Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. In order to defeat Maurice Duplessis, the Union Nationale premier of Quebec who called a snap election in 1939 to seek a mandate to oppose the war, Mackenzie King had promised that only volunteers would be sent to fight overseas and that there would be no overseas conscription. With only so many Canadians willing to volunteer, especially as infantry, the Canadian Army ran seriously short of infantrymen, as their losses were not compensated by replacements. In planning the final push, Spry favoured a cautious, methodical approach, emphasizing firepower that was designed to save as many of the lives of his men as possible. The 3rd Division fought additional actions to clear German troops from the towns of Breskens, Oostburg, Zuidzande and Cadzand, as well as the coastal fortress Fort Frederik Hendrik. When advancing, the Canadians proceeded very slowly and used massive firepower via air strikes and artillery bombardments when faced with opposition. The shortage of infantry replacements meant that Canadian officers were loath to engage in operations that might lead to heavy losses. On 24 October, Montgomery arrived at the headquarters of the 3rd Division. Despite the fact that Montgomery had chosen to fight the Battle of Arnhem instead of clearing the Scheldt in September 1944, thus having allowed the Germans to dig in, he criticized the 3rd Canadian Division for its slow advance, saying the Breskens Pocket should have been cleared weeks ago and calling the Canadian officers cowards for their unwillingness to take heavy losses. As a result, the 157th Brigade was withdrawn as a punishment and the 3rd Division was ordered to press on with "all speed". Despite the fact that the Canadians could not afford heavy losses, the 3rd Division began a period of "intense combat" to clear out the Breskens Pocket. The Régiment de la Chaudière attacked the town of Oostburg on 24 October, losing an entire company, but since they had been ordered to take Oostburg at "any price", the "Chads" dug in to hold their ground while the Queen's Own Rifles came to their aid. On 25 October, the Queen's Own Rifles took Oostburg after what its war diary called "a wild bayonet charge" amid "fairly heavy" casualties. Lieutenant Boos of A company of the Queen's Own Rifles was awarded the Military Cross for leading what should have been a suicidal bayonet charge on the Oostburg town