59 C Company, North Shore regiment crosses the canal at Zutphen. Library and Archives Canada/Department of National Defence fonds/PA-131059 operations plunder and varsity The actual planned crossing of the Rhine began on 23 March. Named Operation Plunder, the assault into Germany began with a massive artillery and air bombardment. More than 4000 guns fired on the German defenses. This enormous display of Allied might dwarfed anything the Germans could muster. Defending the east bank of the Rhine opposite the British and Canadians were just 20,000 men and around 40 tanks. They would soon face the full might of the two AngloCanadian armies, supported by unlimited air power and 2500 pieces of artillery. On the night of 23 March, the outcome of this one-sided contest was inevitable. The 51st Highland Division, with the 3rd Canadian Division’s 9th Brigade under command, crossed the Rhine in a matter of minutes. Supporting the water crossing, 16,000 US and British paratroopers and glider-borne infantry, including the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, landed east of the Rhine on the morning of the 24 March. Named Operation Varsity, it was the largest airborne operation ever conducted on a single day and in one location. Varsity was a successful but costly operation. There were than 2500 airborne casualties including Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Nicklin, the commanding officer of 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. Like Thomas Big Canoe, Nicklin now rests at Groesbeek Cemetery. Given the overwhelming strength of the Allies, debate over the necessity of Varsity to the success of Plunder remains. Regardless, by nightfall on 24 March, the 15th Scottish Division had joined up with elements of 6th Airborne, and by midnight the first Bailey bridge was constructed across the Rhine. By 25 March, Wesel, a key strongpoint on the east side of the Rhine, was taken and by the 27th twelve Bailey bridges suitable for heavy armour had been built over the Rhine. The Allies now had fourteen divisions on the east bank of the river, penetrating up to 16 kilometers in some places.22 The success of Plunder and Varsity eliminated the last major natural barrier protecting the Reich and paved the way for the final Allied advance into the heart of Germany. the liberation of the netherlands As the British, Canadians, and US armies expanded their bridgehead east of the Rhine, decisions at the highest level determined the Canadians role in the last stage of the war. As March ended, General Eisenhower informed Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Society Union, that the main axis of the Allied advance would now be towards the centre of Germany, rather than the rapid thrust to Berlin as envisioned by Montgomery. Although the British and Canadians would play a secondary role in the war’s final stage, the Canadian Army was assigned responsibility for protecting the flank of the British drive to the Elbe River and would play a crucial role in the liberation of the northeastern Netherlands. ByApril 1945, First CanadianArmy was truly Canadian once again with the arrival of I Canadian Corps from the Mediterranean Theatre. Montgomery now ordered the First Canadian Army “to open up the supply route to the north through Arnhem, and then to operate to clear North East Holland, the coastal belt eastwards to the Elbe, and West Holland.”23
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