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Japan Seizes Manchuria
Japan was becoming increasingly tight on space and resources and Manchuria offered nearly 200 000 square km, rich minerals, forestry, and agriculture which could easily benefit the Japanese greatly. The Japanese did not think much of the Manchurians and held low opinions of them so when the depression hit Japan, their solution to help their economy was to conquer Manchuria. By the end of 1931, the Japanese army was out of the control of the civilian government and had occupied the province. -
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Italy Seizes Ethiopia (Abyssinia)
Ethiopia's defeat of the Italians at the Battle of Adwa fought on March 1, 1896 wounded the Italian National Prestige and they wanted to regain it. An incident between the Abyssinians and Italians at the border of the Abyssinian Somaliland angered Mussolini and he used this as an excuse to go to war. He saw this as a chance to take land for unemployed Italians and gain resources. Mussolini had learned from Hitler's plans to expand into territory considered 'Italian'. -
Hitler Invades the Rhineland
Germany takes the Rhineland which had not been militarized and under German occupation since WWI. This violates the Treaty of Versailles but no action is taken against Hitler by the League of Nations. Re-militarization in the Rhineland changed the balance of power in Europe from France to Germany, giving them a possibility of pursuing aggression in Eastern Europe that the demilitarized status of the Rhineland had blocked. -
Anschluss (Annexation) of Austria by Germany
Anschluss was the uniting of Germany and Austria through the German invasion of Austria. -
Munich Pact
The Munich Pact was an agreement between France, Britain, and Germany to allow Germany to take control of Czechoslovakia to avoid war. -
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Kristallnacht
Also known as "The Night of Broken Glass", Nazis burned Jewish synagogues, destroyed Jewish homes and businesses, and killed up to 100 Jews. Approximately 30 000 Jews were sent to concentration camps the next few days and after this event, conditions for German Jews became increasingly worse. Nazis before Kristallnacht had been generally nonviolent but cases of violence and hate against Jews grew over the next couple of months to a level of extreme hatred. -
Hitler Seizes All of Czechoslovakia
Hitler takes Czechoslovakia knowing completely that he was free to take it, and there would be no consequence that came of it after signing the Munich Pact. Regardless of any pleas and tries at a political agreement on dissolving communist parties and suspending Jewish citizens by the Czechoslovakian government, Hitler wanted Slovakia to become an independent within Germany's rule, and Slovakia became entirely dependent on Germany on March 15, 1939. -
Nazi-Soviet Union Non-Aggression Pact
Germany and Russia had an agreement to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, knew Europe was on the brink of another major war and wanted to keep peace with Germany as well as build up the Soviet military. Poland, which was under the Russian power, and Hitler wanted to have access to it unopposed by anyone. The pact included a secret agreement on how Eastern Europe would be later be split up. This pact fails June of 1941. -
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Hitler Attacks Poland
The invasion of Poland also known as the September Campaign was a combined offensive by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, a small Slovak contingent, and the Free City of Danzig. Poland's security and independence was promised by France and Britain, and Germany's invasion of Poland caused the start of WWII. September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany and September 10, 1939, Canada declared war on Germany. -
Canada Declares War on Germany
Canada led by King George VI declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939. Britain and France had declared war on September 3, 1939 honoring their pledge to provide Poland with its independence. This was a significant moment in Canadian history because it further demonstrated the independence of Canada as its own country. -
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Fall of Holland, Belgium, and France
April 9, 1940, the Nazis took Denmark and Norway, May 10, 1940, Nazis invaded Belgium and France, May 15, 1940, Holland surrendered to Germany. Germany wanted these places for offensive and defensive lines, resources, and speed and quick travel. With France out of power, Canada became one of Britain's strongest allies, and neutral countries such as the US joined to help out Britain and avenge their own. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
360 000 French and British troops were stranded on a beach while being attacked by planes, tanks, and German troops. Churchill sent out a distress call for any small boat that could function and the captains of these boats were named a part of the Navy. The small ships were sent to bring troops from the beach farther out into the English Channel to the bigger ships waiting. 338 226 men were rescued and 68 111 were wounded, captured, or killed. More men were rescued than the expected 10 000. -
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Miracle At Dunkirk
360 000 French and British troops were stranded on a beach while being attacked by planes, tanks, and German troops. Churchill sent out a distress call for any small boat that could function and the captains of these boats were named a part of the Navy. The small ships were sent to bring troops from the beach farther out into the English Channel to the bigger ships waiting. 338 226 men were rescued and 68 111 were wounded, captured, or killed. More men were rescued than the expected 10 000. -
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Battle of Britain
This occurred because the Royal Air Force bombed Berlin, angering Hitler as it was Germany's capital. The British used their radar to tell when Germans were coming so they could prepare for an attack. The RAF played a major role in defending Britain from Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. The RAF bases were being destroyed before they could be put into action and the Battle of Britain took pressure of the bases, giving the RAF time to rebuild and train new pilots. -
Bismarck Sunk
