Antwerp Port

Antwerp, BE

The largest port in continental Europe, captured intact by the British **11th Armoured Division** on September 4, 1944, in a lightning advance that outran German demolition teams. However, the 80-km **Scheldt Estuary** giving access to the port remained in German hands until November 1944. The subsequent **Battle of the Scheldt** to clear the waterway cost the Canadian First Army over 12,000 casualties before Antwerp became operational.