1. Context
    Allied tactics  Battle for Sögel 

2. Battle for Friesoythe
    Destruction of Friesoythe  Civilian casualties and damage 

3. Aftermath

4. See also

5. Notes, citations and sources
    Notes  Citations  Sources 

The Razing of Friesoythe took place on 14{{nbsp}}April 1945 during the Western Allies' invasion of Germany towards the end of World War II. In early April, the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division, advancing into north-west Germany, attacked the German town of Friesoythe. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada captured the town. During the fighting the battalion's commander was killed by a German soldier and it was rumoured that he had been killed by a civilian.

Under this mistaken belief the division's commander, Major General Christopher Vokes, ordered that the town be razed in retaliation and it was substantially destroyed. The rubble was used to fill craters in local roads to make them passable for the division's tanks and heavy vehicles. A few days earlier the division had destroyed the centre of Sögel in another reprisal and also used the rubble to make the roads passable.

Little official notice was taken of the incident and the official history glosses over it. It is covered in the regimental histories of the units involved and several accounts of the campaign. Forty years afterwards, Vokes wrote in his autobiography that he had "no great remorse over the elimination of Friesoythe". There has been no investigation by Canadian authorities of the event.

Context

Allied tactics

During the Western Allies' invasion of Germany, Allied forces occasionally conducted retaliatory actions against civilian property in response to attacks by civilians. Such actions contravened the Hague Convention of 1907, which banned retaliations against civilians not directly involved in attacks, but had been authorised by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in its manual Combating the Guerrilla. While this manual focused on tactics to isolate guerrillas from the civilian population, it stated that there were circumstances where commanders could undertake "stern measures" against civilians as a rapid response to attacks. The decision to authorise such measures was motivated by a belief that all Germans bore collective guilt for the crimes of the Nazi regime, and an assessment by SHAEF that the brutal counter-insurgency tactics used by German forces had been successful.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|p=256}} It also formed part of a broader set of occupation polices which sought to suppress an expected widespread resistance movement directed against the Allied forces, including attacks by "Werwolf" guerrillas .{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|pp=252–253}}

The frequency and nature of retaliatory actions differed between national contingents. The British commanders disapproved of retaliations against civilians, and British forces in the 21st Army Group undertook only two such actions during the campaign; a threat to retaliate against civic leaders at Osnabrück unless they turned over the head of a vigilante group which had murdered forced labourers on 14 April, and the destruction of two cottages at Seedorf after villagers hid German troops in their cellars on 26 April. The low incidence of these actions was motivated by the traditions of the British military and the fact that the 21st Army Group experienced few guerrilla attacks.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|p=257}} United States Army forces more frequently retaliated against civilians, with local commanders being authorised to destroy buildings which were being used by guerrillas, though this was also uncommon. French troops took a similar approach to the Americans.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|pp=258–259}} The Soviet Union's leadership was also concerned about the threat of a German resistance movement, and Soviet forces killed, raped and imprisoned large numbers of local civilians following guerrilla attacks.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|pp=268–270}}

The First Canadian Army more frequently retaliated against German civilians than other elements of the 21st Army Group.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|p=257}} The commander of 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division, Major General Christopher Vokes, believed that destroying property was the most appropriate way of responding to resistance by German civilians, and his division did so more often than other Canadian units. Vokes was aware that these actions violated the Hague Convention, and took care to never issue written instructions ordering retaliations.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|pp=258–259}}

Battle for Sögel

In early April 1945 the 4th Canadian Division, as part of II Canadian Corps, moved out of the eastern Netherlands in the wake of the Allied crossing of the Rhine in Operation Plunder. The Canadian official history described the circumstances as buoyant as it was recognised that the end of World War II in Europe was close.{{sfn|Stacey|1960|p=527}} On 4 April, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, part of the 4th{{nbsp}}Canadian (Armoured) Division, made an assault crossing of the Ems river and captured the town of Meppen, suffering only one casualty. German prisoners included several 17-year-old youths with less than eight weeks military experience.{{sfn|Stacey|1960|p=557}}

The division advanced a further {{convert|25|km}} to Sögel, which the Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) captured on 9{{nbsp}}April. The following day it repulsed several German counter-attacks before the town was declared cleared.{{sfn|Williams|1988|p=276}}{{sfn|Stacey|1960|p=558}} Some German civilians joined the fighting and were believed to have killed several Canadian soldiers. Vokes, believing the civilians needed to be taught a lesson, ordered the destruction of the centre of the town.^[1] This was accomplished with several truck-loads of dynamite. Soldiers of the division started referring to Vokes as "The Sod of Sögel".{{sfn|Foster|2000|page=437}}

