Operation Cleanser: The Liberation of the Netherlands By: Hayden Johnston

​While Allied forces had invaded Europe in 1944, the Netherlands would not be liberated from German occupation until 1945. In part this was due to the failure of Operation Market Garden to establish a presence in the eastern part of the country in preparation for a strike into Germany. As such, following the re-deployment of the Canadian Corps to North-Western Europe after Operation Goldflake in 1945, it was left to the Canadians, with British support, to liberate the Dutch people. Understanding the importance of the task, the Corps would participate in a series of operations over the next several months that would drive the Germans back from their strongholds in the Dutch provinces, eventually forcing their surrender in May 1945. 

​Operation Cleanser set into motion  forces that would drive the Germans to surrender. The task of executing Cleanser was given to the 5th Canadian Armoured Division. The objectives were twofold. First, to advance towards the Ijsselmeer, and in the process destroy any German positions that impeded their advance. Second, the Division was to block the retreat of German forces from the assault of the 1st Canadian Division. In order to accomplish this, the Division prepared for a two-pronged advance across the terrain, splitting its regiment into assault columns. On 15 April 1945, the orders came down: full advance, The Division had four days to achieve its objectives, the race to the Ijsselmeer was on.
Joining this race was the 5th Armoured Regiment, 8th New Brunswick Hussars, who were to play a prominent role in Operation Cleanser. After mustering in Arnhem, the regiment prepared for the push to the Ijsselmeer. Intelligence briefings indicated that the Germans arrayed against the regiment were not fielding any heavy armour. Now it was simply a matter of cutting through those German forces that remained. The regiment prepared to engage in tank warfare the likes of which they were unable to experience in the confined spaces of the Italian interior. If successful, the Germans wherever they might pivot would be met by the Canadians on all sides. 

​On the morning of the 15th the Hussars mounted up and sent their armour into the midst of the German occupied territory in front of them. The regiment’s initial pace was reduced due a string of anti-tank fortifications that were erected in the area. Eventually, the Hussars bypassed the last of these fortifications and swept towards the open ground outside of Arnhem. On the way, they dealt several blows to German positions outside the city. By the end of the day, the regiment had captured nearly 200 German prisoners and put out of action a score of anti-tank weapons. However, this was not without cost. The German panzerfausts and 88 mm guns took their toll on the Hussars, knocking tanks out of action and killing several men during the course of the day.  ​
Notwithstanding this, the fight continued with the regiment pushing on towards the coast. Flush from their victory the day before, the Hussars increased their speed. They had to reach the coast before the Germans could join up with their compatriots and mount a resistance against the 1st Canadian Division chasing them. As such, many of the smaller towns were bypassed as the regiment hustled towards Putten. With the Germans nearly encircled, the Hussars quickened their pace, the race to Ijsselmeer was not over yet. 

​As the regiment regrouped for the final push to Putten, and the Ijsselmeer, they came face-to-face with the surreal nature of war. The people they came across were in dire straights, as they had been cut off from a steady supply of food. The populations liberated by the Hussars were bedraggled, hungry, and sickly looking, the army did what it could to help alleviate their plight. Besides this, the Hussars had to face off against Dutch turncoats, men who had abandoned their country to serve the Germans, in the process contributing to the suffering of their own people. Suffice it to say, the Hussar did not let the traitors slip away unscathed. When those Dutchmen offered resistance, they were met with fire, steel, and death.

​Having defeated scores of Dutch turncoats, the Hussars were delayed in their advance to Putten. The Germans were fleeing before the 1st Division, and they had to hold ready to respond. Fortuitously, the Germans were routed at the town of Otterloo, freeing the Hussars to continue their advance. Sallying forth, the Hussars rained destruction on the German positions blocking their path. Throwing their tanks into battle against the German’s anti-tank weapons, the Hussars swept the opposition from the field achieving victory after victory. They capturing the Germans that would surrender and eliminated those that continued to fight. Cutting through scores of men, the Hussars were sitting on Putten's doorstep by day’s end. Being so close to their objective, an attempt was made to capture the town as night fell. Unfortunately, a German ambush confounded the advance causing the Hussars to retire for the night.
 Regrouping for the final assault on the fourth morning, the regiment prepared itself to burst through those last German positions and reach the Ijsselmeer. Moving forward, the regiment brushed aside the demoralized contingent of German soldiers remaining in their path and charged into Putten. The city’s residents turned out to laud their liberators. Shortly after, an advance party had parked itself on the shores of the Ijsselmeer. Four days after setting out, the regiment had accomplished its task. The Germans were successfully contained, and large swaths of the Dutch people had been liberated. The success in this campaign would force the Germans to the table to work out their surrender. The race to the Ijsselmeer had been won.  
 
To find out more about Operation Cleanser, or about the 8th Hussars in general, stop by the 8th Hussars Museum located in the historic Sussex Train Station along Broad Street.