MLU FORUM - Operation Switchback - Paulinapolder Monument

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Operation Switchback - Paulinapolder Monument

Today I visited the monument for the seaborne landings at the Paulinapolder, Biervliet, the Netherlands. It commemorates what happened here 80 years ago:

Quote:

"During the night of October 8 to 9, 1944, nearly 100 Buffalo amphibious vehicles full of military personnel were transported from the port of Terneuzen out onto the estuary of the Scheldt. The Canadian troops were shuttled to the coast of western Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. Between Hoofdplaat and Biervliet, they landed on ‘Green Beach’ and ‘Amber Beach’. The objective was to open a front at the coast of West-Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in order to weaken the German opposition at the Leopold Canal.
The "Green Beach" landings went smoothly. Although the sound of motors and exploding grenades must have been deafening, the German defenders initially thought Walcheren was being attacked. On the second beach, ‘Amber Beach’, a number of Buffalo’s got stuck in the clay. As the Canadians struggled to get away from the mud flats, they were under heavy fire.
The landing zone, between Hoofdplaat and the Paulinapolder, soon became the target of a German counterattack. Unlike other German units in Belgium and Zeeland, these were highly trained troops. The counterattack was repelled, and the bridgehead could be extended with new troops.
At the centre of this beachhead, fierce battles broke out. The village of Driewegen was almost completely destroyed. After two days there was a deadlock. As the Canadian attackers defended the landing area, more and more troops were transferred. With smokescreens they prevented German observation from Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland.
Over the next few days, pressure to break out quickly began to rise for the Canadians. The German coastal batteries on Walcheren and around Cadzand, and the artillery at IJzendijke, increasingly hit their Canadian targets. On October 11 the impasse was broken with a successful attack on Biervliet. The Canadian troops were able to advance further into western Zeeuws-Vlaanderen."

Text source: https://www.liberationroute.com/pois...borne-landings

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The area circled in green is where the landings took place:

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This is a view of the mudflats where Buffalo and Terrapin amphibious vehicles came ashore, manned by the British 5th and 6th Assault Regiments (Royal Engineers) and carrying the troops of 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade.

It was a cold and damp day. These days the mud and water of the Scheldt river are polluted by the chemical industry upstream.

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Hello Hanno.

Are those mud flats exposed most of the day or subject to the usual twice in/twice out tidal flow?

David

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Dunlop (Post 297504)

Are those mud flats exposed most of the day or subject to the usual twice in/twice out tidal flow?

The mud flats are exposed to the tidal flows, the areas with growth on them only once in a while with spring tides, storms, etc. The photos were made from the foot of the dyke which protects the polders behind them. The monument stands on the other side of the dyke.

I have yet to find out if this was ‘Green Beach’ or ‘Amber Beach’. One of them was more to the West directed at the town Hoofdplaat, this one is the most Eastern one of the two, directed at taking the town Biervliet:

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They’re tidal. The areas with the plants don’t flood every day, else there wouldn’t be anything growing there at all, but I would guess they are underwater when the tide is unusually high. There is a dyke behind the photographer to stop the sea from flooding the farmland and industry here:

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The photographer probably stood somewhere near the blue parasol icon. The green near the water is the green in Hanno’s photos, the grey road running east–west is on the inside of the dyke, which is the green line right next to the road.

This whole area has changed a lot since the war, though:

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IIRC, the tracks on the Buffalo were somewhat narrow. I suspect if the mud was softer than anticipated, the tracks may have dug into the mud enough the hulls simply bottomed out and the Buffalo would be going nowhere until either enough tide came back in to refloat it, or a LAD could retrieve it.

Either way, pretty uncomfortable for the troops.

Is there any mention in the records about sufficient air cover being provided for the landings?

David

Though I’ve never been there, if the beach there is the same as here on Walcheren (only about 20 km away, on the other bank of the river) then it’s sand and not a mudflat. Perhaps a relatively thin layer of mud over sand? I don’t remember any reports of LVTs getting stuck on the beach here, three weeks after the Switchback landings.

From Project ‘44:

Quote:

The forgotten D-Day: Canada’s amphibious assault through the flooded fields of the Scheldt.

Early in the morning on the 9th of October 1944, 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade struck behind German lines in the Breskens Pocket. An amphibious assault from Ghent carried two columns of Buffalo amphibious vehicles across the flooded terrain.

At 2 AM, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders landed on Green Beach and the Highland Light Infantry on Amber Beach. Three hours later, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders came ashore, completing the landing. With a full brigade now behind enemy lines, the Canadians had bypassed the elaborate German defences designed to block an advance from the south and west.

This bold move forced the Germans to fight on two fronts and marked a turning point in the battle for the Scheldt.

The map shows the path of the Amphibious assault on the western side of the Breskens Pocket. It notes “LVTs out” and “Terrapins out”, which helps to pinpoints where the photos were taken.

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Interesting! Let’s overlay that map on a modern one:

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And on an aerial photo:

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Interestingly, Green Beach is now some way into the sea, probably only reachable when the tide is very low. Amber Beach, though, is easy to locate in the model landscape: find the field full of solar panels, go to its northwestern corner and cross the dyke there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakko Westerbeke (Post 299338)

Interesting! Let’s overlay that map on a modern one:

Interestingly, Green Beach is now some way into the sea, probably only reachable when the tide is very low. Amber Beach, though, is easy to locate in the model landscape: find the field full of solar panels, go to its northwestern corner and cross the dyke there.

Hi Jakko, thanks for doing that overlay. I reckon the scaling of the hand drawn sketch is a bit off, as GREEN and AMBER BEACH are more to the left.

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I suspected as much, because the curve of the coastline on the left seems like it should fit the dyke to the west of the solar panels, but ends up east of that. But looking at it better, I noticed I got the size wrong: I thought I had everything lined up correctly, but didn’t because I made the Second World War map too small. Here are improved versions:

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