Operation Pheasant

Описание: Operation Pheasant: an event presented by the 2nd Armored in Europe

Between October 20th and November 7th, 1944 Allied forces of British, Canadian, Dutch, Polish and American origin took part in the Canadian 1st Army lead Operation Pheasant with the goal of Liberating the Dutch province of North Brabant and pushing the German forces bac across the Maas River. The vast majority of the Allied forces that took part in this nearly 3 week long operation were British, however there was one American unit that was tasked with taking part in this Dutch endeavor: the U.S. Army's 104th "Timberwolf" Infantry Division. The Timberwolves under the leadership of the experienced Major General Terry de La Mesa Allen Sn. had never seen combat up until the day they relieved elements of the British 49th "Polar Bear" Infantry Division at Wuustwezel, Belgium along the Dutch border on October 23rd, 1944.

On the 25th, they and the rest of the British I Corps would begin their offensive role in Pheasant by pushing to cut the Breda-Tilburg Highway and push to the southern bank of the Mark River, liberating many Dutch communities over the course of these 1st 6 days, many with some severe fighting. Between the 31st and 2nd they would cross over the Mark River to secure the town of Standdaarbuiten against severe opposition from German forces of the 346th Infantry Division, but they would over come these forces and would reach their final objective of the Maas river by November 5th. Over the course of the 3 weeks the Timberwolves fought in Holland, they suffered 1,300 casualties, of this 179 were killed in combat or died of wounds. This however not not be the end of the Timberwolves story in WWII, on the 5th of November they would receive new marching orders to join the U.S. 1st Army fighting around the city of Aachen, Germany. The division would remain in Holland until the 7th, but would continue the fight against the enemy in their homeland of Germany of the remainder of the war.

In October 2023, nearly 150 reenactors with the @2ndarmoredineurope followed the footsteps of the 104th in Holland.
(special thanks to @gi_trooper & @jw_rifleworks_ for their use of their footage)