When allied troops reached Xanten in February 1945, mayor Schöneborn left the town. With him fled almost the entire town administration to areas to the east. In the same month the bombardment of the town had begun, killing civilians and destroying parts of Xanten. In addition, the cathedral was hit by Allied bombs and damaged heavily. On 8 March 1945, Xanten was finally taken by Canadian troops. The Canadian military lost, according to their own data, 400 soldiers in the fight against the defending "Fallschirmjäger" (paratroops) under the command of Eugen Meindl. Thereupon the town, 85% of which had already been destroyed, was occupied by British troops while the population was evacuated to Bedburg-Hau in preparation for the crossing of the Rhine near the town of Wesel. Artillery projectiles fired by German soldiers from the right bank of the Rhine further devastated Xanten at this time. When the crossing of the Rhine finally succeeded on 24 March 1945, the Second World War was over for Xanten.