![THE SCHELDT THE SCHELDT](https://cdn.magzter.com/1492426211/1681221484/articles/eV6RINXFf1682314803128/THE-SCHELDT.jpg)
The success of the 1944 Normandy Campaign had come at a heavy cost. Having sustained over 200,000 casualties, the battered and bruised Allies faced new logistical challenges as their advance took them further and further away from the beachhead secured months earlier. While Germany’s decisive defeat in the Falaise Gap had enabled sizable gains in France and across the Belgian border, the enemy had retained control of several channel ports, preventing the Allies from shipping supplies into these facilities. A crisis threatened if war materiel could not be brought to the continent and then transported to the liberating forces on a far larger scale.
Located on the left flank closest to the French coastline, First Canadian Army was allocated the unenviable task of besieging the channel ports. Unfortunately, the German defenders would fight with stubborn tenacity to hold Boulogne, Calais and other seabound fortresses (Dunkirk would not fall until 9 May 1945), leaving their much-needed harbours either out of reach or otherwise extensively damaged when the Canadians broke through to them. Hope appeared to rest on Antwerp, situated in Belgium near the border with the Netherlands and boasting the largest port facilities in Europe.
Denne historien er fra Issue 119-utgaven av History of War.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 119-utgaven av History of War.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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![THE ANGELS OF BASTOGNE THE ANGELS OF BASTOGNE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/VxGo77Quw1738673183851/THE-ANGELS-OF-BASTOGNE.jpg)
THE ANGELS OF BASTOGNE
In the middle of Germany’s final major offensive, a young nurse risked her life to help treat wounded American soldiers
![REICH TO REPUBLIC REICH TO REPUBLIC](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/QLS73pKth1738672651033/REICH-TO-REPUBLIC.jpg)
REICH TO REPUBLIC
INTERVIEW WITH FRANK TRENTMANN From defeat and division to democracy, the historian examines Germany's struggle with post-war guilt, memory and reconciliation
![THE SPARTACIST UPRISING THE SPARTACIST UPRISING](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/Ky_nQuk531738667487652/THE-SPARTACIST-UPRISING.jpg)
THE SPARTACIST UPRISING
The fledgling democratic republic of Germany was forced to immediately fight for its existence against communist insurgents bent on its destruction
![WHAT IF...MEXICO DEFEATED THE UNITED STATES? WHAT IF...MEXICO DEFEATED THE UNITED STATES?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/XP04LgoqK1738671838805/WHAT-IFMEXICO-DEFEATED-THE-UNITED-STATES.jpg)
WHAT IF...MEXICO DEFEATED THE UNITED STATES?
Could Mexico have claimed vast swathes of territory, including the potentially gold-rich California, in a huge blow to US expansion?
![THE MARCH ACTION THE MARCH ACTION](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/N37pTttMf1738669423177/THE-MARCH-ACTION.jpg)
THE MARCH ACTION
The final rising of the radical left during the Weimar period was followed by the sharp decline of communist influence in Germany
![BALTIMORE BALTIMORE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/3O-HuLuUZ1738670708226/BALTIMORE.jpg)
BALTIMORE
In the War of 1812, the Royal Navy launched an assault on the economic hub of Maryland, prompting an inspired American defence against the old enemy
![THE RUHR UPRISING THE RUHR UPRISING](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/WHdIrP9gB1738669245885/THE-RUHR-UPRISING.jpg)
THE RUHR UPRISING
After the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch, radical left-wing workers united in a violent bid to establish a Soviet-style government
![THOMAS J HUDNER THOMAS J HUDNER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/5rPXYG1RC1738672205111/THOMAS-J-HUDNER.jpg)
THOMAS J HUDNER
This US Navy aviator fought a desperate battle against time, flames and the brutal North Korean winter in an attempt to rescue his trapped wingman
![GHOSTS OF DYNAMO GHOSTS OF DYNAMO](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/ceMuZZPxf1738671181133/GHOSTS-OF-DYNAMO.jpg)
GHOSTS OF DYNAMO
Armed with the British Admiralty's battle summary, firsthand accounts and a 2023 seabed survey, it's now possible explore a number of Operation Dynamo wrecks to understand what was lost at Dunkirk
![1944-45 BATTLE FOR EUROPE SNIPERS 1944-45 BATTLE FOR EUROPE SNIPERS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15214/1978075/7KxHIIOhU1738669855281/194445-BATTLE-FOR-EUROPE-SNIPERS.jpg)
1944-45 BATTLE FOR EUROPE SNIPERS
These elite sharpshooters led the Allied advance in Normandy and eventually beyond the frontier of the Third Reich