The Sloedam was a dam, connecting the Dutch islands

Zuid-Beveland Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt. Topography It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevelan ...

and

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

near the town of

Arnemuiden Arnemuiden is a city of around 5000 people in the municipality of Middelburg in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. It is located on the former island of Walcheren, about 3 km east of the city of Middelburg. On the 23 September 1338, ...

. Before the dam was constructed, these islands were separated by a stretch of water called the Sloe. The Sloedam was constructed in 1871 for the railway connection between the towns of

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

and

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse P ...

, the so-called ''Zeeuwse Lijn'' (Zealandic Line). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the areas to the south of the dam were

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

ed. Since the

Veerse Gat The Veerse Gat or Veeregat was the sea channel between Walcheren and Noord-Beveland islands in Zeeland in the Netherlands. In 1961 as part of the Delta Plan it was blocked off by the Veerse Gatdam and made into an inland lake called Veerse Meer Th ...

estuary was closed off by the Veerse Gatdam in 1961, the Sloedam no longer functions as a primary defense against the sea.

World War II

During World War II, two battles were fought on and around the Sloedam.

Battle of Zeeland

In May 1940, the area was contested during the German invasion of the Low Countries in the Battle of Zeeland. A combined French-Dutch force under brigadier-general

Marcel Deslaurens Marcel Émile Deslaurens (23 August 1883, in Bourges – 17 May 1940, in Vlissingen, Netherlands) was a French brigadier general. He died in World War II during an act of gallantry that allowed a number of his men to retreat safely. Biography De ...

attempted to stop the German invasion, but was unsuccessful.

Battle of Walcheren Causeway

In 1944-1945, heavy fighting came to the area when the Allies attempted to clear the

Western Scheldt The Western Scheldt ( nl, Westerschelde) in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the W ...

, entrance to the harbor of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. After heavy fighting,

Zeelandic Flanders Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates ...

(south of the Scheldt) and Zuid-Beveland (to the north) were freed from German control by Canadian forces. However,

island, north of the river mouth, still contained a large German force that controlled access to the

. De Sloedam was the only access road to the former island of Walcheren. The Canadians reached the dam from

. The Germans were well prepared, and had established multiple well-prepared mortar sites that allowed them to fire on every point of the dam. The Canadian attempts to reach Walcheren all failed. Two Dutch resistance fighters offered their assistance to the Canadians. They knew the sandbars of the Sloe that ran dry during low tide and they led a patrol to Walcheren that managed to mark the dry area. After a short reconnaissance of the German positions, the patrol returned to Zuid-Beveland. The next day, a large Canadian unit managed to cross the Sloe, once again aided by the resistance men. After reaching the island of Walcheren, it attacked the German positions from the rear, managing to capture the mortar positions. The main Canadian force then crossed the Sloedam and established a beachhead on the Walcheren end.

Operation Infatuate Operation Infatuate was the code name given to an Anglo-Canadian operation in November 1944 during the Second World War to open the port of Antwerp to shipping and relieve logistical constraints. The operation was part of the wider Battle of the ...

, the capture of Walcheren, was about to commence.Canadezen in actie. Henk Bollen en Paul Vroemen; Terra 1992;

References

{{coord, 51, 30, N, 3, 42, E, display=title, region:NL_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Buildings and structures in Middelburg, Zeeland Dams in the Netherlands Walcheren Zuid-Beveland