Battle for Friesoythe

The Canadian advance continued across the Westphalian Lowland, reaching a strategic crossroads on the outskirts of Friesoythe on 13 April. As it was early spring the ground was sodden and heavy vehicles could not operate off the main roads.{{sfn|Stacey|1960|p=558}} This made Friesoythe, {{convert|20|mi|km}} west of Oldenburg, on the river Soeste, a potential bottleneck. If the Germans were to hold it, the bulk of the Canadians would not be able to continue their advance.{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=305}} Most of the population of 4,000 had evacuated to the countryside on 11–12 April.^[2] Several hundred paratroopers from Battalion Raabe of the 7th Parachute Division and a number of anti-tank guns defended the town.{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=305}}^[3] The paratroopers repelled the first attack by the Lake Superior Regiment, which suffered a number of killed and wounded; German casualties are unknown.^[4]

Vokes ordered the resumption of the attack by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick E. Wigle). The Argylls conducted a flanking night march and launched a dawn attack on 14 April. The attack met only scattered resistance from a disorganized garrison and the Argylls secured the town by 10:30 a.m. During the attack, a small number of German soldiers caught Wigle's tactical headquarters by surprise at around 8:30 a.m. A firefight broke out, resulting in the death of Wigle and several other soldiers. A rumour circulated that a local civilian had shot Wigle.{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=308}}^[5]{{sfn|Fraser|1996|p=431}}

Destruction of Friesoythe

Vokes was furious when he heard of Wigle's death and wrote in his autobiography "A first-rate officer of mine, for whom I had a special regard and affection, and in whom I had a particular professional interest because of his talent for command, was killed. Not merely killed, it was reported to me, but sniped in the back". Vokes wrote "I summoned my {{Abbr|GSO1|general staff officer}}... 'Mac,' I roared at him, 'I'm going to raze that goddam town. Tell 'em we're going to level the fucking place. Get the people the hell out of their houses first.{{'"}}{{sfn|Foster|2000|page=437}}{{sfn|Vokes|1985|pages=194–5}} Vokes' executive officer convinced him to not put this order in writing or issue a proclamation to the local civilians.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|p=295}}

The Argylls had spontaneously begun to burn Friesoythe in reprisal for the death of their colonel.{{sfn|Fraser|1996|pp=435–7}} After Vokes issued his order, the town was systematically set on fire with flamethrowers mounted on Wasp Carriers. Other soldiers fanned out down side streets, throwing phosphorus grenades or improvised Molotov cocktails made from petrol containers into buildings. The attack continued for over eight hours and Friesoy was almost totally destroyed.{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=308}} As the commanding officer of The Algonquin Regiment later wrote, "the raging Highlanders cleared the remainder of that town as no town has been cleared for centuries, we venture to say".{{sfn|Cassidy|1948|p=307}} The war diary of the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade records, "when darkness fell Friesoythe was a reasonable facsimile of Dante's Inferno".{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=309}}

The Canadian official history volume states that Friesoythe "was set on fire in a mistaken reprisal".{{sfn|Stacey|1960|p=722}} The rubble was used to reinforce the local roads for the division's tanks, which had been unable to move up due to the roads near the town being badly cratered.{{sfn|Rogers|1989|p=259}}^[6]

Civilian casualties and damage

During the fighting around Friesoythe and aftermath, ten civilians from the town and another ten from the surrounding villages were killed.^[7] There were reports of civilians lying dead in the streets.{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=308}} According to one German assessment, 85–90 per cent of the town was destroyed during the reprisal.{{sfn|Cloppenburg|2003|p=189}} The {{Lang|de|Brockhaus Enzyklopaedie}}, estimated the destruction to be as high as 90 per cent. The town's website records that of 381{{nbsp}}houses in the town proper, 231{{nbsp}}were destroyed and another 30 badly damaged.^[7] A few days later, a Canadian nurse wrote home that the convent on the edge of town was the only building left standing.{{sfn|Hibbert|1985|p=84}} In the suburb of Altenoythe, 120{{nbsp}}houses and 110{{nbsp}}other buildings were destroyed.^[7] In 2010, Mark Zuehlk suggested that, "Not all of Friesoythe was burnt, but its centre was destroyed".{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|page=309}}

