Scheldt 44' - coming to Netflix

[Mike Prucha]

Finally got around to watching this. I enjoyed it - I liked the landscapes, attention to detail with costumes, etc, and thought the "prologue" combat scene on the Eastern front was well-done.

I have a few historic nitpicks that I feel compelled mentioned, plus a few fun details that I enjoyed:

1. It is true that Allied aircraft came under fire from the Vlissingen batteries on their way to Arnhem, but I am not certain if any were actually shot down here. There were some gliders downed far behind enemy lines and pilots and paratroopers who made their way back in September and October, so while the glider going down on Schouwen-Duiveland is fictionalized it is not totally unreasonable.

2. Schouwen-Duivenland was garrisoned by elements of Armenische-Infanterie-Bataillon 812 (in addition to the coastal artillery).  The German soldiers patrolling the island probably should have worn the sleeve patch of the Armenian legion and had names other than "Fritz." I suppose the patrol could have come from Heeres-Kust-Artillerie-Abteilung 1231.

3. The resistance photo of a German Flak position  shows a 10.5cm FlaK 38 - these were exactly the guns employed by the Marine-Flak battalion and I liked this attention to detail (though I question how a civilian got that close to the flak emplacement).

4. There are two scenes in which German infantry enter a bakery in Middelburg and order white bread. This is a clearly a nod to the 70. I.D.'s nickname "White Bread Division." It was a little detail that made me smile

5. I like the attention to detail with vehicle markings and divisional insignia - 70. I.D., 52nd Lowland, & and 2nd Canadian Infantry Division were all correct.

6. I am bit skeptical as to whether the glider pilot would have been issued a Canadian uniform and incorporated into a Canadian infantry unit after his arduous journey and escape from occupied territory. Given the Canadian manpower crisis, I suppose it's possible.

7. The Walcheren causeway was principally defended by Festungs-Stamm-Truppen LXXXIX. This regiment was mostly manned by middle aged conscripts in their 40s & 50s - some older German soldiers might have been a nice touch, they all looked pretty young to me.

8.  The route across the Sloe was discovered by sappers from the 52nd Lowland's 202nd Field Company. While the Dutch resistance may have passed on intelligence about a passable route across Sloe (according to G.J. van Ojen's De Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten, they did, though I think this is disputed) the account in the movie is entirely fictionalized and importance of Dutch resistance reports is exaggerated.

9. The Battle for Walcheren Causeway was compressed quite a bit and Canadians are erroneously depicted in the final assault. The scene presumably shows the assault by the Canadian Black Watch on October 31st, but there is no reference to the second attempt by the Calgary Highlanders and Régiment de Maisonneuve on November 1st, nor their relief by the 1st Battalion, Glasgow Highlanders on November 2nd. Contrary to the depiction in the movie, German positions on the Causeway did not immediately disintegrate after the 6th Cameronians crossed the Sloe on November 3rd. It took a day of hard fighting for the Cameronians to link up with the Glasgow Highlanders at the base of the causeway, and only then did German resistance start to crumble.

-Mike P