On April 17, the Canadians initiated the final stage of the operation. The armoured units of Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), supported by infantry from the Westminster Regiment, advanced from the Apeldoorn area. Near Barneveld, they encountered stiff German resistance at a crossroads along the Apeldoorn-Amersfoort road. During this engagement, three Canadian tanks were destroyed. Additional German roadblocks forced the Canadians to divert their attack to the west to assist in the fighting toward Putten. 

The battle for Putten was intense. Under heavy German fire, the tank regiment 8th Hussars lost fourteen tanks in a single day, along with one soldier killed and seventeen wounded. Despite the losses, the Canadians advanced. By the evening of April 17, Putten was nearly cleared. On the morning of April 18, troops from the 8th Hussars, alongside the Westminster Regiment and members of the Dutch resistance, entered the town center. That same morning, Canadian reconnaissance units reached the shores of the IJsselmeer, a symbolic moment marking the near-completion of Operation Cleanser. 

Later that day, attention shifted to Harderwijk. The city, located along the old Zuiderzee coast, was still in German hands. The advance continued with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse, backed by the British Columbia Dragoons and infantrymen from the Perth Regiment. They were aided by members of the Dutch resistance who provided local knowledge and helped secure key positions. 

According to the official war diary of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse, the entry into Harderwijk was a remarkable moment: “On the 18th of April, one of the most pleasant days in the regiment’s history of the month was experienced, with overly happy civilians climbing over our tanks the moment we reached Harderwijk on the Zuider Zee.”  

The jubilation of the town’s population was overwhelming. After years of occupation, people flooded the streets, cheering and embracing the liberators, some even scrambling onto the tanks in celebration. The liberation of Harderwijk marked the near completion of the objectives of Operation Cleanser. In total, the 5th Canadian Armoured Division had taken 1,789 German soldiers prisoner over the course of the operation. After a brief pause for vehicle maintenance and regrouping, the division would soon head north to participate in the final battles of the war in the Netherlands, the fighting for Delfzijl.