Northwestern Europe

North-West Europe is a term that refers to a northern area of Western Europe, although the exact area or countries it comprises varies.

Statistical regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Western Europe marked light blue):

  Northern Europe

  Western Europe

  Eastern Europe

  Southern Europe

Geographically it is almost always used to include the United Kingdom and Ireland; the northern and western parts of France and Germany; the Benelux countries; and Scandinavia (though possibly not Finland). It would normally exclude the Iberian peninsula, Italy; Switzerland, southern and eastern parts of France and Germany and Austria. This usage is helpful when discussing issues of climate or biology. Broadly speaking, it represents the area whose climate and biogeography is significantly modified by the Gulf Stream.

Socially, "North-West Europe" is sometimes used to refer to the group of nations that are felt to share some cultural traits (for example, a history of Protestantism and Germanic languages) that differentiate them from their Mediterranean or Slav fellow-Europeans. This leads to much the same definition as the geographical one above, but would more definitely exclude France and southern Belgium. It would therefore be closer to the area normally defined as Northern Europe.

In British and Canadian military history, North-West Europe has been used to refer to the land campaigns in that approximate area during World War II. Two separate battle honours were awarded to regiments who took part in these campaigns "North-West Europe Campaign of 1940" and "North-West Europe Campaign of 1944-1945". The North-West Europe Campaign of 1940, during the Battle of France, was restricted to Belgium and the French Channel ports. The North-West Europe Campaign of 1944-1945 started with the landings in Normandy and ended with Field Marshal Montgomery taking the German military surrender of all German forces in Holland, Northwest Germany and Denmark on Lüneburg Heath in Northwest Germany was fought by the British 21st Army Group. In the First campaign the French Army was responsible for the rest of the Western Front from Luxembourg to Switzerland, as were the American 12th Army and 6th Army Groups during the second campaign.

Units of the First Canadian Army fought in five major campaigns in North-West Europe, including the Battle of Normandy, the battles for the Channel Ports, the Battle of the Scheldt, the Rhineland fighting in February and March 1945, and the final operations east of the River Rhine. A period of static warfare existed from 1 November 1944 to 8 February 1945 during which time the First Canadian Army manned positions in the Nijmegen Salient.