The Mod Section.

The Battle of the Scheldt.

Operations Infatuate, Switchback, Vitality.

Not the Usual Slog in the Mud

German ability to reorganize.

 

While the channel ports were under attack, the German 15th Army was able to escape through the gap that the Allies left between the Channel coast and Antwerp. In the period up to 20th September over 100.000 men belonging to 9 divisions were ferried across the Scheldt.

To date, this logistical achievement still seems not fully appreciated by Allied historians.

All things considered, the German defense of the ports conveniently tied down Allied troops during a critical time window.

In the meantime the Germans reorganized and assigned the defense of the estuary to two divisions: the 64th Infantry Division and the 70th Infantry Division. On the mainland the entrance to South-Beveland was staunchly defended by Kampfgruppe Chill, consisting of infantry and Fallschirmtruppen supported by tank destroyers.

Fate had it that the First Canadian Army would be slugging it out with these formations and other 15th Army units all around the West-Scheldt estuary.

The Battle for the Channel Ports.

 

Allied inability to capture Channel ports quickly and unscathed further aggravated the problem of overstretched supply lines. It became quickly apparent that clearing the approach to Antwerp was a necessity, rather than a luxury.

Of course, Cherbourg was captured at the end of June, but it was so thoroughly damaged and sabotaged that it didnot become operable until 3 months later. However, even a fully operable Cherbourg harbour didnot shorten the supply line.

Some ports, such as Brest, were so heavily fought over that eventually the Allies decided to simply encircle port cities like St. Nazaire, Lorient, La Rochelle and Dunkirk and cut them off from supply. These sieges lasted for the remainder of the war.

Le Havre fell relatively quickly but the harbour could not be used until 9th October. Dieppe and Ostend fell without opposition to the First Canadian Army. Zeebrugge fell last on the third of November.

Failure and success.

 

The Market-Garden failure poses the question if it would not have been a better choice to sort out the Allied logistics issue before attempting a dash across the major Dutch rivers Meuse, Waal and Lower Rhine? Other people have answered this question better than I ever can but let me at least attempt to paint the picture for you.

After the Normandy break-out the Allies raced through Western France and Belgium only to pause after the capture of the port of Antwerp on the 4th of September. The capture was a major feat considering that before the war, Antwerp was the biggest port in Europe.

However, the swift success may have clouded Allied command's appreciation that capturing the port facilities intact was merely a phyrric victory and did nothing to improve the logistics situation, since no ship would be able to reach it.

The long and winding West-Scheldt estuary was still occupied on both banks by German troops with ample artillery. No ship would ever reach the port.

The West-Scheldt Estuary:

The Situation

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About the mod.

Key take aways:

 

  • The Netherlands, October-November 1944.

  • Allied forces: British, Canadian.

  • Axis forces: German.

  • 44 New maps, drawn after period topographical maps and aerial reconnaissance photos.

  • Includes Grand Campaigns, Operations and Battles.

  • Fallschirm battle groups on German side.

  • Commando battle groups on Allied side.

  • The greatest collection and most accurate representation of German bunkers in a Close Combat mod yet.

We will never know if a swifter assault on the Scheldt estuary would have made a difference.

 

The decision to clear the West Scheldt estuary after Market-Garden meant that it had to be cleared in very unfavourable weather conditions. The seasonal autumn rains made the dark, soft soil unpassable for vehicles and armour. The flat, muddy, polder landscape was occasionally intersected by canals, raised roads and even railways, that were bordered by shallow ditches, mostly dry in summer but now filled with the roads' run-off water. There was little cover to find.

Raised roads can rise above the surrounding terrain anywhere between half a meter up to several meters. Vehicles on these roads can be seen from miles away. They presented easy targets for the German anti-tank gun crews. Infantry was equally vulnerable to machinegun fire and mortar fire. You will consider yourself lucky for an opportunity to fight in urban terrain.

 

Image of the West Scheldt estuary with Allied movement arrows.

The Scheldt Estuary Strategic Map

The West-Scheldt is the 80 kilometer long estuary between Antwerp and the North Sea. Its banks on either side are protected by tall seadikes or strips of dunes, that can measure up to 50 meters of height on the island of Walcheren.

Most of the island of Walcheren is below sea level and the Allies bombed the seadikes in three different places to flood the island and render many of its German bunkers useless.

The Beveland peninsula is very narrow and resembles the bottom of a funnel when approached from the mainland. At the base the peninsula was only three kilometers wide and the area before that was a junction connecting roads and railways with the mainland, a strategically extremely important area and key focus of German defense.

