- 2 weeks ago
At 2200 hours on April 13, 1945, one half-blind Canadian scout walked into occupied Zwolle alone and changed the fate of 50,000 Dutch civilians. Corporal Léo Major had lost his spotter, ignored the plan to let artillery flatten the city, and decided to make the Germans believe an entire Canadian force was attacking.
What follows is a gripping World War II military history story built on audacity, chaos, and psychological warfare. With a Sten gun, grenades, and later captured German weapons, Major moved through the streets, hit German positions, burned a Gestapo headquarters, and pushed the occupation force into panic until the city surrendered before dawn. The transcript also shows the civilians hiding in basements, the Dutch resistance, and the moment Major learned he had been fighting alone.
This is a dramatic wartime narration about one-man resistance, urban liberation, and the impossible odds faced by a soldier who refused to quit. It is ideal for listeners who enjoy WW2 stories, Canadian military history, true war stories, and historical narration about bravery under fire.
Created for fans of WW2 stories, military history narration, war stories, and historical documentary-style storytelling. If you search for stories about Léo Major, the liberation of Zwolle, psychological warfare, or incredible World War II heroism, this episode delivers a powerful and searchable account of one of the most audacious rescues of the war.
What follows is a gripping World War II military history story built on audacity, chaos, and psychological warfare. With a Sten gun, grenades, and later captured German weapons, Major moved through the streets, hit German positions, burned a Gestapo headquarters, and pushed the occupation force into panic until the city surrendered before dawn. The transcript also shows the civilians hiding in basements, the Dutch resistance, and the moment Major learned he had been fighting alone.
This is a dramatic wartime narration about one-man resistance, urban liberation, and the impossible odds faced by a soldier who refused to quit. It is ideal for listeners who enjoy WW2 stories, Canadian military history, true war stories, and historical narration about bravery under fire.
Created for fans of WW2 stories, military history narration, war stories, and historical documentary-style storytelling. If you search for stories about Léo Major, the liberation of Zwolle, psychological warfare, or incredible World War II heroism, this episode delivers a powerful and searchable account of one of the most audacious rescues of the war.
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LearningTranscript
00:00At 2200 hours on April 13th, 1945,
00:04Corporal Leo Major crouched in a drainage ditch 200 yards from Zwolle, Netherlands,
00:09watching German sentries patrol a city he'd been ordered to liberate with just one other man,
00:14knowing this mission would probably kill them both.
00:1723 years old, 18 months in combat, one eye.
00:22Intelligence reported approximately 90 German soldiers occupied the city,
00:2750,000 Dutch civilians trapped inside.
00:30The Canadian First Army planned to bombard Zwolle at dawn with artillery,
00:34level every building if necessary, kill everyone German or Dutch who got in the way.
00:39Standard liberation procedure.
00:41Turn cities into rubble, sort out the survivors later.
00:45Major's commanding officer had given him a different order.
00:48Scout the German positions, report back, let the artillery do the killing.
00:53Major had other plans.
00:55The first man to die that night was Private Willie Arsenault, Major's spotter.
01:00His partner.
01:01They'd worked together since Normandy.
01:04Arsenault had saved Major's life twice.
01:06Once at Cannes, once at Scheldt.
01:08They'd promised each other they'd both make it home to Quebec after the war.
01:13At 2215 hours, a German machine gun nest opened fire from a church tower 300 yards into the city.
01:20Arsenault was checking his compass when the first burst hit him.
01:23Eight rounds.
01:24MG 42.
01:267.92 millimeter.
01:28He was dead before Major could reach him.
01:3120 years old.
01:32From Montreal.
01:33Engaged to a girl named Marie, who worked in a munitions factory.
01:38The wedding was supposed to be in June.
01:41If these stories matter to you, please hit like and subscribe.
01:45These histories deserve to be remembered.
01:48Major knelt beside Arsenault's body for 30 seconds.
01:51Then he made a decision that violated every rule in the Canadian Army manual.
01:57He wasn't going to scout and report.
01:59He wasn't going to let the artillery flatten this city.
02:02He was going to walk into Zwolle alone and make the Germans think the entire Canadian First Army was attacking.
02:08One man.
02:09One eye.
02:11One knight.
02:1250,000 civilians who didn't know they were about to be saved.
02:16Major had lost his right eye eight months earlier during the Normandy invasion.
02:20A phosphorus grenade had exploded near his face at Scheldt.
02:23The blast destroyed his eye and badly burned the right side of his face.
02:27The Army doctors wanted to send him home.
02:29Give him a medical discharge.
02:31Thank him for his service.
02:32Major refused.
02:33Told them he only needed one eye to kill Germans.
02:36Stayed in combat.
02:38Kept fighting.
02:39Now, he was outside Zwolle with one eye, one rifle, and a plan that made absolutely no sense.
02:45Walk into an occupied city.
02:47Start shooting.
02:48Make enough noise that the Germans would think they were being attacked by hundreds of soldiers.
02:53Force them to either fight or flee.
02:55Do it before dawn so the artillery couldn't fire.
02:58The odds were impossible.
02:59One man against 90 Germans.
03:02In an unfamiliar city.
03:04At night.
03:05With one eye and limited depth perception.
03:08But Major had learned something during 18 months of combat.
03:11Armies were scared of noise.
03:13Scared of chaos.
