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{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}
{{Infobox military conflict
 |conflict    = Battle of Groningen
 |part of     = the [[North-West Europe Campaign (World War II)|North-West Europe Campaign]]
 |image       = Canadian soldiers during the Battle of Groningen.jpg
 |image_size  = 300
 |caption     = [[Essex Scottish Regiment]] troops guarding a street
 |date        = {{start and end date|1945|04|13|1945|04|16|df=y}}
 |place       = [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]], Netherlands
 |coordinates = {{coord|53.2186|N|6.5672|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:CA|display=title}}
 |result      = Allied victory
 |combatant1  = {{flagcountry|Canada|1921}}
 |combatant2  = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany|1935}}
 |commander1  = {{flagdeco|Canada|1921}} [[Bruce Matthews (Canadian Army officer)|Bruce Matthews]]
 |commander2  = {{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|army}} [[Karl Böttcher]]
 |units1      = {{ubl|[[2nd Canadian Division during World War II|2nd Infantry Division]]{{sfn|Noll|2000|p=24}} }}
* [[4th Canadian Infantry Brigade|4th Infantry Brigade]]
* [[5th Canadian Infantry Brigade|5th Infantry Brigade]]
* [[6th Canadian Infantry Brigade|6th Infantry Brigade]]
 |units2      = {{ubl|Ad-hoc defensive group{{sfn|Noll|2000|p=24}} }}
* ''Wehrmacht'' garrison
* Dutch ''[[SS]]'' volunteers
* ''Luftwaffe'' personnel
 |strength1   = ~14,000
 |strength2   = ~7,500
 |casualties1 = {{ubl|43 killed{{sfn|Copp|2006|p=273}}|166 wounded{{sfn|Copp|2006|p=273}}}}
 |casualties2 = {{ubl|130 killed|5,212 captured}}
 |casualties3 = 100 civilians killed
 |campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Western Europe (1944–1945)}}
}}

The '''Battle of Groningen''' took place from 13 to 16 April 1945 during [[World War II]] in the city of [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]] in the northern Netherlands and was fought between a mixture of German soldiers, Dutch and Belgian [[SS]] troops numbering 7,000 against the entire [[2nd Canadian Division]], though the whole division was never in combat at any given time. There were also substantial amounts of {{lang|de|[[Luftwaffe]]}} units manning flak guns in the area. Groningen was also where  the {{lang|de|[[Sicherheitsdienst]]}} had its headquarters for the northern Netherlands. German command structure was poor and the defenders had never exercised together.

The Canadian division, consisting of nine infantry battalions, a machine gun battalion, and [[8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Canadian Hussars)|a reconnaissance battalion]], was battle experienced with a proportion of partially trained reinforcements. Armour from the [[10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse)|10th Armoured Regiment]] and the [[9th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Dragoons)|9th Armoured Regiment]] was used in support.

== Background ==

=== German objective ===
German soldiers in the city were determined to keep enemy forces from German soil while their Dutch SS colleagues had reason to fear for their lives if forced to surrender. German troops also needed to control the city to cover the withdrawal of forces from [[Friesland]] to Germany and defending the [[Ems (river)|Ems]] entrance into Germany, important because German surface vessels and [[U-boat]]s still used [[Emden]] as a port.

=== Allied objective ===
Wary of advancing into the western Netherlands and incurring heavy casualties (as well as losses to the densely packed civilian population) at a late stage of the war (fighting in [[Langstraat]] and [[Betuwe]] showed the soldiers very favourable to the defence), the [[First Canadian Army]] instead moved northeast, supporting the flank of the British 2nd Army as they entered Germany proper.

== Battle ==
German forces were mainly deployed in the ancient city centre shielded in part by an ancient canal. Some troops were deployed in the southern suburbs. A German pocket in the power station surrendered after the fall of the inner city. The inner city was reached on 14 April.

Western approaches to the old town (''Oude Stad''&thinsp;) were blocked because the bridges over the canal were destroyed. The ''Herebrug'' bridge in the south of the old town was not destroyed, but it took a day before the Germans with machine guns were defeated in the buildings north of a circular 'circus' on the north side of the bridge. The Canadians managed to enter the north of the city centre, ''Nieuwe Stad'', after two hours of fighting in the ''Noorderplantsoen'' park, which was placed where the city walls used to be in the 19th century and before.

