From the end of 1944, the province of Gelderland became a key theatre of operations in the Canadian-led advance towards the liberation of the Netherlands. In the Nijmegen region, Canadian forces of the First Canadian Army played a leading role in Operation Veritable, which began on 8 February 1945. Advancing from the Reichswald area, Canadian troops pushed eastward into Germany, breaking the static winter front and clearing the western bank of the Rhine of German resistance.
In the spring of 1945, Canadian headquarters were established at Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, near what is now National Park De Hoge Veluwe. From here, Canadian units coordinated the next phase of operations. In April 1945, while British and American armies advanced deeper into Germany, Canadian forces turned north and began the liberation of the northern Netherlands.
This hiking route starts at the Brabant border near Nijmegen, crosses the river landscape of the Rhine region and the forests and heathlands of the Veluwe, and continues toward the province of Overijssel. Walking through open river plains, wooded areas, and higher sandy grounds, the route follows the path of the First Canadian Army from late 1944 into early spring 1945, linking key locations where military operations shaped the final phase of the war.