03:14Scared of not knowing how many enemy soldiers were shooting at them.
03:17If he could make enough noise, create enough confusion, the Germans might panic.
03:23Might run.
03:24Might abandon the city without firing a shot.
03:26It was insane.
03:28Suicidal.
03:29Completely against orders.
03:31Major checked his Sten gun.
03:3332 rounds in the magazine.
03:356 spare magazines.
03:364 grenades.
03:384 grenades.
03:381 knife.
03:39He looked back at Arsenault's body one more time.
03:42Then he stood up and started walking towards Zwolle.
03:45At 2230 hours on April 13th, 1945, Corporal Leo Major entered an enemy-occupied city alone
03:52to begin the most audacious one-man liberation in World War II history.
03:57The Germans had no idea what was coming.
03:59The streets of Zwolle were empty.
04:02No civilians.
04:03No movement.
04:04Just darkness.
04:06And the smell of coal smoke from German field kitchens somewhere deeper in the city.
04:11Major moved along the eastern edge.
04:13Staying in shadows.
04:15Counting buildings.
04:16Memorizing street layouts.
04:18He needed to understand the city before he started killing.
04:23Zwolle was a medieval Dutch town.
04:25Narrow streets.
04:27Stone buildings.
04:28Canals cutting through the center.
04:30Church towers at every major intersection.
04:34The perfect defensive position.
04:37A hundred places for German soldiers to hide.
04:40A thousand angles for machine gun nests.
04:43One wrong turn, and Major would walk into a crossfire that would cut him apart.
04:50He had one advantage.
04:52The Germans didn't know he was coming.
04:55At 2245 hours, Major spotted his first target.
05:00A German supply depot on the corner of Dieserstraut.
05:04Two soldiers standing guard outside.
05:07Smoking cigarettes.
05:08Rifles slung over their shoulders.
05:11Not expecting trouble.
05:13Major raised his stand gun and fired a three-round burst from 40 yards.
05:18Both soldiers dropped.
05:20He immediately threw a grenade through the depot window.
05:23The explosion lit up the entire street.
05:26Ammunition inside the building started cooking off.
05:29Bullets firing in random directions.
05:32Small arms.
05:33Maybe some mortar rounds.
05:35The noise was deafening.
05:38Major ran.
05:39He sprinted three blocks north.
05:41Stopped at another intersection.
05:43Fired his Sten gun into the air.
05:45Ten rounds.
05:46Short bursts.
05:47Then he threw another grenade at a German truck parked outside what looked like a command post.
05:53The truck's fuel tank exploded.
05:55Flame shot 30 feet into the air.
05:58Then he ran again.
06:00The key to Major's plan was movement.
06:03Never stay in one place.
06:05Never let the Germans figure out where the attack was coming from.
06:09Fire from the east.
06:10Run to the north.
06:12Fire from the north.
06:13Run to the west.
06:15Make them think Canadian soldiers were everywhere.
06:17Make them think the entire city was surrounded.
06:21By 2300 hours, Major had hit six German positions.
06:26Two supply depots.
06:28One command post.
06:29Three machine gun nests.
06:31He'd fired maybe 80 rounds total.
06:34Thrown four grenades.
06:35Killed perhaps a dozen Germans.
06:38The rest had scattered.
06:39And the city was waking up.
06:42German soldiers were running through the streets.
06:44Shouting orders in German.
06:46Setting up defensive positions.
06:48Firing wildly into the darkness at targets they couldn't see.
06:52Officers were screaming at their men to hold their positions.
06:55To stop panicking.
06:56To remember their training.
06:58But the training didn't cover this.
07:00Training said attacks came from one direction.
07:03With clear objectives.
07:04With artillery support.
07:06Training didn't say one man would run through your city throwing grenades and disappearing before you could shoot back.
07:13Major reloaded his Sten gun.
07:16Three magazines left.
07:17Two grenades.
07:18He'd been in the city for 25 minutes.
07:21Made the Germans think they were being attacked by a company-sized force.
07:25Maybe more.
07:26The noise from the ammunition depot was still echoing off buildings.
07:30The truck was still burning.
07:32Gunfire was coming from a dozen different locations as German soldiers shot at shadows.
07:38But Major had a problem.
07:40He was running out of ammunition.
07:41And he'd only covered maybe a third of the city.
07:44There were still German positions he hadn't hit.
07:47Still soldiers who hadn't panicked.
07:49Still officers trying to organize a defense.
07:52He needed to do something bigger.
07:54Something that would break German morale completely.
07:57Something that would make them abandon Zwolle without the Canadians firing a single artillery shell.
08:03At 23.15 hours, Major saw it.
08:06The Gestapo headquarters.
08:08A three-story building near the city center.
08:11Nazi flags hanging from the windows.
08:14Staff cars parked outside.
08:16Lights on in every room.
08:18The command center for the entire German occupation force in Zwolle.
08:22Major checked his ammunition.
08:2523 rounds.
08:26Two grenades.
08:27Not enough for a sustained fight.
08:30But enough for one more attack.
08:33He started moving toward the building.
08:35And that's when he heard the dogs.
08:37German patrol dogs.
08:38At least two.
08:40Maybe more.
08:41Their handlers shouting commands somewhere behind Major.
08:44The dogs barking.
08:45Getting closer.
