Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 139 continued ... The Scheldt “an unnecessary campaign” Submitted: Gary Silliker CD Balancing the principles of war is a difficult task in any major conflict. Coupling that balancing act with strong personalities, government politics, stretched lines of supply and the ‘fog of war’ led to a major blunder in north-west Europe in the early fall of 1944. Much has been written about the reasons why the Scheldt Campaign of October/November could have been prevented. The failure of the allies to exploit the success of capturing the vital port of Antwerp in the first week of September thwarted the chance to end the war early. The Canadian Army would pay the price for this major blunder. The Royal Canadian Legion recently published a special collector’s edition magazine titled “Canada and the Scheldt Campaign: “The Necessary Victory” (Volume 8 Number 3 Summer 2024). I highly recommend that publication as a starting point for understanding what happened. I would also recommend the book “Tug of War: The Allied Victory That Opened Antwerp” (1984) by the late Brigadier William Denis Whitaker, CM DSO & Bar ED CD, and his wife Shelagh Whitaker, for a detailed understanding of the Canadian effort – navy, army, and air force. The following Nova Scotia soldiers died during the Battle of the Scheldt, which was fought during the period of 1 October to 8 November 1944. They are buried in either the Adegem Canadian War Cemetery or the Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery. The units are displayed in accordance with ‘seniority’, while the war dead are listed chronologically in accordance with their deaths. ADEGEM CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY - Maldegem, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium Royal Canadian Artillery Gunner Roy William Leighton of Wentworth Creek, Hants County, killed in action on 11 October; Gunner James Ernest Fry of Halifax was killed in action on 28 October; Gunner Wilson Bellman of Yarmouth was killed in action on 30 October; and Sergeant Roderick William Abramson of Digby was killed in action on 1 November.
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