Today, 75 years ago, Operation Infatuate II started with the landing at Westkapelle on the island of Walcheren, the Netherlands. The 79th Armoured Division disembarked with armoured support for the Commando units, comprising of two Sherman gun tanks, ten Sherman Crabs, eight Churchill AVREs and four Armoured Dozers. Out of a total of twenty-four armoured vehicles, only seven made it ashore of which three Crabs were disabled by the floods during the first night in Westkapelle.
In the next few days, the remaining two Sherman gun tanks and two Churchill AVREs delivered sterling service to the Commandos to drive the German Army out of the Scheldt area.
The bogged vehicles remained stuck in the mud for many years after the war. After the dyke and town were rebuilt, all bar one Sherman Crab were scrapped. The Sherman V Crab T-148656, which landed from LCT 650 "6 CHERRY", was in the process of being scrapped when it was saved for preservation. By that time its flailing equipment had been torched off.
Today, the Sherman at Westkapelle is in dire need of restoration, and I hope the local authorities do so soon before this battle relic has rusted away beyond repair or recognition, even.
Some pics from the official remembrance today at Westkapelle (
source)
"A spontaneous kiss from a bagpipe player for 97-year-old veteran Chuck Harris. 75 years ago, he fought on the beach at Westkapelle with a German submachine gun in his hand. He lost his own weapon when his landing craft sank after a direct hit"
© Emile Calon"
Sherman V Crab T-148656 as a backdrop for the remembrance today:
"The regimental flags are lowered while the national anthems are played during the commemoration in Westkapelle"
© Emile Calon