08:46They picked up his scent.
08:47Major had maybe 90 seconds before the dogs found him.
08:51He ran toward the nearest building.
08:52A bakery.
08:53Windows dark.
08:55Door locked.
08:56He smashed the glass with his rifle butt and climbed through.
08:59Cut his left hand on broken glass.
09:01Blood running down his palm.
09:02He ignored it and kept moving.
09:04Inside the bakery, Major could hear the dogs outside.
09:07Scratching at the door.
09:09Barking.
09:10The handlers were right behind them.
09:11Flashlights sweeping through the broken window.
09:14German voices shouting for him to surrender.
09:16Major moved to the back of the bakery.
09:18Found a rear exit.
09:20Led to an alley.
09:21He opened the door slowly.
09:23Checked both directions.
09:25Empty.
09:25He slipped out and started running west.
09:28The dogs followed.
09:29For the next 15 minutes, Major led the German patrol on a chase through Zwala's eastern district.
09:35Through alleys.
09:36Over fences.
09:37Across rooftops.
09:39The dogs stayed behind him.
09:40Close enough that he could hear their breathing.
09:42Close enough that if he stopped for more than 10 seconds, they'd catch him.
09:46At 2330 hours, Major reached a canal.
09:4920 feet wide.
09:51Too far to jump.
09:51The dogs were 30 yards behind him.
09:54Their handlers, 40 yards.
09:56He could hear them shouting.
09:58Telling him to stop.
09:59Promising they wouldn't shoot if he surrendered.
10:01Major looked at the canal.
10:03Then at the dogs.
10:04Then he jumped.
10:06The water was freezing.
10:07April in the Netherlands.
10:09Maybe 8 degrees Celsius.
10:11The shock almost stopped his heart.
10:13His uniform soaked through immediately.
10:15His Sten gun got wet.
10:17Might not fire anymore.
10:18His grenades were waterlogged.
10:20Probably wouldn't detonate.
10:22But the dogs stopped at the canal's edge.
10:24German shepherds don't like cold water.
10:26Won't jump unless ordered.
10:28The handlers reached the bank.
10:29Raised their rifles.
10:31Fired into the darkness where Major had disappeared.
10:34They missed.
10:35Major pulled himself out on the opposite bank.
10:38Shivering.
10:39Soaked.
10:40His left hand still bleeding from the broken glass.
10:43His rifle possibly ruined.
10:45But alive.
10:46He checked his watch.
10:482340 hours.
10:50He'd been in the city for 70 minutes.
10:52Attacked 8 German positions.
10:55Led a patrol on a chase that pulled soldiers away from their defensive posts.
10:59Created chaos.
11:01Made noise.
11:03Done exactly what he'd planned.
11:06But now he had a bigger problem.
11:08His Sten gun was soaked.
11:10He pulled the magazine.
11:12Ejected the chambered round.
11:14Water poured out of the barrel.
11:16The firing mechanism was wet.
11:18The spring might be damaged.
11:20He wouldn't know if it worked until he tried to fire it.
11:22And if it didn't work, he'd be standing in the middle of an occupied city with a broken rifle and
11:28two waterlogged grenades.
11:30Major squeezed as much water as he could from the magazine.
11:34Reloaded.
11:35Chambered around.
11:37Pointed the Sten gun at the ground and pulled the trigger.
11:40Nothing.
11:41Just a click.
11:43The firing pin was wet.
11:45Or the powder in the cartridge was soaked.
11:47Or the mechanism was jammed.
11:49His rifle was dead.
11:52Major had 23 rounds that wouldn't fire.
11:54Two grenades that might not explode.
11:58One knife.
11:59One eye.
12:00And at least 70 German soldiers still in the city who now knew a Canadian soldier was somewhere in Zvola
12:07causing havoc.
12:09At 23.55 hours on April 13, 1945, Corporal Leo Major was soaking wet, unarmed, and standing in the middle
12:19of an enemy-occupied city with no way to complete his mission.
12:25The Gestapo headquarters was six blocks away.
12:29Don was five hours away.
12:30And his rifle wouldn't shoot.
12:33He needed a new weapon.
12:35And he knew exactly where to get one.
12:37The German patrol he'd been running from had weapons.
12:41Living soldiers with working rifles.
12:43Major just needed to take one.
12:46He moved back toward the canal, staying low.
12:50His wet uniform making squishing sounds with every step.
12:53The cold was getting worse.
12:55His teeth chattering.
12:57His hands starting to go numb.
12:59He needed to move fast, or hypothermia would kill him before the Germans could.
13:03At midnight on April 14, Major spotted them.
13:07Three German soldiers.
13:08Part of the patrol that had chased him.
13:10They'd split up to search both sides of the canal.
13:13These three were on Major's side.
13:15Moving slowly.
13:17Flashlights off.
13:18Rifles ready.
13:19Looking for him in the darkness.
13:22Major waited behind a stone wall.
13:24Watched them approach.
13:25Twenty yards.
13:27Fifteen.
13:28Ten.
13:29When the first soldier passed his position, Major moved.
13:32He came up behind the soldier.
13:34Grabbed him around the throat with his left arm.
13:37Pulled him backward.
13:38The soldier tried to shout.
13:40Major's grip cut off the sound.
13:42The soldier dropped his rifle and clawed at Major's arm, trying to break free.
