The Operation Infatuate attack was not the first time British troops had taken Walcheren Island. In 1809, Napoleon's armies were again marching against Austria, in the campaign that would be most remembered for the Battle of Wagram. To hopefully aid their Austrian allies, the British launched an expedition to Walcheren. Lieutenant General the Earl of Chatham and Rear Admiral Sir Richard Strachan (pronounced STRAWN) sailed for the Dutch coast with 600 ships and 40,000 men.

The troops landed on the north coast of Walcheren in late July and marched overland to Flushing, which they took after a three-week siege. The defenders had predictably flooded Walcheren to hinder the attackers, but in the wet summer of 1809, the flooding had quite a different effect than in 1944. The flooded polders created an ideal mosquito breeding ground and also contaminated the drinking water. By mid-August, malaria, dysentery, and typhoid racked the British army. Across the Scheldt, Marshal Bernadotte's small French army barred any easy exit from the island. Chatham was forced to withdraw his main army by the end of the month. The remaining garrison fought disease until it too, returned to England in December.

Operation Infatuate The Battle of Walcheren Island: November 1-8, 1944

Introduction and Rules
Allied Order of Battle
Axis Order of Battle
Pronounciation
Europa as History
First Walcheren Campaign 1809
The Real Battle
Rules Questions