Aftermath

The Canadian army official historian, Colonel Charles Stacey visited Friesoythe on 15 April and in the Canadian Army official history, "There is no record of how this [destruction] came about" (1960).{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|p=309}}{{sfn|Stacey|1960|pp=558, 722}} Stacey commented in 1982 in his memoirs that the only time he saw what could be considered a war crime committed by Canadian soldiers was when

After the war the Vokes said, referring to a discussion with the Canadian High Commissioner in London regarding the sentencing of convicted German war criminal Kurt Meyer, "I told them of Sögel and Friesoythe and of the prisoners and civilians that my troops had killed in Italy and Northwest Europe".{{sfn|Foster|2000|page=437}} Vokes commented in his autobiography, written forty years after the event, that he had "[a] feeling of no great remorse over the elimination of Friesoythe. Be that as it may".{{sfn|Foster|2000|page=437}}{{sfn|Morton|2016}} This position may have been motivated by a continued belief that the retaliatory actions were justified.{{sfn|Briddiscombe|1998|p=295}} The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were awarded the battle honour "Friesoythe", as were The Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) and The Lincoln and Welland Regiment.^[10] There was no investigation by Canadian authorities of the damage or the civilian casualties. In 2010, Mark Zuehlke wrote "No evidence of a deliberate cover up exists".{{sfn|Zuehlke|2010|p=309}}

See also

• Allied war crimes during World War II
• List of war crimes

Notes, citations and sources

Notes

Citations

Sources

• {{cite book |last1=Briddiscombe |first1=Perry |title=Werwolf! : The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-1946 |date=1998 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-8020-0862-6|ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Warpath; the Story of the Algonquin Regiment, 1939–1945 |last=Cassidy |first=G. L. |publisher=Ryerson Press |year=1948 |oclc=937425850 |location=Toronto |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Die Stadt Friesoythe im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert |trans-title=The town of Friesoythe in the twentieth century) |last=Cloppenburg |first=Ferdinand |location=Friesoythe |publisher=Schepers |year=2003 |language=German |isbn=978-3000127595 |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Meeting of Generals |last=Foster |first=Tony |publisher=iUniverse |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-595-13750-3 |location=San Jose; New York |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Black Yesterdays; the Argylls' War |last=Fraser |first=Robert L. |publisher=Argyll Regimental Foundation |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-9681380-0-7 |location=Hamilton |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Fragments of War: Stories from Survivors of World War II |last=Hibbert |first=Joyce |year=1985 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-0-919670-95-2 |location=Toronto |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite news |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/christopher-vokes/ |title=Christopher Vokes |last=Morton |first=Desmond |work=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=24 January 2018 |year=2016 |orig-year=2008 |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=History of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment |last=Rogers |first=R. L. |publisher=Private printing |year=1989 |location=Ottawa |oclc=13090416 |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |last=Sirluck |first=E. |title=Intelligence Report, War Diary, General Staff, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, 1 April 1945{{snd}}30 April 1945. Appendix 38 |date=14 April 1945}}
• {{Cite book |series=Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War |title=The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-west Europe 1944–45 |volume=III |url=http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/dhh-dhp/official_history_cdn_army_ww2/D2-503E.pdf |last=Stacey |first=Charles Perry |publisher=Queen's Printer |year=1960 |location=Ottawa |oclc=317352926 |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=A Date With History |last=Stacey |first=Charles Perry |publisher=Deneau |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-88879-086-6 |location=Ottawa |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Vokes: My Story |last=Vokes |first=Chris |publisher=Gallery Books |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-9692109-0-0 |location=Ottawa |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=The Long Left Flank: the Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945 |last=Williams |first=Jeffery |year=1988 |publisher=Stoddart |isbn=978-0-7737-2194-4 |location=Toronto |oclc=25747884 |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=On To Victory: The Canadian Liberation of the Netherlands |last=Zuehlke |first=Mark |publisher=Greystone Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-55365-430-8 |location=Vancouver |ref=harv}}
• {{Cite book |title=Die Enzyklopädie, 20. Aufl. V. 7 |publisher=Brockhaus |year=1996 |isbn= |location=Leipzig |ref=CITEREFBrockhaus1996}}
• {{cite book |title=Lincoln and Welland Regiment War Diary, April 1945 |id=RG24 |publisher=Library and Archives Canada |number=8}}

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