13:47Trying to breathe.
13:48Major held on.
13:49The soldier struggling got weaker, then stopped.
13:53Major lowered him to the ground.
13:55Unconscious.
13:56Maybe dead.
13:57He didn't check.
13:59The other two soldiers heard the noise, turned around, raised their rifles.
14:03Major was already moving.
14:05He grabbed the unconscious soldier's rifle, a Carabiner 98, German Standard Issue, bolt action.
14:12Five rounds in the magazine.
14:14Major worked the bolt.
14:16Aimed at the closest soldier.
14:17Major, fired.
14:18The soldier went down.
14:21The third soldier fired back.
14:22The bullet hit the stone wall six inches from Major's head.
14:26Stone chips cut his face.
14:28Major worked the bolt.
14:30Fired again.
14:31Missed.
14:32The German soldier ran.
14:34Major let him go.
14:35He had a working rifle now.
14:37Four rounds left.
14:38That was enough.
14:40Major picked up the dead soldier's ammunition pouches.
14:43Found three more stripper clips.
14:45Fifteen rounds total.
14:46He also took two stick grenades.
14:48Model 24.
14:50German potato mashers.
14:51Seven second fuse.
14:53He knew how they worked.
14:54He'd captured enough of them in Normandy.
14:56Now he was armed again.
14:58At 12.15 a.m.
15:00Major resumed his attack on Zwolle.
15:02He moved toward the city center.
15:04Toward the Gestapo headquarters.
15:06The building was still lit up.
15:08Still occupied.
15:09Major could see German officers through the windows.
15:12Gathered around maps.
15:13Planning their defense.
15:15Trying to figure out how many Canadian soldiers were attacking their city.
15:20Major approached from the south.
15:22Staying in shadows.
15:23The building had guards outside.
15:25Four soldiers.
15:27Two at the front entrance.
15:28Two at the back.
15:29All of them nervous.
15:31Scanning the darkness.
15:32Expecting an attack.
15:34Major gave them one.
15:35He threw his first stick grenade at the front entrance.
15:39The explosion killed both guards instantly.
15:42Before the smoke cleared, Major threw his second grenade through a first floor window.
15:47The blast shook the entire building.
15:49Glass exploded outward.
15:51Someone inside screamed.
15:53Then Major opened fire with his carabiner.
15:56He shot out every lit window he could see.
15:59Five rounds.
16:00Reload.
16:01Five more.
16:02Reload.
16:03The building's lights went out.
16:05Someone inside was shouting orders.
16:08Telling soldiers to return fire.
16:10To hold their positions.
16:12Major heard boots running.
16:14German soldiers pouring out of the building.
16:16Maybe twenty men.
16:17Officers and enlisted.
16:19Some carrying rifles.
16:21Some carrying only pistols.
16:23All of them running.
16:24Fleeing.
16:26Abandoning the Gestapo headquarters because they thought an entire Canadian company was attacking
16:30and they couldn't defend against that many soldiers.
16:34Major let them run.
16:36He wasn't interested in killing fleeing soldiers.
16:39He was interested in making noise.
16:42Making the Germans think Zwolle was lost.
16:45Making them abandon the city before dawn.
16:48At twelve thirty a.m., Major entered the Gestapo headquarters.
16:53The building was empty.
16:55Maps still spread on tables.
16:57Coffee still warm in cups.
17:00Radios still crackling with German communications.
17:04Officers had fled so fast they'd left everything behind.
17:08Major gathered every document he could find.
17:11Operations orders.
17:13Troop positions.
17:14Supply manifests.
17:16Intelligence reports.
17:17Classified Wehrmacht communications.
17:20He stuffed them into a canvas bag he found near a desk.
17:24Then he set the building on fire.
17:27He poured gasoline from a jerry can onto the wooden furniture.
17:30Struck a match.
17:32Watched the flames spread.
17:34Within three minutes, the entire first floor was burning.
17:37Within five minutes, the fire had reached the second floor.
17:41By the time Major left the building, flames were shooting out of every window.
17:46The Gestapo headquarters burned for two hours.
17:50The smoke could be seen for miles.
17:52Every German soldier in Zwolle could see it.
17:55Could understand what it meant.
17:57The command center was gone.
17:59The officers had fled.
18:01The city was falling.
18:04Major checked his watch.
18:0512.45 a.m.
18:08He'd been in Zwolle for two hours and 15 minutes.
18:12He'd destroyed the Gestapo headquarters.
18:14Captured German intelligence documents.
18:16Killed or scattered at least 30 enemy soldiers.
18:20But there were still 60 Germans somewhere in the city.
18:24And Major was running out of time.
18:27Don was four hours away.
18:29If the Germans didn't flee before then,
18:31the Canadian artillery would start firing.
18:33Would level Zwolle.
18:35Would kill 50,000 Dutch civilians.
18:40Major reloaded his rifle.
18:42Ten rounds left.
18:43No grenades.
18:45But he had something better now.
18:47He had momentum.
18:49He had the Germans scared and running.
18:51And he was going to keep pushing until they broke completely.
18:55At 1 a.m.
18:56On April 14th, 1945, Major heard something that made him stop moving.
19:03Voices.
19:04Dutch voices.
19:05Coming from a building 30 yards ahead.
19:09Civilians.
