Vlissingen celebrates 80 years of liberation and commemorates the Battle of the Scheldt

Vlissingen celebrated the liberation of the Zeeland port city 80 ago on Saturday and commemorated the Battle of the Scheldt. The main speaker during the commemoration was Tobias van Gent, one of the authors of a book about the Battle of the Scheldt. Gijs Tuinman, State Secretary of Defense, was also present.

The commemoration started at 1:00 p.m. in the Sint Jacobskerk in Vlissingen. Afterwards, accompanied by the Deltaband and the Korps Commandotroepen, there was a wreath-laying ceremony at Uncle Beach at the Oranjemolen at 2:30 p.m.

Van Gent explained during the commemoration that the Battle of the Scheldt was "very important" for the liberation of the Western Scheldt area. Yet the Battle of the Scheldt, which was filmed in 2020, remained unknown for a long time compared to other military operations. "There are several answers to that," said Van Gent. As an explanation, he mentioned, among other things, the Zeeland mentality of "don't whine, just keep going", which ensured that the Zeelanders did not explicitly draw attention to the battle themselves.

The Battle of the Scheldt was of great importance for defeating Nazi Germany but remained unknown for too long. Several speakers emphasized this and also pointed out that freedom and peace are still not self-evident.

Part of the Battle of the Scheldt was the landing of the Allies on the morning of November 1, 1944, in Vlissingen. This amphibious landing was codenamed Uncle Beach. Two days later Vlissingen was liberated, but a heavy price was paid for it, said mayor Bas van den Tillaar. "Many sacrifices were made for freedom. The city was completely in ruins."

The Battle of the Scheldt was of strategic importance to gain possession of the port of Antwerp. The city of Vlissingen was liberated on November 3, 1944. In addition to Vlissingen, there was also heavy fighting in Westkapelle and at the Sloedam on Walcheren.

Gijs Tuinman, State Secretary of Defense, said that freedom is not self-evident even now. "Freedom is fragile, and must always be protected." Tuinman also emphasized that the battle was a unique military cooperation between different countries in the fight for the freedom of the Dutch. “The Battle of the Scheldt was one of the heaviest military operations on Dutch soil in WWII. Dutch, French, British, and Canadians fought together for our freedom,” he wrote on X.

The Zeeland deputy Arno Vael agreed with Tuinman's words. Vael also noted that "wars are still being fought a few hours' flight from the Netherlands." The deputy referred to the battle between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas.

In addition to Vlissingen, there was also heavy fighting in Westkapelle and at the Sloedam during the Battle of the Scheldt on Walcheren. The battle for the Sloedam, at the time the only access to Walcheren by land, was also commemorated on Saturday. During the commemoration, Middelburg mayor Yvonne van Mastrigt pointed out that today's media provide information on a daily basis about "horrors not so far away". She stated that fighting begins in a world where people think differently and that it is therefore important to keep talking to each other.