Project '44

Tomorrow at 1:00 pm, the Project ’44 team will be live on YouTube for a special livestream update. We’ll be walking through the new Beta Map, discussing why the platform was rebuilt, and outlining what comes next for Project ’44 in 2026. Multiple members of the team will be on screen to talk about research, mapping, and development. If you follow Canadian military history or use Project ’44 for research and education, this stream will give you a behind-the-scenes look at what we’ve been building. youtube.com/live/Cazq6kP_S…

Soldiers of the 8th Indian Infantry Division discussing tank tactics with the soldiers of the 14th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment) in March of 1944. In March 1944, soldiers of the 8th Indian Infantry Division met with tank crews of the 14th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Calgary Regiment) to coordinate tactics during the Italian Campaign. The mountainous terrain of central Italy made combined-arms cooperation essential, as armour could not operate effectively without close infantry support and careful planning. The 8th Indian Division, made up of troops from across the Indian subcontinent, had extensive experience in mountain and river-crossing operations, skills that were invaluable in Italy’s difficult landscape. The Calgary Regiment, equipped with Sherman tanks, brought mobility and firepower, but required infantry to help spot enemy anti-tank guns, secure narrow passes, and clear towns. Meetings like this highlight the multinational character of the Allied campaign in Italy. Canadians, Indians, Britons, New Zealanders, Poles, and others fought side by side, each contributing distinct strengths. For the Calgary Regiment and the 8th Indian Division, tactical cooperation was key to overcoming German defences on terrain that often seemed to favour the defenders.

You can check out the more then 30+ new images here: patreon.com/posts/operatio…

All of these images including primary documents such as AARs, war diaries, and period maps are now live on the beta web map for Patreon supporters. Link in comments.

We've just uploaded a major batch of geotagged photographs from Operation Veritable to the Project '44 beta web map. What you're looking at when you scroll through this post are the raw images. But on the map, each one is pinned to the exact location it was taken, tagged with its date, unit, and even some with the names of the soldiers. Here are some things that stood out in the photos: The men of Le Régiment de Maisonneuve at Moyland Castle on the 22nd of February 1945. There's something quietly striking about watching soldiers relax in a Renaissance castle in the middle of a winter campaign: Pte. Gaghe drinking tea out front, Pte. Lefebure fixing comms wire along the castle wall. These the photos that these were real people in a very strange situation.

Full article here: patreon.com/posts/operatio…

Operation Veritable - Part 2: Taking the Reichswald, 8-14th February 1945 In the closing moments of the Allied artillery barrage, as a thin line of yellow smoke spread across the front line, Operation Veritable began. Despite the preceding days of artillery and aerial bombardment, the element of surprise as to when this operation would commence had been retained, and there was no general alert on the enemy’s part prior to this most impressive bombardment. In the hands of each division’s commander lay their opening orders, and now came the time to fulfil them. For Major General Robert K. Ross, commanding the 53rd (Welsh) Division, his orders were to secure the northern portion of the Reichswald and to breach its defences – between his division and their objective lay elements of an old adversary, the 84th Infantry Division, whom they had fought against for control of Normandy. The 53rd Division’s 71st Infantry Brigade was to secure the Brandenburg feature, after which point the 158th and 160th Infantry Brigades were to pass through and advance on the Siegfried Line. To the 53rd Division’s right (south), Acting Maj-Gen. Thomas G. Rennie’s 51st (Highland) Division prepared itself to secure the southwestern corner of the Reichswald, and a key feature there known as the ‘Pyramid’ (or Freudenberg feature). Leading this, the 154th Infantry Brigade was tasked to secure an area north of this feature, including the village of Breedeweg; while to their right, the 153rd Infantry Brigade was to swing south, and later west, consolidating itself on the ‘Pyramid’ and dominating the main road between Mook and Gennep. Check the comments for the full article👇 📷Men of the 5th (Angus and Dundee) Bn. The Black Watch (RHR), 51st Div, in Gennep, 12-14/02/45 (Sgt. Silverside, No.5 AFPS, NA B14625/14534). 📷Men of the 2nd Bn. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders with a Churchill Mk IV (6th Guards), 08/02/45 (Sgt. Hewitt, No.5 AFPS, NA BU1727).