19:10Whispering.
19:11Scared.
19:13Major approached slowly.
19:15Knocked on the door.
19:16Three times.
19:18Pause.
19:19Two times.
19:20A resistance signal he'd learned from Dutch underground fighters during the Scheldt operation.
19:26The door opened.
19:27An old man.
19:29Maybe 60.
19:30White hair.
19:31Thin.
19:32Looked like he hadn't eaten properly in months.
19:35He stared at Major.
19:37At his wet Canadian uniform.
19:39At the German rifle in his hands.
19:42At the eye patch covering his right eye.
19:45The man spoke in broken English.
19:47You are Canadian?
19:48Major nodded.
19:50You are alone?
19:51Major nodded again.
19:53The old man pulled him inside.
19:55Shut the door.
19:57Led him to a basement where 30 Dutch civilians were hiding.
20:01Families.
20:02Children.
20:03Old people.
20:04All of them terrified.
20:07All of them waiting for the artillery bombardment they knew was coming at dawn.
20:11A woman stepped forward.
20:13Maybe 40 years old.
20:15Spoke better English than the old man.
20:17How many soldiers are with you?
20:19Just me.
20:20Major said.
20:21The room went silent.
20:23Everyone stared at him.
20:25One woman started crying.
20:27A child asked his mother something in Dutch.
20:30The mother hushed him.
20:31The English-speaking woman looked at Major like he was insane.
20:36One man?
20:37One man is making all this noise?
20:39The explosions?
20:40The fires?
20:41The shooting?
20:42Yes.
20:43The Germans think you are hundreds of soldiers.
20:46Good.
20:47The woman translated for the others.
20:49The room erupted.
20:51People arguing.
20:52Some laughing.
20:53Some crying.
20:55Some looking at Major like he was either a hero or a madman.
20:59Maybe both.
21:00Major didn't have time for this.
21:02Where are the German positions?
21:04The soldiers who haven't fled yet.
21:06The English-speaking woman pulled out a hand-drawn map.
21:10The Dutch resistance had been tracking German movements for weeks.
21:13She pointed to three locations.
21:16A barracks on the western edge.
21:18A motor pool near the train station.
21:20A machine gun position at the main bridge.
21:23How many soldiers?
21:24Major asked.
21:26Maybe 20 at the barracks.
21:2810 at the motor pool.
21:295 at the bridge.
21:3035 Germans.
21:32Maybe 40.
21:33The rest had either fled or been killed or were hiding somewhere Major hadn't found yet.
21:38Major studied the map.
21:40The barracks was closest.
21:42Two blocks west.
21:43If he could hit it hard enough, loud enough, the remaining Germans might break completely.
21:49Might abandon Zwolle.
21:51Might save this city from being flattened by artillery.
21:54The woman grabbed his arm.
21:56You cannot do this alone.
21:58It is suicide.
21:59Major looked at her.
22:01I've been doing it alone for two hours.
22:03Why stop now?
22:05He left the basement.
22:07Climbed back to street level.
22:09The civilians watched him go.
22:11Some of them crying.
22:13Some praying.
22:14All of them understanding that their lives depended on one half-blind Canadian corporal who refused to quit.
22:22At 1.20 a.m., Major approached the German barracks.
22:26A converted school building.
22:28Three stories.
22:30Windows boarded up.
22:31Sandbags at the entrance.
22:33Guards posted outside.
22:36Major could see movement inside.
22:38Soldiers packing equipment.
22:40Getting ready to evacuate.
22:42They knew the city was falling.
22:44They just didn't know if they should run or fight.
22:48Major made the decision for them.
22:50He walked straight toward the main entrance.
22:53In full view.
22:54Not hiding.
22:55Not sneaking.
22:57Just walking.
22:58Like he owned the city.
22:59Like he had a thousand soldiers behind him.
23:02Like the Germans had already lost.
23:05The guards saw him.
23:07Raised their rifles.
23:09Shouted for him to stop.
23:11Major raised his carabiner 98 and shot the first guard in the chest.
23:16Worked the bolt.
23:17Shot the second guard in the head.
23:19Both men dropped.
23:21Major kept walking.
23:23He reached the entrance.
23:25Kicked open the door.
23:27And walked into a room with 18 German soldiers staring at him.
23:31For three seconds.
23:32Nobody moved.
23:34The Germans stared at Major.
23:37Major stared back.
23:39Then someone inside the building raised a weapon.
23:42And all hell broke loose.
23:45Major threw himself sideways as the first shots rang out.
23:48Bullets hit the wall where he'd been standing.
23:51Plaster exploded.
23:52He rolled behind a wooden desk.
23:54Fired twice over the top.
23:56Didn't aim.
23:57Just fired to keep the Germans ducking.
24:00Eight rounds left.
24:01The room was chaos.
24:03Eighteen German soldiers.
24:05Some grabbing weapons.
24:06Some diving for cover.
24:08Some running for the back exit.
24:10Officers shouting orders.
24:12Enlisted men shouting back.
24:13Nobody knowing where the enemy fire was coming from.
24:16Or how many Canadians were attacking.
24:19Major used their confusion.
24:21He moved to a different position.
24:23Behind a filing cabinet.
24:25Fired three times.
24:26Two Germans went down.
24:28One screamed.
24:29The other didn't make a sound.
