Mitteland Canal Attacked Again 1 January 1945 In the night of 1 January , Lancasters of RAF Bomber Command attacked the Mitteland Canal near Gravenhorst, part of the Dortmund-Ems Canal system, dropping a concentration of bombs across the canal where it crosses a small river, breaching embankments and stranding traffic on the bed of the empty canal. This reconnaissance photograph taken after the attack, shows the dense concentration of craters in the target area. Bombing has broken the embankments, allowing the water to seep out, stranding barges and stopping the progress of war materials to the front.