OPERATION SWITCHBACK

Date : Oktober 6, 1944
Location : Belgian / Dutch border (Zeeland), South bank of the Scheldt river.
Weather : bad
Ground : mud
Type : Advance Operation, 10 battles x 15 turns (night fall every 4th. battle)
Map size : 3.040 m x 800 m
Battle Window : 1.440 m
No-man's land : 80 m

The Battle of the Scheldt
Under the circumstances, the opening of the port of Antwerp, already occupied by Allied troops, became absolutely necessary since the main supply lines still ran back to Normandy. The task went to the First Canadian Army which came under the command of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds replacing General Crerar who was ill.

Antwerp was 80 kilometres from the sea, connected to it by means of a broad estuary, the West Scheldt. North of the estuary lay the former island of South Beveland joined to the mainland by an isthmus. Beyond South Beveland lay the island of Walcheren, fortified into a powerful German stronghold. The south bank of the estuary, flat polder country, was below sea level and also well-suited to defence. As long as the Germans held control of the sea approaches and the long winding estuary, Allied shipping to the port would be impossible. Thus, the mere occupation of Antwerp was not enough.

Clearing the Breskens Pocket:
Operation "Switchback"
Meanwhile there was equally fierce fighting along the Scheldt's southern shore. Here the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division encountered tenacious German resistance as they fought to cross the Leopold Canal and clear the Breskens Pocket.

It has already been made clear that the terrain was difficult. Apart from the formidable obstacle of the Leopold Canal, nearly half of which was doubly secured by the Canal de Dérivation de la Lys, the greater part of the approach area was inundated with flood water and there were few points where a really determined assault could be mounted with any hope of success. In addition, the country here was so flat that there was no hope of reconnaissance of enemy positions other than by aerial photography. The best place for an assault, and it was not a good one, seemed to be immediately east of the divergence of the two canals. Here there was a narrow strip of dry ground beyond the Leopold -- a long triangle with its base on the Maldegem - Aardenburg road and its apex near the village of Moershoofd some five kilometres east. It was only a few hundred metres broad, even at its base. Its northern boundary coincided with the border between Belgium and the Netherlands.

This was to be a two-pronged assault. The 7th Infantry Brigade was assigned the initial assault across the Leopold while the 9th Brigade would mount an amphibious attack from the northern or coastal side of the Pocket.

Important remarks :

As this operation includes assault boats, you cannot play this operation against the AI as the German defender.
Make sure you choose ALLIED and FREE TO PLACE UNITS at the set-up...

Sources : Clearing the Breskens Pocket: Operation Switchback - Veterans Affairs Canada

Map design : "McAuliffe"
Credits : Would like to thank Henk "Stoffel" Stoffers for TCP/IP playtesting and additional information about this operation, he has sent me also these spectacular screenshots, guess my PC get's a little bit outdated...

!!!! Spoiler Picture ahead !!!

HeHe, You couldn't resist, Hm !?