In December the division, now commanded by Major General Eric Bols, was sent to Belgium where it played a relatively minor role in the Battle of the Bulge. Topham's battalion gained the distinction of being the only Canadian Army units to fight in the battle. During Operation Varsity, the Western Allies' attempt to cross the River Rhine, on March 24, 1945, while serving with the battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Nicklin, he defied heavy enemy fire to treat casualties sustained in a parachute drop east of the Rhine, near Wesel. Rejecting treatment for his own severe face wound, he continued to rescue the injured for two hours. While returning to his company, he saved three occupants of a burning carrier which was in danger of exploding. For these exceptional deeds, Topham was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for valour in the British Commonwealth.