II Canadian Corps


II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps and I Canadian Corps, comprised the First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe during World War II.
Authorization for the formation of the Corps headquarters became effective in England on January 14, 1943. Over March 4–12, 1943 the new Canadian corps was involved in Exercise "Spartan", a large-scale training exercise in southern England. This exercise revealed weaknesses in the command of both the new Corps and of First Canadian Army, and this led directly to several changes in leadership over the subsequent year.
The first commander of II Canadian Corps was Lieutenant-General Ernest William Sansom, effective January 15, 1943. Concerns over his leadership abilities and health caused Sansom to be replaced by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds on January 29, 1944. Simonds led the Corps for the remainder of its existence. On May 5, 1945, at Bad Zwischenahn in Northern Germany, Simonds accepted the surrender of German forces facing II Canadian Corps at the end of the war. The Corps was deactivated on June 25, 1945 as part of general demobilization.
II Canadian Corps opened its first tactical headquarters in Normandy at Amblie on June 29, 1944. The headquarters became fully operational on July 7 as the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division began to arrive in France. This first division was soon joined by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, which had participated earlier in the Normandy landings and in Operation Windsor as part of I Corps. The 4th Canadian Division was the third Canadian division-level component of the Corps. Finally, for most of the campaign through Northwest Europe the Corps also included Polish 1st Armoured Division.
Although nominally a Canadian formation, II Canadian Corps contained significant contributions at different times from other Allied countries. In addition to the 1st Polish Armoured Division, the Corps included the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade, and the 51st Infantry Division.

Major Operations

II Canadian Corps engaged in combat operations in North-West Europe from the beginning of July 1944 to just before VE Day in early May 1945. During the Battle of Normandy, the Corps was used to spearhead the British-Canadian advance from Caen to Falaise. With the final closure of the Falaise Gap on August 21, 1944, the remaining German forces in northern France were forced into a rapid retreat back towards defensive positions in port cities along the coast, and in the regions just south of the Netherlands and outside the western borders of Germany, in Belgium and eastern France. The First Canadian Army formed the left flank of the advancing Allied armies, and was charged with capturing or sealing off German-occupied ports in Northern France and in Belgium. Dieppe, Boulogne, Calais, Cap-Gris-Nez and Ostend were captured in September by troops of II Canadian Corps. However, the defences of Dunkirk proved to be so strong that it was decided to leave the German-occupied port city under siege until the end of the European war. Antwerp had been captured by the British Second Army on September 4, but the city's large port facilities were useless to the Allies as long as German forces continued to occupy the banks of the Scheldt Estuary. As the spearhead of the First Canadian Army, II Canadian Corps was heavily involved in the Battle of the Scheldt to clear out those German positions. II Canadian Corps was involved in the battles to expel German forces from the eastern provinces of the Netherlands, back across the western border of Germany, and then to drive them out from the west bank of the Rhine River. In the final phases of the war, II Canadian Corps advanced into the northern provinces of the Netherlands and across the border into Germany towards the North Sea coast. On May 5, 1945 Lt.-Gen. Simonds received the unconditional surrender of those German forces facing the Corps in northern Germany.