24:31Five rounds left.
24:33A German soldier appeared from Major's right.
24:36Close range.
24:37Maybe eight feet.
24:38Rifle raised.
24:39Finger on the trigger.
24:41Major was empty.
24:42Couldn't chamber another round fast enough.
24:44The German was going to shoot him in the face.
24:47Major threw his carabiner at him.
24:50The rifle hit the soldier in the chest.
24:52Knocked him backward.
24:54Major was on him in two steps.
24:56Pulled his knife.
24:57Drove it into the soldier's throat.
24:59The man gurgled.
25:01Dropped his weapon.
25:02Fell.
25:03Major picked up the dead soldier's rifle.
25:06A different carabiner.
25:07Loaded.
25:08He checked the chamber.
25:10Five rounds.
25:11He fired into the ceiling.
25:13Three times.
25:14Rapid fire.
25:15The plaster came down.
25:17Dust filled the room.
25:18Germans started coughing.
25:20Couldn't see.
25:21Couldn't breathe.
25:23Major moved through the dust.
25:25Found the back exit.
25:26Fired his last two rounds at shadows.
25:29Then he ran outside.
25:31Behind him, the German barracks was in complete chaos.
25:35Soldiers pouring out of every exit.
25:37Some carrying weapons.
25:39Some carrying nothing.
25:40All of them running.
25:42Fleeing into the darkness.
25:44Abandoning their position.
25:46Abandoning their equipment.
25:48Abandoning Zvola.
25:50Major counted them as they ran.
25:52Twelve.
25:53Fourteen.
25:54Sixteen.
25:54Most of the garrison.
25:56Running west.
25:58Toward German lines.
25:59Toward safety.
26:00Away from the one-man army they thought was destroying their city.
26:04At 1.40 a.m., Major stood outside the barracks and watched them go.
26:09He was out of ammunition again.
26:11No rifle.
26:12No grenades.
26:14Just his knife and the clothes on his back.
26:16But he'd broken the German defense.
26:18Scattered the largest concentration of enemy soldiers left in Zvola.
26:22Made them think the entire Canadian First Army was inside the city.
26:26He checked his watch.
26:28Three hours until dawn.
26:30Three hours until the artillery started firing.
26:33He needed to find the remaining German positions.
26:36The motor pool.
26:37The bridge.
26:38Drive out the last soldiers before sunrise.
26:42But first he needed ammunition.
26:44Major went back into the barracks.
26:46The building was empty now.
26:48Equipment scattered everywhere.
26:50Rifles.
26:51Ammunition.
26:52Supplies.
26:52The Germans had fled so fast they'd left everything behind.
26:57Major gathered what he needed.
26:59A MP40 submachine gun.
27:01German standard.
27:0332-round magazine.
27:04Three spare magazines.
27:06Two more stick grenades.
27:08A canteen of water.
27:09Some bread from a soldier's pack.
27:11He sat down and ate the bread.
27:13First food in 12 hours.
27:15He drank the water.
27:17Reloaded his magazines.
27:19Checked his weapons.
27:20His hands were steady.
27:22No shaking.
27:23No fear.
27:25Just cold calculation about what needed to happen next.
27:29At 2 a.m.
27:31Major left the barracks.
27:32Headed toward the motor pool.
27:34The night was quieter now.
27:36Less gunfire.
27:37Less shouting.
27:39The city was starting to understand that the Germans were leaving.
27:42That liberation was coming.
27:44That the artillery wouldn't be necessary.
27:47But Major couldn't stop yet.
27:49There were still Germans at the motor pool.
27:51Still soldiers at the bridge.
27:53Still men who might regroup.
27:55Might try to retake the city.
27:57Might force the Canadians to shell Zvala after all.
28:02Major reached the motor pool at 2.15 a.m.
28:05A fenced compound.
28:06Six trucks.
28:08Two motorcycles.
28:09Four guards outside.
28:11All of them nervous.
28:12All of them watching the fires burning across Zvala.
28:16All of them wondering if they should stay or run.
28:19Major made the decision easy.
28:21He opened fire with the MP40 from 50 yards.
28:24Full automatic.
28:2632 rounds in 4 seconds.
28:29The guards scattered.
28:30One dropped.
28:31The others ran.
28:33Major reloaded.
28:34Walked toward the compound.
28:36Threw a stick grenade over the fence.
28:38It landed next to a fuel truck.
28:40The explosion was massive.
28:43The truck's fuel tank detonated.
28:45A fireball rose 30 feet into the air.
28:49The heat was so intense Major had to back away.
28:52The other trucks caught fire.
28:54One by one.
28:55Fuel tanks exploding.
28:57Ammunition cooking off.
28:59The entire motor pool became an inferno.
29:02Black smoke rising into the night sky.
29:05Visible for miles.
29:07Every German soldier left in Zvala could see it.
29:10Could understand what it meant.
29:12The motor pool was gone.
29:13The vehicles were destroyed.
29:16There was no way to evacuate equipment.
29:18No way to reinforce.
29:20No way to hold the city.
29:22At 2.30 a.m. on April 14, 1945, Major had been in Zvala for four hours.
29:29He'd destroyed the Gestapo headquarters.
29:32Scattered the main German barracks.
29:34Burned the motor pool.
29:36Killed or driven off more than 60 enemy soldiers.