To reach South-Beveland the area north of Antwerp had to be cleared first. It was intersected by two canals that were defended by evacuated units of  the German 15th Army. Behind the canals the terrain gradually changed into uneven heathland and woodland on sandy soil, quite in contrast with the flat polders elsewhere.

The south side of the West-Scheldt estuary is Dutch soil, bordered by Belgian territory. Flooded land on the Dutch-Belgian border restricted Allied approaches and to circumvent these the Allies carried out an amphibious landing behind enemy lines.

Each of these areas present their own unique challenges when playing this mod.

 

The Battle of the Scheldt Axis Forces

 

  • I./ Gren.Rgt. 1037 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • II./ Gren.Rgt. 1037 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • I./ Gren.Rgt. 1038 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • II./ Gren.Rgt. 1038 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • I./ Gren.Rgt. 1039 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • II./ Gren.Rgt. 1039 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • I./ Fs.E.u.A. Rgt. H.G. / KG Dreyer

  • 6./ II./ Gren.Rgt. 1019 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • 7./ II./ Gren.Rgt. 1019 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • 8./ II./ Gren.Rgt. 1019 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • Fusilier Bn. 164 / 64. Inf.Div.

  • Sicherungs-Bataillon 627

  • II./ Fs.E.u.A. Rgt. H.G.

  • I./ Gren.Rgt. 1018 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • II./ Gren.Rgt. 1018 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • I./ Gren.Rgt. 1019 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • 5./ II./ Gren.Rgt. 1019 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • I./ Gren.Rgt. 1020 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • 6./ II./ Gren.Rgt. 1019 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • Fusilier Bn. 170 / 70. Inf.Div.

  • II./ Fs.Rgt. 18 / KG Stephan

  • III./ Fs.E.u.A. Rgt. H.G.

  • I./ Fs.Rgt. 2 / KG Dreyer

 

 

 

The Battle of the Scheldt Allied Forces

 

  • The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry /4 Inf Bde/ 2 CID

  • The Essex Scottish Regiment /4 Inf Bde / 2 CID

  • The Royal Rgt of Canada / 4 Inf Bde / 2 CID

  • Le Regiment de Maisonneuve / 5 Inf Bde / 2 CID

  • Les Fusiliers de Mont-Royal / 6 Inf Bde / 2 CID

  • I / The Black Watch / 5 inf Bde / 2 CID

  • The Calgary Highlanders / 5 Inf Bde / 2 CID

  • The South Saskatchewan Regiment /6 Inf Bde/ 2 CID

  • The Regina Rifle Regiment / 7 Inf Bde / 3 CID

  • The Royal Winnipeg Rifles / 7 Inf Bde / 3 CID

  • Le Regiment de la Chaudiere / 8 Inf Bde / 3 CID

  • The Canadian Scottish Rgt. / 7 Inf Bde / 3 CID

  • North Shore (New Brunswick) Rgt / 8 Inf Bde / 3 CID

  • The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada/ 8 Inf Bde/ 3 CID

  • The Highland Light Infantry of Canada / 9 Inf Bd / 3 CID

  • The North Nova Scotia Highlanders / 9 Inf Bde/ 3 CID

  • The Algonquin Rgt. / 10 Inf Bde / 4 Arm.Div.

  • The Lincoln & Welland Rgt. / 10 Inf Bde / 4 Arm.Div.

  • The Argyll & Sutherland Highl. / 10 Inf Bde / 4 Arm.Div.

  • 4th Bn The King's Own Scottish Borderers / 52 Lowland Div.

  • 6th Bn The Cameronians / 52 Lowland Div.

  • 1st Bn The Glasgow Highlanders / 52 Lowland Div.

  • 41st Royal Marine Commando

  • 47th Royal Marine Commando

  • 48th Royal Marine Commando

  • 8th Recce Regiment / 2nd CID

  • 4th Army Commando

Scheldt mod Map previews:

The Mod Section Logo.

The Mod Section

 

We are "Buck_Compton" and "Pete" in the Close Combat community, mod creators since 2007.

Special contributor: Schnellemeyer.

Our logo depicts a brush and a pen that represent the creativity and research that go into making a Close Combat mod.

The Mod Section

 

We are known as "Buck_Compton" and "Pete" in the Close Combat community, mod creators since 2007.

Special contributor: Schnellemeyer.

Copyright:

 

We do not own or claim any copyrights pertaining to the Close Combat games.

To play a mod for the Close Combat series you must own a legal copy of the game.

Textures used in The Dieppe Raid mod are copyright © of Koen Bekkema.

 

Permission to use anything from this website - Creative Common licensed images excepted -  only in writing from the website owner. Our email: info@themodsection.net.

Last edited: August 2024