On 12 April 1945, the Polish 3rd Infantry Brigade, led by Colonel Skibinski, marched north along several roads with the mission to capture the towns of Westdorp, Borger, Buinen and a crossing over the Buinen-Schoonoord canal. At 10:00 the advance started: the western route led north from Odoorn, the central route from Odoorn to Borger, and the eastern route along the railway from Exloo to Buinen. The three units ran into German opposition, but the short battles and detours were too much for the opposing forces. The German troops retreated behind the Buinen-Schoonoord Canal south of Borger and blew up the bridges that were still passable.

One canal bridge was bravely secured by Canadian lieutenant Chadwick. He was platoon commander of a reconnaissance squadron tasked with providing flank protection and linking up with the Polish forces on the eastern flank of the Canadian advance. Chadwick personally dismantled explosives on and under the bridge and then moved across it with his section. He later received a Bronze Lion, a high Dutch decoration, for his actions.

Additionally, Polish scouts from the 2nd Polish Squadron of Rifleman Jan Salwa managed to cross the canal near Borger, however they could not retain the bridgehead and at the end of the day they had to withdraw from the north bank. At the same time, another Polish squadron was surprised by heavy enemy fire between Ees and Borger. The German troops wanted to retreat north of Eeserburg. The last Germans had only just run across when the bridge blew up.

The Polish forces drew up a new plan and motorcyclist Podgórski conveyed the information to the 10th Cavalry Regiment. The latter attacked again, but this time with support from three Cromwell tanks. In the process, Corporal Kowalczyk was killed when his Vickers Carden Loyd tank came under fire from the other canal side.

Despite this, Polish Dragoons managed to form a weak bridgehead on the opposite side near the remains of Eser Bridge. The German artillery in Borger kept firing at the small assault group without ceasing, and the latter could not possibly hold out, However, they received support from the three Cromwells who fired their shells in rapid succession. The German troops heard the Polish forces approaching from all sides and decided to withdraw slowly to the north. Finally, despite the delay, Borger was liberated and the Polish advance northwards could continue.