Historium

Documentary

Léo Major and the Liberation of Zwolle

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Documentary

Description

Léo Major’s name is closely linked to the liberation of Zwolle in the Netherlands in April 1945. A reconnaissance mission, the death of his fellow soldier Wilfrid Arsenault and Major’s actions in and around the city became the basis of a powerful story of individual courage.

This short documentary revisits that story within the Canadian advance and the experience of local residents. Award records, official military history and later remembrance do not always frame the episode in exactly the same way. Their differences are useful evidence of how an important mission can become a simplified account of one man liberating a city alone.

Recognizing Major’s courage does not require removing the regiment, local resistance or the broader campaign from the picture. His Distinguished Conduct Medal and Zwolle’s later commemorations show the significance attached to his actions. The fuller history gives that recognition a stronger foundation by separating contemporary records from the embellishments of later retelling.

Sources and further reading: Léo Major

Léo Major — including an extract from the Distinguished Conduct Medal citation

The Victory Campaign: Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Volume III (1960), page 556

De bevrijding van Zwolle (het verhaal van Leo Major)

Ereburgers en houders Erepenning gemeente Zwolle, January 2025, page 6

Historium research desk

Historical context

Léo Major’s reconnaissance helped Canadian troops enter Zwolle. Award records, military history and local remembrance show how an important mission became a solitary-hero legend.

Documentary

Transcript

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English (source subtitles)

This note is not spoken narration. The transcript is preserved as a record of the published narration. Read the clarification and sources

This transcript follows the video’s narration. The companion article provides dated sources, historical context and editorial corrections.

0:00 This man single-handedly liberated an entire city from the Nazis.
0:05 In 1944, during the Normandy landings, Leo Major lost his left eye.
0:10 His commanders wanted to pull him from the front, but Major refused,
0:15 stating, one eye is enough to aim, and continued to fight.
0:19 In April 1945, Leo Major and Canadian forces approached the Nazi-occupied
0:25 city of Zwolle in the Netherlands.
0:27 The city was scheduled to be levelled by artillery fire the following
0:31 day.
0:32 Leo Major and Willy Arsenault were sent on a scouting mission to
0:36 assess German defences and establish contact with the Dutch resistance.
0:41 However, shortly after midnight, Arsenault was killed by the Nazis.
0:46 Major did not retreat.
0:48 Armed with his weapons and ammunition, he entered Zwolle alone.
0:52 Throughout the night, he fired from various points across the city, through
0:56 grenades and engaged German patrols.
1:00 He gave the Nazis the impression that the city was being surrounded
1:03 by a massive Canadian force.
1:06 By morning, believing they were encircled, the Nazis retreated from Zwolle.
1:11 A city of 50,000 civilians was liberated from Nazi occupation without
1:16 a single artillery shell being fired.
1:19 Leo Major was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for this operation.
1:23 However, he refused the medal because he believed the general awarding it
1:28 was incompetent.
1:29 Six years later, he received the same medal once more during the
1:33 Korean War.
1:34 And so, he went down in history as the only Canadian to
1:38 win the DCM in two separate wars.

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