29:40With one eye.
29:41One man.
29:43One knight.
29:44One target left.
29:46The bridge.
29:48Five German soldiers.
29:50One machine gun.
29:51The last German position in Zvala.
29:54And then something happened that Major didn't expect.
29:57Someone walked out of the darkness with his hands up.
30:00A German officer.
30:02Captain's insignia.
30:03Maybe 35 years old.
30:05Unarmed.
30:06Walking slowly toward Major with his hands raised.
30:10Behind him, eight more German soldiers.
30:13Also unarmed.
30:14Also walking with their hands up.
30:16Major raised his MP40.
30:19Aimed at the officer's chest.
30:21Stop.
30:21The officer stopped.
30:22Spoken, accented English.
30:25We surrender.
30:26The city.
30:27All of it.
30:28We surrender to you.
30:30Major kept his weapon raised.
30:32How many soldiers left?
30:34Fourteen.
30:35At the bridge.
30:36They will also surrender.
30:38I give you my word.
30:39Your word doesn't mean much right now.
30:42The officer nodded.
30:43I understand.
30:44But we know we cannot win.
30:47You have too many soldiers.
30:49Too much support.
30:49We have been fighting all night and you keep coming.
30:53We are surrounded.
30:54We are defeated.
30:56Major didn't correct him.
30:57Didn't tell the officer that there was only one Canadian soldier in Zvala.
31:01That every explosion, every gunshot, every fire had been caused by one half-blind corporal who refused to let this
31:09city be destroyed.
31:10Let the Germans think they'd been beaten by an army.
31:13Let them surrender with that belief intact.
31:16Take me to the bridge, Major said.
31:18The officer led the way.
31:20His men followed.
31:21Major walked behind them.
31:23MP-40 ready.
31:25One eye scanning for threats.
31:27For ambushes.
31:28For Germans who might not want to surrender.
31:30But the streets were quiet now.
31:33The fires were dying down.
31:35The shooting had stopped.
31:37Zvala was silent except for footsteps and the distant sound of the burning motor pool.
31:42They reached the bridge at 2.50 a.m.
31:45The remaining German soldiers were there.
31:48Fourteen men.
31:49Standing in formation.
31:51Weapons stacked on the ground.
31:53Hands at their sides.
31:54Waiting.
31:55The officer turned to Major.
31:57As I promised.
31:58They surrender.
32:00All of them.
32:01The city is yours.
32:03Major looked at the German soldiers.
32:05Young men.
32:06Most of them younger than him.
32:08Scared.
32:09Tired.
32:10Ready to go home.
32:12Ready for this war to end.
32:14They'd been told to defend Zvala.
32:16Told to hold the bridge.
32:19Told to die if necessary.
32:21Instead, they were surrendering to what they thought was an overwhelming Canadian force.
32:26Major lowered his weapon.
32:29Walk west.
32:30All of you.
32:30Don't stop.
32:31Don't look back.
32:33If I see any of you in this city after sunrise, I'll shoot you.
32:37The German officer nodded.
32:39He gave an order in German.
32:41His men formed up.
32:43Started walking.
32:44Heading west.
32:46Toward German lines.
32:48Toward whatever was left of the Wehrmacht in the Netherlands.
32:52Away from Zvala.
32:55Major watched them go.
32:56Counting.
32:57Twenty-three German soldiers.
33:00The last enemy troops in the city.
33:03Walking away.
33:04Surrendering.
33:06Without a fight.
33:07Leaving 50,000 Dutch civilians alive.
33:11Leaving Zvala standing.
33:14Preventing the artillery bombardment that would have turned this medieval city into rubble.
33:20At 3.15 a.m. on April 14th, 1945, Corporal Leo Major stood alone on a bridge in Zvala, Netherlands.
33:29Behind him, a city he'd liberated single-handedly.
33:34In front of him, 23 German soldiers walking into the darkness.
33:40Around him, fires burning.
33:43Smoke rising.
33:45The evidence of 4 hours and 45 minutes of the most audacious one-man operation in World War II history.
33:54He'd done it.
33:56Saved the city.
33:58Stopped the artillery.
34:00Freed 50,000 people.
34:03With one eye.
34:05One night.
34:06One man who refused to let an entire city die.
34:12Major sacked down on the bridge.
34:14His legs finally giving out.
34:16The adrenaline wearing off.
34:18The exhaustion hitting him all at once.
34:21He was soaking wet.
34:23Freezing.
34:24Covered in blood and dirt and gunpowder residue.
34:28He'd been shot at maybe a hundred times.
34:30Chased by dogs.
34:32Nearly drowned in a canal.
34:34Fought hand-to-hand.
34:36And survived.
34:38He checked his watch.
34:39Three hours until the Canadian artillery was scheduled to fire.
34:44He needed to get back to his lines.
34:46Tell his commanders that Zvola was liberated.
34:49That the Germans had surrendered.
34:51That the 50,000 civilians were safe.
34:54But first, he needed to rest.
34:58Just for a minute.
35:00Just long enough to let his body stop shaking.
35:04Major closed his good eye.
35:06The sun would be up soon.
35:07The city would wake.
35:09The Dutch would learn that they'd been freed by one Canadian soldier who'd walked into their
35:13occupied city and refused to leave until every German was gone.
