Liberation of Belgium
2 Sep 1944 - 2 Nov 1944
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
With northern France just won, Allied troops under general command of the Canadians pushed into Belgium in early Sep 1944. Major cities of Brussels and Antwerp were liberated quickly, and the V-1 rocket launching bases nearby fell along with the cities. German troops attempted to hinder the usefulness of the Antwerp port by attacking with V-1 and V-2 rockets, but the rockets were not accurate in their attacks and the port facilities remained standing. The city itself, however, bore the burden of the rockets that ran astray.
Source:
Liberation of Belgium Timeline
2 Sep 1944 Canadian troops crossed into Belgium.
3 Sep 1944 In Belgium, British Second Army captured Brussels and US First Army captured Tournai.
4 Sep 1944 British 11th Armoured Division captured Antwerp, Belgium.
5 Sep 1944 US Third Army crossed the Meuse River while the British forces reached Ghent, Belgium.
7 Sep 1944 British 11th Armoured Division crossed the Albert Canal in Belgium.
8 Sep 1944 In Belgium, US First Army captured Liége and Canadian forces captured Ostend.
10 Sep 1944 Allied patrols in Belgium crossed the German border near Aachen, Germany.
11 Sep 1944 Scottish 15th Division crossed into the Netherlands near Antwerp, Belgium.
2 Nov 1944 Canadian forces captured Zeebrugge, which was the last pocket of German occupation in Belgium.
4 Feb 1945 Belgium was reportedly free of German forces as of this date.
http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=193
It strikes me as writing the Normandy plan in hindsight. After all, the original plan was for Monty to take Caen ON D-Day. The evolution of a strategy where the Brits tied down the German armor on the left while the Americans advanced on the right was just a recognition that facts on the ground had changed.
Perhaps the numbers have not been released, but the statement that both the Brits and Americans suffered roughly the same casualties is wrong. Churchill expressed concern with this some time ago. American casualties were substantially higher, even if you assign Canadian casualties to the Brits.
It is true, however, that the Brits and Canadians did a good job of keeping most of the German armor busy and unable to shift west.
One thing I'm sure Monty would strongly disagree with is that the brainchild of this strategy was Bradley. Monty always insisted this was his idea that he pursued as ground commander, a title he resented having been taken from him.
Bradley and his staff did plan Cobra, but I think much of Third Army's outbreak was Patton running wild, but Baldwin attributes that to a command of Bradley too.
Ike picked Patton for a French field command back when he was in the doghouse in Sicily. I'm not sure if the decision had been entirely Bradley's he would have given Third Army to Patton.