montreal regiment's heroism overcame german forces to free northern europe
a regiment's sacrifice: defeating hitler's army at the royal montreal regiment museum commemorates the 80th anniversary of battle of leopold canal.
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the soldiers came from westmount and n.d.g., griffintown and verdun. most of them were 18 years old when they volunteered at the start of the war. they had been students at selwyn house and loyola high school and mcgill. before going overseas, most still lived at home with their parents. their mission in early october 1944 was simple, deadly and crucial: fight their way across a waterway roughly the width of the lachine canal protected by german machine-guns so allied forces could break through to liberate the netherlands and the rest of northern europe. a similar attempt had been made weeks before, with disastrous results. now the young men from montreal would be leading the charge.
their story is told in a new exhibit commemorating the 80th anniversary of the battle of leopold canal, titled a regiment’s sacrifice: defeating hitler’s army, at the royal montreal regiment (rmr) museum in westmount. complete with personal items and the weapons they fought with, the small but poignant exhibition is being displayed on the eve of remembrance day to put a human face to the suffering and courage exhibited by canada’s soldiers.
some of the memorabilia in the exhibit a regiment’s sacrifice: defeating hitler’s army, at the rmr museum in westmount.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
“we talk about remembrance day as a moment of remembering sacrifices that were made,” said colin robinson, former commanding officer of the rmr. “this is a pretty extreme example of many levels of personal sacrifice by soldiers who were killed, wounded and taken prisoner of war,” and the families left behind.
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the battle also serves as a microcosm of the commitment of a nation: canada’s military had fewer than 5,000 professional members at the start of the war. by the end, more than one million men and women had served. of those, 45,000 were killed and 55,000 wounded.
the 80-member unit of the rmr volunteered to fight their way across the leopold canal that runs along the border between belgium and the netherlands so allied forces could break through german lines. the waterway was only 30 metres wide, but german forces had been entrenched there for three years, hunkered down in fortified concrete bunkers and hidden slit trenches armed with machine-guns and grenades.
some of the memorabilia in the exhibit a regiment’s sacrifice: defeating hitler’s army, at the rmr museum in westmount.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
breaking across the canal would be the first step in taking over the scheldt region of belgium and the netherlands that was still occupied by german forces four months after the d-day invasion of june 4. it would open crucial supply lines via the port of antwerp for the allies and allow for the liberation of the netherlands as winter neared, where some citizens had been reduced to eating tulip bulbs as starvation encroached.
to provide cover, the canadians used a line of 27 tank-mounted flame-throwers to put a wall of fire across the canal for five minutes straight in the dead of night, intended to frighten the germans into fleeing. then, under the cover of smoke and darkness but also blind themselves, the canadian soldiers moved across the waterway in large rowboats carrying 10 to 15 soldiers each.
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they encountered heavy resistance.
exhibit organizer amynte eygun is seen with a british bren light machine-gun at the rmr museum in westmount on thursday, nov. 7, 2024.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
“the number of german forces was double what they had been led to expect,” said amynte eygun, the project manager for the exhibit. “it goes back to the point that they really didn’t know what they were going in for, and the extent to which the germans were going to fight back.”
among the first to cross was william barkley, a 25-year-old lieutenant who used to live with his father and had been studying to be an accountant at mcgill. as commander of platoon 2, he was hit with a blast of machine-gun fire that killed him instantly as their boat reached the north shore but shielded his comrades, saving their lives.
private richard maurice thornicroft was a 22-year-old who lived on melrose ave. in notre-dame-de-grâce with his parents and worked at the harrison bros. bakery in westmount, known today as the pom bakery. suffering a smashed arm during the incursion, he was sent back to get medical attention but encountered a german soldier who shot him despite the fact he was injured and unarmed.
by the time the rmr soldiers made it across, only 11 of the original 80 managed to establish a bridgehead in which to protect the entryway they had forged. they were joined by the surviving members of the regina rifle regiment and the royal winnipeg rifles who had been backing them up, and for three days managed to withstand shelling and machine-gun fire by german forces.
some of the memorabilia in the exhibit a regiment’s sacrifice: defeating hitler’s army, at the rmr museum in westmount.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
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in total, 10 members of the rmr were killed in the first three days of battle and 17 wounded. another 17 were captured as prisoners of war.
their gains would allow the allied forces to take the scheldt region, opening the route to the netherlands and into germany. the allied forces would declare victory the following may.
after its run at the rmr museum, the exhibit is expected to tour schools throughout quebec.
“so that our younger generation can learn, so, hopefully, we don’t have to go through this again,” robinson said.
a regiment’s sacrifice: defeating hitler’s army runs until sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the royal montreal regiment museum, 4625 ste-catherine st. w. admission is free.
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