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Start of World War One
The tensions of WWI began with the building up of alliances between nations. The kickstart of WWI however, was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand the Archduke of Austro-Hungary. Canada joined the war because at the time Canada was a colony of Britain and therefore expected to join the war on Britain's side. -
The Battle of the Somme
The soldiers from Newfoundland were annihilated during the battle of the Somme which was the largest and bloodiest war on the Western Front. Newfoundland's force was reduced from 801 to 68 men. The men were expecting all of the German's defenses to be shredded by pre-invasion artillery bombardment however many of the shells were duds so the germans just hid in their trenches until the bombardment was over. -
Second battle of Ypres
This was the Germans first use of chemical warfare but the Canadian's fought the Germans back while the other troops retreated in a panic. The Canadians, in their first major action of the war, won by bravely standing their ground long enough for fresh divisions of British troops to be rushed forward to successfully continue the battle for Ypres. -
Vimy Ridge
The Canadian forces used a new tactic where a curtain of artillery would slowly move forwards with the Allied forces behind them. This was the first solo Canadian victory and one of the wars that shaped Canada's history. The fight was led by 10,000 soldiers in the Canadian Corps and supported by Canadian artillery. -
Passchendaele
The Canadian soldiers were forced to fight in extremely muddy conditions in Belgium and were sinking as they slept because the mud acted like quicksand. More than 15,600 soldiers died at Passchendaele. This battle would be completely useless in the long course of the war because it was evacuated by the British the following year. -
Amiens
The Canadian's would rush the German's defenses with simultaneous artillery, infantry, tanks, and airplanes. The Canadians moved 13 kilometers past the German lines, the farthest single advance of any Allied forces to that point on the Western Front. This led to the 100 day campaign which would lead to the surrender of the Germans. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of World War I. This became the foundation for the start of World War II. The Treaty forced Germany to surrender territory, reduce it's military and pay for the war which reduced the country to poverty. This created a lot of disgruntled citizens so when Hitler promised to resolve the crisis, be gained a lot of support. -
Start of World War 2
Hitler's coming to power was a major cause of the start of the war. At first, the other nations tried appeasement to avoid escalating conflict however this did not work in avoiding the war. He invaded Poland and he continued to invade Europe. War was inevitable. -
Canada Declares War
Canada declared war 9 days after the war officially started because they did not want to participate in another World War. At this point, they kept a policy of minimal engagement. It wasn't until later that Canada introduced conscription before that they only sent volunteers overseas. -
Canada fights at Hong Kong
This was the first land battle Canadian's fought during WWII. They sent almost 2,000 troops to Hong Kong to fight against the dominant Japanese. 554 died at the battle or from the inhumane treatment in the japanese prisoner of war camps. -
Dieppe raid
This was a major raid to test how well the Allied Forces would fare in an amphibious assault against Adolf Hitler's defenses. More than 900 Canadian soldiers died and thousands were taken prisoner or wounded. Despite its casualties, this raid did achieve its purpose by educating the Allied forces of Hitler's weak points. -
Normandy Landings
This was one of the pivotal events in WWII. This was the largest seaborne invasion of history. Thanks to the Dieppe raid the Allied Forces could breach the defenses of the German forces in France and push them out. Nearly 150,000 Allied troops landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, including 14,000 Canadians at Juno Beach. -
End of WW2
The war ended when Germany and Italy surrendered after being conquered in battle. Japan stubbornly refused to surrender. This was the first place that atomic bombs were used. The first bombs were dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After these bombs were dropped, Japan finally surrendered after the horrific casualties of the bombs when over 200,000 civilians perished. -
Cold War
This war began with tensions after WWII was caused when the world's two superpower nations, the USA and Soviet Russia did not have the same views on economics and government. During this war, both superpowers in an arms race stocked up on atomic and hydrogen bombs to deter the opponent until 125,000 nuclear warheads were built on both sides. -
Korean war
This was a war that was made possible by the Cold War where Russia supported North Korea while the USA supported South Korea. -
Suez Crisis
This was a war where Israel, Britain, and France invaded Egypt and threatened to divide the western military alliance. The Crisis was initially caused by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser who nationalized the Suez canal company which was a vital route for oil. The Suez crisis was eventually solved by Lester B. Pearson who developed an idea of an armed peacekeeping force. -
Persian Gulf War
This conflict was caused by the invasion of the nation of Kuwait by the military forces of Iraq. The UN pressured the Iraqi to withdraw but they refused to do so. This was the first time that women were sent to a warzone. -
Afghanistan war
More than 40,000 Canadian forces were sent overseas and only 165 soliders were lost.
