the previous year, houses were little more than empty wrecks – devoid of furniture, household goods and even doors. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Matthew Halton described the city as "a deserted, burning shell" and the 49th Division war diary noted that "a town had never been more wantonly destroyed." Evidence of the first battle of Arnhem lay everywhere and the liberation was likened to "entering an ancient tomb." The Allied advance continued immediately. The 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division began moving through Arnhem towards the high ground north of the city on the night of 14–15 April. In a change to the original plan to head west, the division was given a new mission known as Operation Cleanser and moved north to secure towns between Arnhem and the IJsselmeer. A large German force counterattacked the 5th Division on the night of the 16th at Otterlo, hoping to break out to the West, but were beaten back after heavy losses (see Battle of Otterlo). On 17 April, the 49th Division attacked Ede, occupied by the Dutch SS, and liberated the town in 24 hours. On 27 April a temporary truce came into effect, allowing the distribution of food aid to the starving Dutch civilians in areas under German control (Operation Manna), and on 5 May Generaloberst Blaskowitz agreed to the unconditional surrender of all German forces in the Netherlands. The British recorded 62 killed and 134 wounded in the action, although it is unclear if this includes Canadian casualties. German figures are imprecise with prisoners of war being recorded as 601 in some sources and up to 1,600 in others. Casualties are similarly unknown, although could have been as high as 3,000. Most of the Allied men killed in the battle were buried at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery after the war, whilst Germans who had been buried at localised cemeteries or in field graves were eventually re-interred at Ysselsteyn, along with most Germans killed in the Netherlands. Units involved in the battle were later awarded the battle honour Arnhem 1945. In 1999 the Princess Louise Fusiliers were also granted the honour after research by Captain Sanchez King was able to demonstrate the regiment's entitlement. References Notes Citations Bibliography External links National Defence and the Canadian Forces Official Histories ibiblio.org: Official History of the Canadian Army. Chapter XXI: The 1st Corps in the Western Netherlands 1-22 April 1945 Map Urban warfare Western