-
Hitler invades & attacks Poland
Germany invaded Poland in order to reclaim and control areas that had been lost following World War I. The non-aggression deal with the USSR ensured that Germany would invade if the USSR took action. Britain and France would declare war on Germany when Hitler declined to evacuate Poland. -
Battle of Atlantic
The war for dominance of the Atlantic involving Germany and the Allies. During WWII, this was the oldest active fight. Britain relied on the Atlantic for all of its resources, and if it were to lose it, it would lose access to all of them. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
Over 338,000 British and French soldiers were evacuated. The Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom proved crucial in this, intercepting German bombers from over the shore. This would increase British troop morale and provide them with a larger force. -
Fall of France
After France declared war on Germany, Germany successfully invaded France and Belgium. They followed the same approach as in WW1, passing through Belgium, but this time they were successful, taking just over a month to accomplish it. France was one of Germany's most formidable foes in the war, and dominating it increased Germany's chances of victory. -
Battle of Britian
Germany ordered strategic bombers to attack Britain's ports, air bases, aircraft manufacturers, and radar sites in order to degrade the country's air defences. Victory helped Britain to escape Nazi takeover and provide a staging area for the invasion of Normandy on D-day. -
Germany invades USSR
This campaign lasted one month in which more than 2300 Canadian soldiers died. In this war. There is no exact day when this event had started. -
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
The Japanese navy launched an unexpected attack on the US naval facility in Honolulu, Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona, which sank with over 1000 soldiers on board, was successfully sunk and detonated by the Japanese navy. The strike would break America's isolation in the war and lead to the United States unleashing an atomic bomb on Japan. -
Japan’s invasion of Hong Kong
Starting on December 8, Japan launched air strikes on Hong Kong, and on December 18, Japanese troops arrived in Hong Kong. On December 25, Japanese forces seized Hong Kong from the British, taking no captives and killing soldiers. This was one of the earliest Pacific conflicts of WWII, and Britain lost one of its colonies. -
Battle of Dieppe
The Allies attempted a large raid on the French port of Dieppe, but it was unsuccessful. The German defences were stronger than the allies had anticipated, and the Canadian naval and air force were unavailable to assist them. After the attack, many soldiers have been killed or taken captive, and the allies learnt a great deal that would contribute to D-triumph. Day's -
Battle of Ortona
The month-long campaign to take over Italy first started at the Moro River outside Ortona, then with street fighting in the town itself. This cost more than 2,300 Canadian casualties, but eventually won Ortona for the Allies. -
Italian campaign
From the south, Allied forces gained Control, marching up the mainland until they were near to Germany. This would result in Mussolini's demise and the end of fascism in Italy. -
D-Day
The allied forces began a naval, air, and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. In the north of France, Allied soldiers parachuted into drop zones. Ground soldiers then landed on five different beaches. Germany began to lose the war after D-Day and surrendered less than a year later. -
Liberation of the Netherlands
The vital and terrible duty of freeing the Netherlands from Nazi domination was assigned to Canadian forces. The First Canadian Army fought German forces on the Scheldt estuary from September 1944 to April 1945, liberating the port of Antwerp for Allied usage, and subsequently cleared the northern and western Netherlands of Germans, allowing food and other aid to reach millions of desperate people. In the Netherlands, more than 7,600 Canadian soldiers, sailors, and airmen died in combat -
End of the War in Europe (Germany surrenders)
The German Declaration of Surrender was accepted, marking the end of Germany's involvement in World War II as well as the Nazi Party. -
USA Drops Atomic Bombs
On August 9, the United States detonated two atomic bombs on Japan, killing between 129,000 and 226,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the first and only occasion a nuclear bomb was used in a war or armed conflict, and it remains so today. -
End of the War in Pacific (Japan Surrenders)
On August 15, barely six days after the United States launched an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan proclaimed its surrender from WWII. On September 2, they signed their capitulation papers, formally ending World War II.