forces having incurred heavy casualties in clearing a path to the Rhine, the 2nd Division was rested from the massive crossing operation that took place on 23 March 1945, instead crossing in relative ease a week later. After a brief detour through German territory, the First Canadian Army—now unified with the arrival of I Canadian Corps from Italy—prepared to assault German positions in the Netherlands. The 2nd Division moved northwards towards Groningen. In the nine days preceding their attack, German resistance had been light and uncoordinated but opposition stiffened as the assault progressed, leading to heavy losses among the battalions of the 5th Brigade. By 13 April, the division had been shifted eastward to guard the flanks of a British assault on Bremen, and the following day I Canadian Corps liberated Arnhem. On 2 May, the 2nd Division took Oldenburg, solidifying Canadian positions throughout the Netherlands. German and Canadian forces declared a ceasefire on 5 May, and all fighting came to an end with the surrender of German forces in Western Europe on 7 May 1945. In October 1945, after four months in the Netherlands, General Order 52/46 officially disbanded the headquarters of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. By December, the entirety of the division had been stood down and returned to Canada. Commanding Officers Peacetime operations Operation ELEMENT Operation ELEMENT represented the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) response to the influx of irregular immigrants crossing into Canada from the United States. The operation was supported through a whole-of-government approach. Beginning at the end of July 2017, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were using considerable amounts of resources to manage the significant increase in irregular immigrants seeking asylum crossing the Canadian border from the United States. To aid civil authorities manage this situation, the CAF deployed approximately 370 troops to build and maintain temporary accommodations at two sites: one at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec, and one at the Nav Canada facility in Cornwall, Ontario. The mission was called to an end by the Canadian government on 1 December 2017, and ended on 12 December 2017. Operation LENTUS Operation LENTUS is the ongoing Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) response to domestic natural disasters. In the event that provincial and territorial authorities, the first responders to major natural disasters, are unable to deal with the resulting damage on their own, they may ask the CAF for help. LENTUS