Timeline: Canada in WW2

Jul 7, 1937

Second Sino-Japanese War Begins

Period: Jul 7, 1937 to Sep 2, 1945

World War Two (incl. Second Sino-Japanese War)

Mar 12, 1938

German Annexation of Austria

Mar 16, 1939

German Invasion of Czechoslovakia

Sep 1, 1939

German Invasion of Poland (WW2 begins)

Sep 10, 1939

[CA] Canadian Declaration of War on Germany

September 10, 1939: Canada declares war on Germany - the first and only time Canada has declared war on another country on its own.

Apr 9, 1940

[CA] Creation of the Department of Munitions and Supply

April 9, 1940: Canada creates a Department of Munitions and Supply to manage the production of war material. Another source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Munitions_and_Supply

Jun 10, 1940

[CA] Canadian Declaration of War on Italy

Canada declared war on Italy after Italy declared war on the United Kingdom and France on June 10th, 1940. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarations_of_war_during_World_War_II

Jun 22, 1940

Fall of France

Jun 22, 1941

Operation Barbarossa (German-Soviet War)

Dec 7, 1941

Bombing of Pearl Harbour (American entry)

Dec 7, 1941

[CA] Canadian Declaration of War on Japan, Romania, Hungary, Finland

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarations_of_war_during_World_War_II

Dec 8, 1941

[CA] Battle of Hong Kong

December 8, 1941: Hong Kong is attacked by the Japanese; on December 25, Hong Kong falls. A Canadian military detachment called the C Force (which comprised troops from Winnipeg) was stationed in Hong Kong. Of 1,975 Canadian troops, 290 were killed with the remaining 1,685 taken prisoner; a further 260 of these Canadians would die as prisoners of war before the end of the war.

Aug 19, 1942

[CA] Dieppe Raid

August 19, 1942: the Dieppe Raid sees a force of more than 6,000 Allied soldiers (almost 5000 of whom were Canadian) taking part in a raid in occupied France. The operation would prove to be a failure, with 1,946 of the force being taken prisoner and 916 Canadians losing their lives.

Jul 10, 1943

[CA] Invasion of Sicily

July 10, 1943: The 1st Canadian Division and the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade take part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in Operation Husky; on August 17, the conquest of Sicily is completed.

May 11, 1944

[CA] Battle of the Liri Valley

May 11-16, 1944: Canadian troops support other Allied troops in Operation Diadem, an offensive near Rome.

Jun 6, 1944

[CA] D-Day

June 6, 1944: 15,000 members of the Canadian Army as well as hundreds of members of the RCAF and the crews of 60 vessels of the RCN participate in the landings in Normandy as part of an invasion force of some 150,000 Allies. By the end of D-Day, the Canadians had penetrated deeper into France than the British or Americans. Sources:
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/classroom/fact-sheets/wwchronol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_in_World_War_II#Liberation_of_France

Jul 10, 1944

[CA] Normandy Campaign

July 10, 1944: the city of Caen in France, the Canadian D-Day objective, is finally taken by a combined British-Canadian assault. August 25, 1944: the Battle of Normandy ends with the liberation of Paris, the Canadians having been successful in what is generally agreed to have been the fiercest portion of the campaign. Source: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/classroom/fact-sheets/wwchronol

Sep 1, 1944

[CA] Liberation of France

August-September 1944: First Canadian Army, tasked with clearing the heavily-defended English Channel ports of their German garrisons, take Dieppe, Le Havre, Boulogne, and Calais. Sources:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii#BelgiumHollandandGermany
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/classroom/fact-sheets/wwchronol

Oct 1, 1944

[CA] Battle of the Scheldt

October-November 1944: The First Canadian Army played a crucial role in clearing the Scheldt of German forces during the Battle of the Scheldt, fought in northern Belgium and the southwestern Netherlands, opening crucial supply lines for the Allies via the port of Antwerp. Source:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-and-the-battle-of-the-scheldt

Feb 2, 1945

[CA] Relief in the Dutch "Hunger Winter" of 1944-1945

The arrival of Canadian troops came at a time of crisis for the Netherlands: the "hunger winter." Canadian troops gave their rations to children, and blankets to civilians. Bombers were used to drop food packets to hungry civilians in German-occupied Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and the Hague in "Operation Manna," with permission from Germany if the bombers did not fly above 200 feet.

Feb 8, 1945

[CA] Rhineland Campaign

February 8, 1945: commencement of the Rhineland Campaign; General Crerar's First Canadian Army, augmented by Allied formations, becomes the largest force ever commanded by a Canadian. March 10, 1945: The Rhineland Campaigns ends with the Germans, pushed back by the Canadians and US 9th Army, withdrawing across the Rhine.

Apr 1, 1945

[CA] Liberation of the Netherlands

April 1, 1945: the First Canadian Army begins its campaign to open up a supply route through Arnhem and clear the Netherlands and the coastal belt of Germany. Notable battles in this offensive include the Battle of Groningen and the Battle of Otterlo, both in April. Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_World_War_II#Liberation

Apr 13, 1945

[CA] Liberation of Zwolle

Perhaps the single most badass Canadian moment of WW2, the Dutch town of Zwolle was single-handedly liberated by the Canadian Léo Major.

May 8, 1945

Germany Surrenders

End of WW2 in Europe

Aug 6, 1945

Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Soviet Declaration of War on Japan

August 6: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
August 8: The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Japanese-held Manchuria.
August 9: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Source: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-key-dates

Sep 2, 1945

Japan Surrenders

End of World War 2