| 3 Oct 1944 - Bomber Command breaches dikes on Walcheren Island, Holland, flooding the surrounding defences and allowing amphibious forces to successfully attack the heavily defended island.
Coastal gun batteries at Walcheren dominated the approaches to the port of Antwerp, whose facilities could handle 40,000 tons per day of much needed supplies when ships could safely use the approaches. The intention was to flood the island, most of which was reclaimed land below sea level. The flooding would submerge some of the gun batteries and also hamper the German defence against eventual ground attack.
Last edited by Peter Clare; 03-10-2008 at 11:43 AM.
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