53 There is strong evidence, borne out by the testimony of many Allied and German commanders, that (the) no-compromise approach (of unconditional surrender) merely stiffened the German will to fight and prolonged the war. Hitler managed to convince even the most reasoned and influential anti-Nazis that because of the Allied insistence upon unconditional surrender, there could be no alternative to stubborn resistance, no thought of a negotiated peace.15 Added to German resolve, First Canadian Army’s area of operations between the Maas and Rhine rivers was far from ideal, especially in the cold and wet of late winter. As one historian notes, the whole West Wall is just a horror story from the attackers’ point of view […] it doesn’t matter which way you look at it, it’s awful […] there’s mountains, there’s woods, there’s forests, there’s rivers, there’s dams, lakes […] you get through one horrible river and there’s another one […] the whole border is full of dense forest.16 The Germans established three main lines of defence between the Maas and the Rhine. Each of these defensive lines, each from 500 meters to one kilometer wide in some places, included an array of antitank obstacles, trench lines, Tobruks, and pillboxes. Even farmhouses were turned into fortified strongholds. Despite the Germany’s dwindling reserves and resources, the enemy could still count of formidable artillery firepower. These defences, combined with the challenging Rhineland terrain, were ideal for the defender. Elite troops or large numbers were not necessary to man a mortar or machine gun in a fortified position. Even a small force could make the attacker pay for every meter. Dense forested areas, particularly the Reichswald and Hochwald, also dominated First Canadian Army’s area of operations. The entire area is a glacial remnant that, when wet, turns into a muddy morass. By February, the ground had thawed and was largely unsuitable for wheeled and tracked vehicles. These conditions restricted movement and caused tanks and vehicles to breakdowns. For the modern, highly technical, and mechanized force that the First Canadian Army had become, the advantages of seemingly unlimited airpower, mobile armoured formations, and artillery were much reduced, and, at times, even negated by the terrain. The conditions were made even worse by the deliberate flooding of the low-lying areas by the German defenders. For all their advantages, Veritable would depend on the “the PBI”, the poor bloody infantry, just as in the Scheldt. The plan for Veritable involved the massive application of ground forces to a constricted battlefield area. Preparations for Veritable were substantial. Eighty-two Field Engineer Companies built over one hundred kilometers of roadway and four new railway lines. Over 1900 tons of bridging equipment and 10,000 smoke generators were brought forward. The buildup of materiel included amassing over 3400 tanks and 1034 artillery pieces and several hundred more mortars. Half a million areal photographs were taken, and more than 750,000 maps were distributed to the soldiers. The movement of troops and supplies into position prior the attack required 35,000 vehicles travelling an average 200 kilometers each and using approximately 5 million liters of petrol.17 Veritable began at 0500 hours with the largest artillery bombardment on theWestern Front to date. Some 1850 guns and mortars, seventeen guns for every 100 metes, fired for hours into the German positions. At 1000 hours, five divisions including the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, that earned the nickname “Water Rats” during the Scheldt operation, attacked on the flooded left flank. It was hoped that all this firepower would destroy the German defences throughout the Reichswald and weaken the defenders’ will to fight. In this land of flood and forests things soon bogged down. With so many units operating in such a confined area with limited usable roads “one of the worst traffic jams of the war” developed.18 Conditions only worsened when the Germans opened the sluices of the upstream Rur Dam, sending water surging down the valley. The river rose sixty centimeters in one hour and the valley downstream to the Maas stayed flooded for weeks. 3rd Canadian division used amphibious vehicles, the Buffalos, to navigate this terrain but within days many of these had broken down. As one historian summarizes the dire situation, “the whole water-borne operation was in danger of collapsing” By 13 February, Veritable had come to a stuttering halt. After five days of brutal combat, described by some veterans as worse than Normandy, a pause to rest and re-organize was necessary. Stubborn German resistance from Moyland Wood near the village town of Bedburg-Hau needed to be overcome before the general advance could be renewed. The Canadian 2nd Infantry Division faced intense resistance fighting in this dark forest “right out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.”20 The fighting for Moyland Wood lasted six days, resulting in another 485 casualties. This victory was crucial, however, in securing the left flank for the renewed advance. After two weeks, Veritable had cost over 8500 British and Canadian casualties with another 1200 soldiers evacuated due to battle exhaustion. The battle was a slogging match as the Germans made first Canadian Army pay for every meter. Veritable had not gone as planned, but the enemy’s capability to defend the Rhineland had been reduced. Things began to change however, when the US First Army was finally able to launch Operation Grenade from the south. Clearing the west bank of the Rhine was now a matter of time with participation of ten American divisions in the battle. But more fighting and dying lay ahead.
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