Operation Blackcock

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Operation Blackcock was an operation to clear German troops from the Roer Triangle, formed by the towns of Roermond and Sittard in the Netherlands and Heinsberg in Germany, during the fighting on the Western Front in the Second World War. It was conducted by the British Second Army between 13 and 26 January 1945. The objective was to drive the German 15th Army back across the rivers Roer and Wurm and move the frontline further into Germany. The operation was carried out by XII Corps (Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie) by the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General Lewis Lyne), the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (Major-General Ivor Thomas) and the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division (Major-General Edmund Hakewill-Smith). The operation, named after the Scottish male black grouse, is relatively unknown. By the end of 1944, the front line in Dutch Limburg was stable along several natural barriers. The most difficult to cross was the River Maas, running along the Dutch–Belgian border. The next barrier was the River Roer, running from the German Eifel area through Heinsberg towards Roermond, where it joins the Maas. From Heinsberg, southwards the Siegfried Line or 'West Wall' was formed along the banks of the Rur. Dutch South-Limburg was already liberated in September by the First US Army but the area above the Sittard–Geilenkirchen line was still in German hands.