For two days, engineers and infantry planned a daring river assault. The eastern bank was firmly held by German defenders. Then, on 8 April 1945, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada launched a decisive assault crossing. Under fire, soldiers stormed across in assault boats and rafts, securing a foothold on the enemy’s side. Astonishingly, the operation suffered only one casualty: Captain M. S. Smidt, commanding Support Company, who was tragically struck while supervising the crossing from the shore. 

Once ashore, Canadian troops rapidly extended their grip. They swept through Meppen, capturing around fifty German soldiers without suffering additional losses. The Canadians found the bridge linking the two halves of the town already blown to deny further Allied movement. Undeterred, ACompany ferried across the adjacent Dortmund–Ems Canal using boats and discovered that the southern district had been evacuated by the retreating Germans. 

By approximately 18:00 that day, combat engineers had constructed a temporary bridge spanning the Ems. With this, the Tactical Headquarters moved into Meppen, establishing a secure base for further northward advances. Ahead of the river assault, a Typhoon fighterbomber raid had struck Meppen on 7 April 1945, damaging roughly 10 to 15 percent of its buildings. However, most civilians remained inside the town, and those who had fled returned soon after the fighting ended. 

German resistance in the area was sporadic and composed largely of inexperienced soldiers—many teenage boys with minimal military training.  The rapid Canadian success reflected both determined execution and the weakening German defensive capability at this late stage of the war. The seizure of Meppen opened a critical corridor for further operations in northwest Germany. The 4th Canadian Armoured Division continued its push, advancing some 25 km to the town of Sögel by 9 April 1945 and later striking Friesoythe and the Küsten Canal. Meanwhile, as part of similar northern efforts, Polish and Allied forces crossed the Ems further upstream near Haren, granting momentum to the Allied advance toward the North Sea.