Friesoythe, located south of the Küsten Canal in Lower Saxony, stood in the path of the Canadian 4th Armoured Division as it advanced toward Oldenburg. On 13 April, 1945, Canadian patrols approached the town, which was defended by paratroopers of the German 7th Fallschirmjäger Division. Although the war was clearly lost for Germany, the defenders fought with determination, setting the stage for a deadly confrontation. 

On 14 April, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada launched a frontal assault. Initial reports had suggested limited resistance, but the Canadians soon found themselves engaged in house-to-house combat. German troops had fortified buildings, and machine-gun and sniper fire poured into the streets. During the fighting, Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Wigle, commander of the Argylls, was killed near his tactical headquarters—reportedly in a surprise counterattack, though at the time it was believed he had been shot by a civilian. 

His death deeply shocked the unit and division leadership. In a moment of anger and frustration, Major-General Christopher Vokes, commander of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, gave the order to destroy the town of Friesoythe. He later admitted: “I told them to level the goddam place... it was a lesson I felt the civilians of Friesoythe deserved to learn.” 

Canadian troops, already worn by weeks of heavy combat, carried out the order swiftly and thoroughly. Buildings were set on fire using flamethrowers, gasoline, and phosphorus bombs. By the end of the day, roughly 85 to 90 percent of Friesoythe had been reduced to rubble. The destruction was so extensive that Canadian engineers later used debris from the town to fill craters in nearby roads, allowing tanks and supply trucks to continue the advance.

The razing of Friesoythe remains a dark chapter. Though many civilians had already fled, some were caught in the destruction. Reports indicate that approximately 20 German civilians—both locals and people from nearby villages—were killed either during the fighting or the fires that followed. There is no clear record of a formal investigation, and the incident was largely omitted from official Canadian war histories. 

Strategically, the destruction of Friesoythe helped open the way to the Küsten Canal, a final barrier before Canadian forces moved deeper into northwestern Germany. Today, Friesoythe has been rebuilt, and few physical traces remain of the devastation. Yet the events of April 1945 still prompt debate. Was the destruction a necessary act of war? Or an emotional response to a respected officer’s death, carried out against a largely civilian town?