Simmons, Mark With the Commandos

The Drive into Hitler's Reich, November 1944-June 1945

On 4 September 1944, the Allies and local resistance fighters captured the Belgian port of Antwerp, the largest port in Europe. Once the port was open to Allied shipping, it would greatly simplify the supply of the European mainland by the Allies, who until then had to travel long distances overland from Normandy and places such as Cherbourg. However, for this to be possible, the Scheldt estuary and, above all, the island of Walcheren had to be liberated from Hitler's troops. The task of storming and liberating the heavily defended island of Walcheren was assigned to the commandos. As part of Operation Infatuate, the plan was to land commandos in Westkapelle and Flushing and let the Canadians advance across the Walcheren Dam. Launched on 1 November 1944, Operation Infatuate was the last and one of the most costly combined operations of the Second World War in Europe. The fighting was so fierce that in a single sector, only five of the 28 landing craft deployed survived the landing. Despite the Allied victory, the fighting was far from over for the commandos. In fact, some of them were assigned to reinforce the front lines during Hitler's Ardennes offensive. Despite the urgency of such a measure, many of the commandos felt that they were being wasted on a task they considered to be the job of the infantry and that they should have returned to their original role as an assault force. In fact, the 4th Commando Brigade remained on the Meuse line until the end of the war in Europe, while the 1st Commando Brigade was called upon to lead the advance across a series of important rivers into the heart of Germany. Starting with the mighty Rhine, the brigade used its special amphibious capabilities as an assault force before advancing across the Weser, Aller and Elbe rivers, all of which could only be achieved after fierce fighting. With the Commandos tells a story that has been largely forgotten, namely the role of the commandos in the final months of the war in Europe. It was a time when, after D-Day and the Normandy landings, these men advanced to the heart of the Third Reich, breaking through against a fanatical enemy.