35:18At 3.30 a.m., Corporal Leo Major fell asleep on a bridge in Zvola, still holding his captured
35:24MP40, still wearing his wet uniform, still missing his right eye, the most unlikely liberator
35:32in World War II history.
35:34When he woke up 40 minutes later, the Dutch resistance was standing over him, dozens of
35:39them, staring at the Canadian soldier who'd saved their city.
35:43And they were crying.
35:46The Dutch resistance fighters helped Major back to Canadian lines, gave him dry clothes,
35:52fed him, told him stories about what they'd seen during the night.
35:55The explosions, the fires, the German soldiers running through the streets, the chaos.
36:02They'd thought the entire Canadian First Army was attacking.
36:05They couldn't believe it was one man.
36:08Major's commanding officer didn't believe it either, not at first.
36:12Thought Major was confused, exaggerating, suffering from exhaustion or shock.
36:17But the Dutch resistance confirmed every detail.
36:21One Canadian corporal, one knight, one liberated city.
36:26Ninety-three German soldiers killed, captured, or driven out.
36:30Zero artillery shells fired.
36:32Zero civilian casualties.
36:35Fifty-thousand people saved.
36:37The Canadian army entered Zvola at 0600 hours on April 14th, 1945.
36:44Expected to fight house to house.
36:46Expected casualties.
36:48Expected resistance.
36:50Found nothing.
36:51Just empty German positions.
36:54Abandoned equipment.
36:55And thousands of Dutch civilians cheering in the streets.
36:59Waving flags.
37:00Crying.
37:02Celebrating their liberation.
37:04They asked for the Canadian soldier who'd saved them.
37:08Asked for the one-eyed corporal who'd walked into their city alone.
37:11The Dutch wanted to thank him.
37:14Wanted to give him flowers.
37:16Wanted to name streets after him.
37:20Major refused.
37:21Told his commanders he didn't want recognition.
37:24Didn't want parades.
37:26Just wanted to keep fighting.
37:27Keep doing his job.
37:29Keep killing Germans.
37:30Until the war ended.
37:31Three weeks later, Germany surrendered.
37:34The war in Europe was over.
37:37Major went home to Quebec.
37:38Back to the logging town where he'd grown up, poor.
37:41Where he'd joined the army to escape poverty.
37:44Where nobody knew what he'd done in Zvola.
37:47The Canadian army submitted Major's name for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second-highest military decoration Canada could award.
37:55Major had already received one DCM for his actions at Shelt.
37:58Now he'd receive another.
38:00Only three Canadian soldiers in World War II earned two Distinguished Conduct Medals.
38:05Leo Major was one of them.
38:08King George VI wanted to present the medal personally, at Buckingham Palace, with full ceremony.
38:14Major refused.
38:15He said he didn't like the British, didn't respect King George, didn't want a medal from a king whose armies
38:22had let Dieppe happen, had let Canadian soldiers die on French beaches while British commanders watched from ships offshore.
38:29They mailed him the medal instead.
38:32Major lived quietly after the war.
38:34Worked as a pipe fitter.
38:36Raised the family.
38:37Never talked much about Zvola.
38:39Never told his children what he'd done.
38:41When people asked, he gave short answers.
38:44Yes, he'd been in the war.
38:46Yes, he'd lost his eye.
38:48No, he didn't want to discuss it.
38:51In 1970, the city of Zvola invited Major back, 25 years after liberation.
38:57They wanted to honor him, thank him properly, show him what his actions had meant.
39:02Major returned.
39:03The Dutch gave him a hero's welcome.
39:06Thousands of people lined the streets.
39:08Children gave him flowers.
39:10Old men who'd been in the resistance shook his hand.
39:13Women who'd hidden in basements while he fought, kissed his cheeks.
39:17The city named a street after him.
39:19Leo Major Lawn.
39:21A permanent reminder of the Canadian soldier who'd saved them.
39:24Leo Major died on October 12, 2008, in Montreal.
39:29He was 87 years old.
39:30He'd lived 63 years after that night in Zvola.
39:3463 years as the man who'd liberated a city alone.
39:37The man who'd proven that courage doesn't require two eyes or a thousand soldiers.
39:43Just one person who refuses to quit.
39:46His medals are displayed at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
39:49Next to them is the citation that explains what he did.
39:53One night.
39:55One city.
39:5693 Germans.
39:5850,000 civilians saved.
40:01The most improbable liberation in World War II history.
40:06The people of Zvola still remember.
40:09Every year on April 14, they gather at Leo Major Lawn.
40:14Light candles.
40:16Tell stories about the Canadian corporal who walked into their occupied city
40:20and refused to leave until every German was gone.
40:24About the soldier who saved them from artillery bombardment.
40:27About the man with one eye who saw more clearly than anyone else what needed to be done.
40:3393 enemy soldiers defeated.
40:36One city liberated.
40:38One night that proved impossible was just another word for difficult.
40:43And one Canadian corporal who showed the world that sometimes,
40:47one person is enough.
40:50The Germans couldn't believe it.
40:51But the Dutch never forgot it.
40:55And history will always remember the night Corporal Leo Major decided that 50,000 lives
41:01were worth risking his own.
41:04Thank you for watching,
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41:26Until next time,
41:27take care,
41:28and remember the courage of those who came before us.
41:31and remember the courage of those who came before us.