Reichswald Court is dedicated to the Canadian participation in the Battle of The Reichswald.
Built in 1940 as one of many training establishments for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), Camp Picton’s 700 acres became home for numerous young Commonwealth airmen undergoing bombing and gunnery training. After the Second World War, the site was used as a storage and equipment maintenance centre for the Royal Canadian Air Force before being taken over by the Royal Canadian Artillery School (anti-aircraft). With the addition of a Permanent Married Quarters (PMQ) area in the 1950’s, the base was expanded and in the early 60’s became the Home Station for the Canadian Guards regiment. The Base was closed in 1969 and the airfield was eventually transformed into an industrial site. The PMQ area was sold to individual homeowners with many of the roads retaining their original military name.
The Battle of the Reichswald, also known as Operation Veritable, took place in Klever Reichswald between February 8 and March 11, 1945. This operation was the northern part of an Allied pincer movement conducted by 21st Army Group primarily consisting of the 1st Canadian Army and the British XXX Corps. The operation’s objective was to clear German forces from the area between the Rhine and Maas rivers, east of the German/Dutch frontier. The operation had complications. The heavily forested terrain, squeezed between the rivers, reduced Anglo-Canadian advantages in manpower and armour and the situation was exacerbated by soft ground which had thawed after the winter and the deliberate flooding of the adjacent Rhine flood plain as well as the delay in the southern pincer movement, Operation Grenade.
Veritable started on schedule, with XXX Corps advancing through the forest and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, in amphibious vehicles, clearing enemy positions in the drowned Rhine flood plain. The fighting was hard, but the Allied advance continued. On February 22, once clear of the Reichswald and with the towns of Kleve and Goch in their control, the offensive was renewed and linked up with the US 9th Army (Operation Grenade) near Geldern on March 4. Fighting continued as the Germans sought to retain a bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine at Wesel and evacuate as many men and as much equipment as possible. Finally, on March 10, the German withdrawal ended and the last bridges were destroyed.