The fight in the central market square (''Grote markt''&thinsp;) was the fiercest part of the battle. There were several German machine guns in the buildings north of the square. The buildings had to be destroyed by tanks. The ''Nieuwe Stad'' was conquered, but the Canadians could not reach the ''Oude Stad'' from the north, due to fierce German resistance.

The German commander surrendered on 16 April once it was clear further resistance was useless. The Canadians used armour effectively in co-operation with their infantry. Artillery support was forbidden out of fear of harming the civilian population.

== Athermath ==
The death toll included approximately 130 Germans, 43 Canadians, and 100 Dutch civilians. Some 270 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the fighting. Over 5,200 Germans surrendered (including 95 officers) and the remaining Germans (about 2,000) fled northeast, and the 2nd Division again met them in battles such as the battle of Grüppenbühren near [[Delmenhorst]].

The Battle of Groningen was one of the largest urban battles of the war for the Canadian Army; while the [[Battle of Ortona]] was made famous by news reports referring to it as "Little Stalingrad," Groningen involved five times as many Canadian soldiers in direct combat.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book
 |last       = Ashworth
 |first      = G. J.
 |year       = 1996
 |title      = The City as Battlefield: the Liberation of Groningen, April 1945
 |url        = {{google books|-6t5tgAACAAJ|plainurl=y}}
 |location   = Groningen
 |publisher  = [[Rijksuniversiteit Groningen|RUG]]
 |isbn       = 9789036704953
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last       = Copp
 |first      = T.
 |authorlink = Terry Copp
 |year       = 1992
 |title      = The Brigade: The Fifth Canadian Infantry Brigade in World War II
 |url        = {{google books|EafvAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=y}}
 |location   = Stoney Creek
 |publisher  = Fortress
 |isbn       = 9780919195165
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last       = Copp
 |first      = T.
 |year       = 2006
 |title      = Cinderella Army: The Canadians In Northwest Europe
 |url        = {{google books|eIr0mfiTqJ8C|plainurl=y}}
 |location   = Toronto
 |publisher  = [[University of Toronto Press|UTP]]
 |isbn       = 9780802039255
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last       = Dykstra
 |first      = R.
 |year       = 2002
 |title      = The Occupation of Groningen, Netherland
 |url        = https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/39/
 |location   = Waterloo
 |publisher  = [[Wilfrid Laurier University|Laurier]]
 |isbn       = 9780612726314
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last1      = Leeninga
 |first1     = J. J.
 |last2      = Westra
 |first2     = E. J.
 |year       = 1945
 |title      = En tóch staat de Martini
 |url        = {{google books|Qd9WAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=y}}
 |language   = Dutch
 |location   = Groningen
 |publisher  = J. Niemeijer
 |oclc       = 8703473
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last       = Noll
 |first      = J. D.
 |year       = 2000
 |title      = Restraint In Urban Warfare: The Canadian Attack On Groningen
 |url        = http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.869.1662&rep=rep1&type=pdf
 |location   = Fort Leavenworth
 |publisher  = [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|CGSC]]
 |citeseerx = 10.1.1.869.1662
 |isbn       = 9781782898108
 }}
*{{cite journal
 |last       = Sennema
 |first      = G.
 |year       = 2017
 |title      = The Liberation of Groningen: The Diary Account of Theo Polman
 |url        = https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol26/iss2/5/
 |journal    = Can. Mil. Hist.
 |volume     = 26
 |issue      = 2
 |at         = Art. 5
 |publisher  = [[Wilfrid Laurier University|Laurier]]
 |issn       = 1195-8472
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last       = Zuehlke
 |first      = M.
 |year       = 2010
 |title      = On to Victory: The Canadian Liberation of the Netherlands
 |url        = {{google books|3o2pBQAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}}
 |location   = Vancouver
 |publisher  = [[Douglas & McIntyre]]
 |isbn       = 9781553654308
 }}

== External links ==
* [http://www.calgaryhighlanders.com/history/highlanders/1939-45/groningen.htm www.calgaryhighlanders.com]<!--

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groningen, Battle of}}
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Canada]]
[[Category:History of Groningen (city)]]
[[Category:Urban warfare]]
[[Category:Western European Campaign (1944–1945)]]-->