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The Battle of Moerbrugge was a two-day battle involving mostly Canadian troops against German during World War II. The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade was tasked to cross the Ghent Canal about five kilometers south of Bruges at the small village of Oostkamp in early September 1944. Directly across the canal from Oostkamp was another small village named Moerbrugge. The canal is about 20 metres wide and very deep. Opposition was not expected so only one battalion was chosen for the crossing: the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), the Argylls. Two batteries of the 15th Field Regiment, RCA were placed in support but due to the rapid advance of the allied armies, supply lines were hundreds of miles long and not much ammunition was available for the guns. As a result, no preparatory fire was laid on. Fire would be provided on an "as required" basis. The South Alberta Regiment (SARs) would place its tanks on the friendly side of the canal at either side of the crossing point and hold the flanks of the crossing with their fire along with the Vickers machine guns of The New Brunswick Rangers. The 3 inch mortars of the Argylls and the 4.2 inch mortars of the Rangers were in support but as low on ammunition as the artillery. Finally, "A" Company of the Argylls, the Argyll scout platoon and one squadron of the SARs were moved to a point north of the crossing along the canal to provide a diversion and to test German defences in that area. At that time, the Argyll Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dave Stewart, was away from the unit which was left under command of the Deputy Commanding Officer, Major B. Stockloser. Major Stockloser ordered "B", "C", and "D" companies to cross the canal but had not arranged for assault boats, stating that the operation would be "a crossing of opportunity". ==Crossing== At 15:30 on 8 September 1944, the three assault companies moved to Oostkamp. Luckily, the "opportunity" Major Stockloser alluded to came about in the form of two civilian boats which were discovered by Major Mackenzie, Officer Commanding "D" Company. These boats would eventually ferry all three companies across the canal. Some boats sank during the crossing and heavily-laden soldiers were drowned. At 17:30, "D" Company started to cross and soon the Germans responded with 88 mm and mortar fire. Casualties started to mount even before the companies reached the other side. In two hours, "C" Coy would drop in strength from 63 men to just 46. By midnight, all three companies were across and holding a narrow bridgehead on the far side. Major Mackenzie was wounded and "D" Company was driven back to the canal by German counter-attacks. "C" Company was cut off from the "B" and "D" Companies by German infiltration. The day ended with 5 Argylls killed and 26 wounded. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Moerbrugge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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