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Canadian Involvement in World War Two
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Canada declares war on Germany
Canada quickly followed in Britians footsteps and declared war on Germany as well. This decision resembled Canada's independence. However, Canada still wanted to support, their mother nation and maintain strong ties with it. -
Canadians in Hong Kong
Canadian troops began the defence of British colony, Hong Kong, in early December against Japanese troops. There was only a total force of roughly 14, 000 men including soldiers from india and china as well. From Canada, two division known as the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada came to the aid of Hong Kong. In total, 1975 Canadians came to Hong Kong's aid. The canadians were also supposed to receice 212 vehicles but they never arrived. The U.S.A took it with approval from CAN. -
Surrender in Hong Kong
The Japanese had already ordered surrenders on the 13th and 17th but they were both rejected by the allies. The allies fought bravely losing many men with their limited resources and ammunition. The Winnipeg Grenadiers played a major part in the battle: recovering reatreats, delaying the japanese and retaking large amounts of captured territory. Sadly, due to the dwindling resources, surrender on Christmas day, 1941, was inevitable. The white flaw was hoisted by General Maltby. -
Canadian raid on Dieppe
Troops from the Canadian 2nd division made up the majority of the attack on Dieppe, the french port. This attack failed greatly. 5000 Canadian troops went into battle and less than 2000 returned. The others were either killed by german defences or captured to be POWs. This battle was delayed for some time but was still a failure, but displayed the bravery and sacrifices made by Canadians. -
Canadians Enter Italy
Canadian soldiers played a big role in the liberation of Sicily and more importantly, Italy. It began on July 10th. The Canadians began by trecking up the hills and mine filled roads only to be met by German defences positioned at the top of hills and villages. Nevertheless, the Canadians pushed on first capturing the village of Grammichele. The Canadians continued to push on displaying their perserverance and courage. -
The Capture of Sicily, Liberation of Italy
Canadians had been treking through the mountainous terrain of Sicily, repeatedly met with resistnce from the Germans. The Canadians were succesful in capturing Piazza Armenia and Valguarnera as well as Leonforte and Assoro. The canadians continued to push on breaking past the German defences. Their final task was to capture Adrano. They did this fighting all the way along their mountainous journey but eventually the achievedd their goal. Italy was liberated due to the dedication of canadians. -
Canadians in Ortona
Ortona was a city in Italy which was watched over by the Germans. Canadian troops made the decision to invade and capture it. The plan by the Canadians split Ortona into different sections. Each division in the cadian army involved with the attack was too capture their section. The Germans were not unarmed though. The Canadians were met with heavy machine gun fire and tank assaults. The canadians fought bravely though however there were many casualties in the Canadian side. -
Canada and Operation Overlord (D-Day)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1hqxghIP7oThis was the day Canadians, Americans and the British would liberate a large portion of Europe which helped lead to the downfall of the Nazis. 14 000 canadian soldiers ran across the "juno" beach confronted by mines and machine gun fire, thwarted the first german line in hand to hand combat. They captured the towns of the towns of Bernières, Courseulles and St. Aubin and continue to go inward. The canadians suffered many casualties, with over 300 deaths, but the mission was a success
