Liberation of Gouda, Holland

Following the supply drops of Operation Manna, who specifically liberated the city of Gouda? I believe it was Canadians but can anyone tell me which Unit?
More specifically can anyone suggest a source of liberation photos

 

I had a look at "On to Victory: The Canadian Liberation of the Netherlands". West Holland was not actually liberated during the war. The 1st Can Div and 49th (West Riding) Div were positioned along the Grebbe Line just to the east of Utrecht at the time of the German surrender. The only reference to Gouda in the book is regarding possible plans to bomb the dykes between Rotterdam and Gouda should military action in western Holland be needed.

I know that Amsterdam was "liberated" by recce units of 49th Div. The head guy at the British Consulate in Amsterdam, who does battlefield tours sometimes, told me they put a plaque up to let everyone know it was actually Yorkshiremen who first entered the city, not Canadians as most people assume! I'd suggest it was probably 49th Div who "liberated" Gouda also.

Cheers,

Shaun

 

Thank you both. I am a lot wiser now than when I posed this question!

 

If the 1st Canadian division and 49th (West Yorks) shared the job of moving in to 'liberate' (ie take the Germans surrender in) Holland, it is interesting to wonder why the Dutch now give the Canadians all the credit and the British are forgotten.
As for Gouda, I'm beginning to suspect that nobody quite knows any more who 'liberated' it, but if there is anybody does know, it will be the Resistance Museum in Gouda, and they will also have whatever photos exist. So they are the people to contact :
http://www.verzetsmuseum-zh.nl

 

I've noticed that while British troops liberated many Dutch towns and cities, they were immediately followed by Canadian soldiers, many of whom were garrisoned in those locations. That could influence the credit to Canadians where it rightfully belonged to British units.

It is, however, a complex subject, as the link below attempts to explain. There are many connections, including the fact that the Dutch royal family resided in Canada throughout the war and that Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa in 1943.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/old-vets-old-values-underline-dutch-regard-for-canada-s-wwii-liberators-1.3065588

 

The actual fighting (and "liberating") was mainly done by Canadians (and Poles) in East and North Holland. British 49 Infantry Division liberated Armhem and fought along the Rhine River.

 

Nijmegen
Sorry to be picky, but:
When you say 'The actual fighting (and "liberating")', do you mean (as I suppose) 'the actual fighting in the last couple of months of the war'?
When you say 'East and North Holland' do you mean (as I suppose) 'East and North Netherlands', which presumably excludes Holland?
Your second sentence seems to contradict the first, since Arnhem is in the east of the country.
I'd be grateful for clarification.

 

Thanks, Nijmegen. This is where I am now:

In summary:
1 In 1944 the South of the Netherlands was liberated, ie the enemy was driven out through fighting.
2 In April 1945 there was fighting in the East and North of the Netherlands, and much of that part of the country was liberated.
3 At the end of the war an important part of the country had not yet been liberated: notably the heavily populated provinces of the West, North Holland, South Holland and Utrecht. Allied forces moved in to take the enemy's surrender, with hardly any resistance. (Gouda btw was in South Holland.)

The Allied forces involved in these steps were British, Canadian and Polish and, for step 1, also American.
I'd be happy to hear if there is anything wrong with that as a summary.

 

Canuck
Your theory about Canadians getting the credit when, in some places, they only came to replace the British as garrisons a short time after the war was over is very interesting.
Can you give any more substance to it?
Bart

 

For example, the 49th (West Riding) Division was attached to the 1st Canadian Army at the time. They liberated Arnhem and the Nijmegen Salient but the Canadian 5th Armoured division occupied those areas immediately afterwards. There was much intermingling of Canadian and British units in joint operations in the spring of 1945

The Dutch town of Oss hosted Canadian troops who followed up the British Coldstream Guards who’d liberated the town in the autumn of 1944.

In May 1945, there were many photos showing the liberation of Utrecht by Canadian troops yet the Duke of Wellington`s Regiment of the 49th (W.R.) Division of the British Army, I believe a Recce unit, were the first to enter the city. At the time, the division, together with the First Canadian Division, made up First Canadian Corps.

 

It looks to me (subject to more detailed knowledge) as if what happened was this:

In the last days of the war Allied troops moved into the West and North-west of the country: North Holland, South Holland and Utrecht. These troops belonged almost entirely to the 1st Canadian Corps, which was part of the 1st Canadian Army. Thus the semi-myth arose that these provinces, the most heavily populated in the country, were 'liberated' entirely or almost entirely by Canadian forces.

It is a semi-myth because the 1st Canadian Corps consisted of two divisions, and only one of them, the 1st Canadian division, was Canadian. The other was the 49th (West Riding, Polar Bear) British division.

Thus only about half of the soldiers who moved into the Western provinces were Canadians. They all belonged to the 1st Canadian Corps and they all wore similar uniform; and few Dutch problem would distinguish a Canadian from a British English accent; moreover a few days after the end of the war the British troops were withdrawn while the Canadians stayed much longer. These factors together explain how the semi-myth arose that the Western provinces were liberated entirely or almost entirely by Canadian forces.

This is not to deny that taking the operations of 1945 in the whole country together (ie not just the occupation of the Western provinces but the fighting in the East and North-east) more Canadian than British soldiers were involved.

Anything wrong with this interpretation?

 

Absolutely nothing!

If it weren't for the damn, glory seeking Canadians.

 

The Netherlands, as a whole, were liberated by Canadian 1 Army.

Order of battle 4 May 1945:

Canadian 5 Armoured Division
Canadian 1 Infantry Division
British 49 Infantry Division
Canadian 2 Infantry Division
Canadian 3 Infantry Division
Canadian 4 Armoured Division
Polish 1 Armoured Division

With regards,

 

What about British Second Army?

Second British Army, operating on the right of 1st Cdn Army, also fought in Holland (or better: on Dutch soil) after the Rhine Crossing in March 1945.

Units of British 30 Corps - with 43rd Wessex, Guards Armoured and part of 53rd Welsh Div - fought in the areas called Achterhoek & Twente: the extreme eastern part of Holland. The 51st Highland, also fought on Dutch soil north of the Rhine. After the battle for the Rees bridgehead, the Highlanders captured the small Dutch town of Dinxperlo on the Dutch/German border. The Division then was given some rest and became a Corps reserve. Later on the Highlanders moved to the town of Enschede, still as a reserve. Finally, 3rd British Div, advancing in the wake of the Guards Armoured, passed through Aalten, Groenlo, Haaksbergen, Enschede and Oldenzaal, before it recrossed the border into Germany at Nordhorn.

Some of the bigger places in Eastern Holland, such as Winterswijk, Enschede, Hengelo and Oldenzaal, thus were liberated by British troops.

It is high time for a map (courtesy Klep & Schoenmaker, "De Bevrijding van Nederland 1944-1945, Oorlog op de flank"):

 

Stolpi,
Of course, you are right. In my enthusiasm to credit the Canadians, I forgot their effort. Sorry.

 

Nijmegen

No need to apologize, just adding to the picture ...

 

That's a very helpful map, Stolpi.
Is there anything similar to show which divisions turned west at the beginning of May to take the Germans' surrender?

 

Bart150 - No map known to me.

It was 1st Cdn Corps that entered western Holland.

AFAIK the Corps at the time consisted of two divisional units: the British 49th Division and the 1st Cdn Inf Div. The 5th Cdn Armoured Div, in the meantime, had been detached and sent north to fight for the small Dutch harbour town of Delfzijl, situated in the extreme north-eastern part of Holland on the Ems estuary.