Control of the Westerschelde was the trigger for the Battle of the Scheldt and of great importance to the Allies. After all, the estuary was the gateway to the port of Antwerp.

As a tribute to the Polish liberators, a statue of General Stanislaw Maczek was unveiled on the liberation pier at De Griete in 2022. Maczek was commander-in-chief of the First Polish Armoured Division, which was formed in Scotland in February 1942 and added to the First Canadian Army in 1944. This army made a major contribution to the liberation of northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands.