Battle of Meijel
| Battle of Meijel | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Front of World War II | |||||||
Churchill tanks of Grenadier Guards near Meijel during the allied counterattack on 1 November 1944 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
United Kingdom United States | Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Richard O'Connor | Hans von Obstfelder | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| VIII Corps | XLVII Panzer Corps | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2,000 93 tanks |
2,000 35 tanks | ||||||
The Battle of Meijel, also known as the Battle of the Canals, was a German operational offensive that took place during the fighting on the Western Front in World War II. It took place between 27 October and 8 November 1944, as OB West (German high command) hoped that it would divert allied pressure on the offensive into North Brabant.
On 27 October, two divisions of the German XLVII Panzer Corps attempted a surprise offensive to cut the narrow Allied corridor created during Operation Market Garden, in the Peel Marshes along the line north from Nederweert, south to Meijel and Liessel. ON the first day they successfully drove a wedge into elements of the US 7th Armored Division. Within a few days however the attack was contained by recently reinforced British VII Corps which arrived to stem the German advance, and were gradually pushed back.