@SchemieG Yes, I believe the largest contribution was Air Force, and then CANLOAN officers

@project4_4 Wern't there significant no's of RCAF transport pilots take it the rest were CANLOAN officers

The Burma Campaign was arguably the most forgotten front of the Second World War. And while Canada had only a very small part, nonetheless many participated in the fighting. In particular Canadian Major Charles Hoey, who was awarded the Victoria Cross postomhously for his actions at Ngakyedauk Pass. If you are interested in learning more you should check out this new book by Mark Green @VCGCOnline

German machine gun position in the Hochwald Forest, 13 March 1945. This image shows a German machine-gun position in the Hochwald Forest, photographed on 13 March 1945. The tangled trenches, scattered supplies, and debris reflect the brutal fighting of Operation Blockbuster, the continuation of the Rhineland offensive aimed at breaking through the last German defensive belts before the Rhine River. The Hochwald formed part of the Hochwald–Balberger Wald defensive line, where German paratroopers and infantry used the dense woods, prepared trench systems, and cleverly sited machine guns to delay the Canadian advance. Every approach was covered by overlapping fields of fire, making progress costly. Canadian infantry, supported by tanks and engineers, had to claw forward yard by yard, often under heavy artillery and mortar bombardment. The battle for the Hochwald, fought from late February into mid-March, became one of the bloodiest struggles for the Canadian Army in Northwest Europe. The 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions, with attached armoured brigades, endured fierce resistance in the mud and woods. Casualties were severe—part of the more than 15,600 Canadian killed, wounded, and missing in the Rhineland campaign.

Incredible!

First U.S. Army men and equipment pour across the Remagen Bridge; two knocked out jeeps in foreground. Germany March 11, 1945. On 7 March 1945, American troops of the 9th Armored Division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, one of the last intact crossings over the Rhine River. Its capture was a stroke of luck and a major strategic breakthrough—planners had expected the river to be a formidable barrier requiring a costly assault. This photograph shows men and equipment of the U.S. First Army streaming across the damaged span, even as wrecked jeeps lie in the foreground. Engineers worked frantically to shore up the battered bridge while artillery and aircraft tried to destroy it. Despite constant German attacks, thousands of troops and vehicles crossed in the days that followed. The Remagen bridgehead gave the Allies their first foothold east of the Rhine, accelerating the collapse of German defenses. Though the bridge itself finally fell on 17 March, the opportunity it provided hastened the end of the war in Europe.

Every photograph has a story. Every coordinate has a casualty report behind it. This is Project '44 — an interactive web map of the Western Front built from original war diaries, aerial photographs, and archival records. Right now you're watching 5 geotagged photos from Operation Veritable — the brutal February 1945 push through the Reichswald by the First Canadian Army. Pan out, and those dots multiply across an entire theatre of war. 155 geotagged photographs added to the beta web map. Thousands more to come. This is what history looks like when you put it back on the map. 🗺️ Explore the web map: f.mtr.cool/otmwakuzgh ☕ Support the beta web map: patreon.com/cw/Project1944

🗺️Operation Veritable — The Battle That Broke the Rhineland On the 8th of February 1945, 1,034 guns opened fire simultaneously along the front southeast of Nijmegen. The bombardment that followed was the largest unleashed by Commonwealth forces since El Alamein — over half a million shells stockpiled in preparation. This was the opening of Operation Veritable — General Crerar's most ambitious undertaking of the war, and arguably Canada's too. Here are a few things that might surprise you about what lay ahead for the First Canadian Army: 🔷 The German high command largely didn't expect the main assault to come through the Reichswald. General Schlemm of the 1st Fallschirmjäger Army was nearly alone in predicting it correctly. 🔷 The XLVII Panzer Corps — one of the primary armoured formations opposing the attack — entered the battle with no more than 90 tanks remaining after the Ardennes offensive. 🔷The anti-tank ditch anchoring the German forward line was assessed at up to 15 feet wide and 8 feet deep, often partially flooded — and that was just the first of three prepared defensive belts. 🔷At its height, the First Canadian Army commanded nearly half a million personnel — the majority of them British. What started as a hoped-for rapid breakthrough would instead grind into a month-long, multi-phase offensive across flooded lowlands, dense forest, and fortified urban centres. As one Canadian gunner put it, the Germans "fought really tough because... now he was defending his own land." 📂 On the map right now for Operation Veritable: We've been adding a significant amount of primary source material tied directly to this operation, including: 📷 Georeferenced photographs — aerial and ground-level images placed directly onto the map at their precise locations, including armour moving into position, infantry advancing through German settlements, and recovery operations in the mud of January 1945. 🗺️Period maps now live — including multiple 21st Army Group operational diagrams: enemy dispositions, artillery fireplans and smokescreen overlays, phase lines, and the full area of operations for Veritable. These are the actual planning documents used by Allied headquarters. 📄 Operational documents — war diaries, intelligence summaries, and G Ops planning documents from 21st Army Group headquarters are being tied directly to the units and locations they reference, so you can follow the decision-making as it happened. Part 1 is live now. Link in the comments. 👇

LVT-4 Buffalo loaded with men of The Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Highlanders (9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division) on route to Rindern and Wardhausen. beta.project44.ca/?record=6284

A Valentine Mk XI from the Royal Artillery drowned at the roadside on the road to Cleve. Several Valentine Mk XI tanks would serve as OP command tanks for the Royal Artillery throughout northwest Europe. This photograph was taken by Capt. beta.project44.ca/?record=6288