With only weeks left in the war, the German defence of the Homeland intensified. One of the last battles was fought from April 14 to 18, 1945, in the city of Groningen between a mixture of German soldiers, and Dutch and Belgian SS troops, numbering 7,000 against the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. It was the largest urban battle fought by the Canadian Army during the Second World War.
The 1st Canadian Army was moving northeast to support the flank of the British 2nd Army as they entered Germany proper. German soldiers in the city were determined to keep enemy forces from German soil while their Dutch SS colleagues had reason to fear for their lives if forced to surrender. German troops also needed to control the city to cover the withdrawal of forces from western Holland back into Germany and defending the way to the U-Boat base at Emden. At the cost of 209 Canadian casualties (43 fatal), over 5,200 Germans surrendered, but about 2,000 were able to flee to the northeast.
Extracted from History of the RCE, Volume II
"The engineers of the 2nd Division ran into yet a little more of the war. During the afternoon of 12th April, after the village of Beilen had been cleared, the 11th Field Company replaced the demolished span which had held up the tanks there. The 4th Infantry Brigade met with opposition at Assen on the morning of the 13th. With it was Lieutenant R. J. W. Armstrong's platoon (2nd Field Company) carrying assault boats for The Essex Scottish. The bridge over the Noord Willems Kanaal was intact, covered by machine-gun, panzerfaust and rifle fire, and prepared for demolition with pull igniters in place. It was the last important bridge before Groningen.
After a supporting tank had been put out of commission, Armstrong called for covering fire then took to the water to deal with the matter. The enemy sappers, who were apparently waiting for orders to blow the bridge and who tried to stop him, were shot down. Swimming under the bridge, he cut the leads and dealt with the charges. The securing of this bridge in all likelihood saved 24 hours on the advance; for his exploit, Armstrong won the Military Cross." (p. 397)
See: Canadian Army Newsreel, No. 70 about the Battle of Groningen
On the morning of the 13th April 1945, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division had reached the town of Assen in their thrust to capture Groningen. At about 1000 hours the leading battalion of 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade was held up at the bridge over the Noord Willems Canal. The bridge was prepared for demolition, with pull igniters in place and a German Pioneer on the far side waiting for the opportunity to blow up the bridge. This was the last important bridge before Groningen and was heavily defended by machine guns and snipers who were sited east and west of the bridge in difficult positions for our infantry to neutralize. The capture of this bridge was essential for the rapid advance of our spearhead.
Lieutenant Richard John Wesley Armstrong, 2nd Canadian Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, and his platoon were working in support of the Essex Scottish and proceeded bear to the bridge with the officer commanding "A" Company to observe the situation. It was apparent that any attempt to remove the charges would be strongly opposed.
Lieutenant Armstrong asked for covering fire and dashed to the bridge. Immediately, the German Pioneer sensed what was about to happen and also dashed forward to set off the demolition but was killed by our covering fire before he reached the bridge. Lieutenant Armstrong removed the charges from the top of the open bridge, then jumped into the water and swam from point to point removing the charges from the underside of the girders. All charges removed, he climbed back on the bridge and dashed for cover. The entire operation took 15 minutes to complete and during all this time this officer was constantly under observed machine gun and sniper fire.
Before starting, he knew he would come under intense fire and in spite of this and with complete disregard for his personal safety, he undertook the hazardous task, the successful accomplishment of which enabled the division to cross the last natural obstacle to its objective at least 24 hours earlier than otherwise would have been possible. The gallant actions of this officer are in keeping with the highest traditions of the First Canadian Army and will remain a constant inspiration to all those who were present.