57 This heavily defended trench snaked across the front of the Hochwald just inside the tree line where the Essex Scottish attacked on 1 March 1945. Library and Archives Canada/ Department of National Defence fonds/ a137036 operation blockbuster Operation Blockbuster, launched on February 26 was the continuation of Operation Veritable and now included the additional resources of II Canadian Corps. The offensive began with a massive artillery bombardment with the main thrust directed at the heavily fortified Hochwald Forest. The terrain and weather conditions continued to make movement challenging. The Hochwald Forest near Kleve was dense and muddy, making it difficult for tanks and infantry to maneuver. Despite the obstacles, steady progress was made. By 3 March 1945, the Hochwald was secured by the First Canadian Army and linked up with the Ninth US Army at Berendonk, between Kevelaer and Geldern. The German defenders, with their backs to the Rhine, withdrew to a new defensive line known as theWesel Pocket. The end was in sight, but the fight to clear the pocket would take another week and cost 300 more Canadian dead, including Thomas Big Canoe in his last action at Xanten on 8 March. Later that month, General Eisenhower sent a congratulatory message to General Crear to express his “admiration for the way you conducted the attack, by your Army, beginning February 8 and ending when the enemy had evacuated his last bridgehead at Wesel. Probably no assault in this war has been conducted under more appalling conditions of terrain than was that one.”21 Just over 1300 Canadians paid the ultimate price to clear the west bank of the Rhine. It was a necessary victory. The defeat of German formations in the Rhineland, in addition to the staggering losses incurred on the eastern front, marked the beginning of the end. Plans to cross the Rhine into Germany in late March in the works for some time. But during the closing days of Blockbuster, the US First Army seized an intact bridge at Remagen and established a bridgehead on east bank of the Rhine. While the bridgehead was not fully expanded, it drew German reserves away from the AngloCanadian sector further north.
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