsi l'accesso al fiume Westerschelde (accesso al porto di Anversa). Lungo il percorso, incontrerete lasciti della guerra, come gli <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/2033/dutch-spanish-forts-still-of-use">ex forti olandesi e spagnoli</a> utilizzati dai soldati polacchi nel settembre del 1944 o monumenti commemorativi come <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/2015/the-dying-pole">Il polacco morente</a>' o '<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/2025/the-fallen-warrior">il guerriero caduto</a>'.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/themed-routes/68/in-the-footsteps-of-the-canadian-liberators">La sezione zelandese della Rotta Canadese</a>È possibile esplorare la storia della Battaglia della Schelda e di altre importanti battaglie avvenute durante la Seconda guerra mondiale in Zelanda percorrendo la sezione del sentiero "Hiking in the Footsteps of the Canadian Liberators" che passa dalla regione. Questo lungo percorso mette in evidenza il ruolo cruciale svolto dai soldati canadesi nella liberazione dei Paesi Bassi. Lungo il percorso, visiterete la città chiave di Flushing (Vlissingen), che fu liberata dagli scozzesi del 5° Battaglione, King's Own Scottish Borderers, durante la battaglia della Schelda. Scoprirete inoltre l'uso delle cortine fumogene da parte degli Alleati per disorientare le forze tedesche. Oltre alla famosa battaglia della Schelda, il percorso esplora la più ampia storia bellica della Zelanda. Al <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/1145/memorial-40-45-kapelle">Memoriale 40-45</a> a Kapelle, scoprirete la storia della meno conosciuta battaglia francese che ebbe luogo in Zelanda nel maggio del 1940. Nel villaggio di <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/1980/tragedy-of-s-gravenpolder">Gravenpolder ,</a>invece, vi sarà raccontato il pesante prezzo pagato dai suoi abitanti durante la liberazione. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/themed-routes/79/polish-cycling-route-zeeland">L'itinerario Ciclistico Polacco della Zelanda</a> I soldati polacchi hanno svolto un ruolo essenziale, ma spesso dimenticato, nella liberazione della Zelanda. L'itinerario Ciclistico Polacco della Zelanda fa luce sul loro contributo. Fa parte della <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/themed-routes/83/national-polish-cycling-route-in-the-netherlands">Percorso ciclistico nazionale polacco</a> nei Paesi Bassi, che mira a sensibilizzare l'opinione pubblica sugli sforzi dei soldati polacchi durante la Seconda guerra mondiale nei Paesi Bassi.Il percorso inizia al <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/1143/war-museum-gdynia">Museo della Guerra di Gdynia</a> e attraversa le città e le campagne dove le truppe polacche hanno combattuto. Uno luoghi chiave è <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/969/the-liberation-of-hulst">Hulst </a>con la sua imponente Basilica di San Willibrordus, punto di osservazione utilizzato durante la guerra.Percorrendo il sentiero, si incontrano anche cimiteri, musei e campi di battaglia, tra cui la <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/2029/polish-bridge-in-zaamslag">Croce polacca a Zaamslag</a> e il sito della feroce battaglia di <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/2032/battle-at-bonte-koe">Bontekoe</a>. Tramite gli audiospot, il percorso racconta storie come quella del pilota di caccia polacco <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/2122/polish-spitfire-pilot-taken-prisoner">Tadeusz Jan Legowski </a>che fu catturato nei pressi di Hulst dopo l'abbattimento del suo Spitfire.Gli itinerari escursionistici e ciclistici della Zelanda offrono l'opportunità unica di combinare avventura all'aria aperta e storia. Indossate le scarpe più comode che trovate nell'armadio, preparate lo zaino e uscite a vivere in prima persona la storia della Seconda guerra mondiale. Visitate il nostro <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/">sito web LRE</a> e <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW166762881 BCX0" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.liberationroute.mobile&amp;pli=1">scaricare</a> la nostra app per organizzare le escursioni e pianificare il vostro viaggio!

Itinerari escursionistici e ciclistici in Zelanda 

Located in the heart of Zeeland, this museum focuses on the decisive Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Through personal stories, rare photos, and interactive exhibits, you’ll get a glimpse into the hardships faced by civilians and soldiers during the invasion, resistance, persecution, and liberation.🚶‍♀️Stroll through the Liberation Park and dive into the Roosevelt Experience, a powerful reflection on the impact of war and the importance of freedom.

Liberation Museum Zeeland

The following days saw intense fighting along the Axel-Hulst Canal, and in Hulst, German forces used the 60-meter tower of the Saint Willibrordus basilica as a strategic point—only after twenty direct hits did the spire collapse. ⛪️Today, the Polish Field of Honor in Axel’s General Cemetery commemorates the Polish soldiers who died in the fight for liberation. 🙏

Commemoriamo la fine della Seconda guerra mondiale – 80 anni dopo

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Liberation Museum Zeeland

Battle of the Scheldt Axel and Hulst

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Quattro storie poco conosciute sulla Seconda guerra mondiale in Gheldria

Battle of the Scheldt – A costly Allied advance on the Western Front

Itinerari escursionistici e ciclistici in Zelanda

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