**Kapelsche Veer - The Matrix Games version of West Front

[Kapelsche Veer, Maas front, 20 KM NE Breda, Holland]:[H2H]:[HIS]:[BB]:The Ardennes Offensive had made the Allies very edgy along the entire Western front, for any other possible German attacks. The build up of massive troops north of the rivers in The Netherlands led them to believe, that here too a major thrust towards Antwerp was being prepared. Active raiding on both sides across the Maas river had taken place during December 1944 and january 1945; the Germans had even created a stronghold on the island of Kapelsche Veer, which was seen as a possible jumping off place for an offensive. However, with the Ardennes Offensive as good as lost for the Germans, no immediate threat from the north existed any longer. Still the flat, soggy island with it's high slippery dykes itself formed an akward salient in the Allied lines that they wanted to get rid of for more than a month. After the Poles of the 1st Polish Armored Division and subsequently the British had tried to sweep the Germans out of their stronghold and failed in december 1944, the task now fell to Major-General Vokes' 4th Canadian Armored Division. Nervous as they were, almost the entire 10th Brigade and strong support units were thrown into the attack, against a force of about 150 German paratroopers, who where later being reinforced by boat from the northbank of the river Maas doubling their size. The cold, snow and freezing weather together with the bitter fighting that followed, made this action stand out of numerous others. The tremendous casualty rate among both sides for a strip of land of questionable value, makes this battle subject of debate even today. Veterans from both sides today agree that the battle never should have taken place and that their comrades and friends died fully in vain. [Note that vehicles can not move on the low grounds on the island due to saturation of the ground, the snow was just a thin layer at this time]