The Bismarck was one of two German Bismarck battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. It was sunk by the British Royal Navy in the North Atlantic waters close to France. The sinking of the Bismarck consisted of three important phases. First, a series of air strikes by torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal, second, shadowing and minor attacks on the Bismarck in the night of the 26, and third, an attack by British battleships in the morning of the 27. -
Operation Barbarossa Begins
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the Germans' invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler had known he would attack Russia and was pulling all possible resources into the east to invade Russia. 3 massive groups of soldiers numbering over 3 million German troops, 150 divisions, and 3 thousand tanks were sent into Russia. This operation was the major turning point in war, its failure leading to Germany fighting a war on two fronts. -
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in the dawn of the morning of December 1, 1941. It was a surprise attack planned months before -
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Invasion of Hong Kong
Canadians first saw action in Hong Kong fighting against the Japanese. 1 975 Canadian troops set sail from Vancouver on October 27, 1941, 990 were killed and 493 were wounded. The commander at Hong Kong had a total force of 14 000, the majority being personnel and and non-combatants. Hong Kong had no real air or naval defense. The Hong Kong air force had 5 planes and the nearest fully operational RAF base was 1 400 miles away. The naval defense at Hong Kong was 1 destroyer and several gunboats. -
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Battle of Midway
The Japanese planned a fake invasion of Alaska but would move to strike Midway and when the US fleet responded to the call for help, the Japanese would strike from the west. US intelligence broke the Japanese naval code and planned its own surprise attack. Japan lost 4 carriers, a cruiser and 292 aircraft, and had an estimated 2500 casualties. The US lost the Yorktown, the destroyer USS Hammann, 145 aircraft and suffered approximately 300 casualties. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The 3 reasons Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad were he needed the oil reserves in the Caucasus region, it was the heart of manufacturing for the USSR, and it was a city named after Joseph Stalin, the USSR leader. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with nearly 2 million military and civilian casualties. Germany sustained 150 000 deaths and 91 000 POW's, Russia lost 1.1 million, and German allies estimated nearly 800 000 deaths total. -
Dieppe Raid
It was a failed raid to take control of a French port called Dieppe. Reasons for going on this raid were to capture a German Enigma Encoder to break the German code, and find information about the new German system of radar. Lessons were learned from the failure of this raid that were applied to the D-day operation. Problems such as bad weather, late timing, being spotted in the night, the beach extremely fortified, and no air or sea attack previous to the main attack caused the mission to fail. -
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The Second Battle of El Alamein
The second battle of El Alamein was a battle near the Egyptian railway that was a victory for the Allies. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel's Panzer Army in Africa resulted in 2,349 deaths, 5,486 wounded, and 30,121 captured. His units stopped as a fighting force. For the allies, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery had 2,350 killed, 8,950 wounded, and 2,260 missing, as well as approximately 200 tanks lost. The victory in El Alamein gave the Allies the upper hand in the battle in North Africa. -
Allied Troops Land in Sicily
After defeating the German powers in North Africa, the allies moved against Italy to secure the central Mediterranean and redirect the attention of German troops from the northwest coast of France. The allies' Italian campaign began with the invasion of Sicily. -
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Battle of Ortona
Ortona was referred to as an 'Italian Stalingrad' in the streets of Italy between German and Canadian soldiers. German soldiers turned the battle into a series of house to house battles, hiding in the houses sniping and trapping. It took months to move through the streets, checking each house and pushing the Germans out and as a result Canadians become experts at street fighting. -
Operation Overlord (Code Name for Battle of Normandy)
D-day was a top secret operation and only selective people knew exactly when and where the attack would take place. All armies were under the command of US General Eisenhower and due to bad weather, forces were held back a day having learned the importance of timing from Dieppe. It was a total combined offensive using all forces including a new type of troops called paratroopers. Floating harbors were built and towed to Normandy on the day of the attack to unload warcraft onto the beaches. -
D-Day
A dummy army was created to make Germany bring most of her troops over to defend as well as draw attention from the real attack destination. Allied bombers struck at German defenses all night and just before dawn, paratroopers were dropped to take out the main artillery guns. At first light, the main forces attacked the heavily defended beaches. Block ships were used to slow the speed and power of the tides, making it less likely for machinery to be washed away before it could be used. -
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Canadian Soldiers Liberate Netherlands
People of Holland struggled with limited supplies of fuel and food and help came from Canadian soldiers. Canadian troops were welcomed as the soldiers brought with them relief from the ongoing struggle to survive. Not many Germans were stationed in the Netherlands and since Canada was the smallest of the allied countries, it seemed fit Canada was assigned the Netherlands. Canadians were also more accustomed to the weather, making them better suited. Even today, Canadians are welcome in Holland. -
Germany Surrenders
Germany surrenders and the war in Europe is over, although the war in the Atlantic is not. After Hitler committed suicide knowing he was not going to be successful, Hitler's successor Grand Admiral Karl Donitz ordered Alfred Jodl to sign the surrender papers under pressure of threats from General Dwight Eisenhower. The papers were signed on May 7, 1945 but the fighting continued another day before it came to a stop on May 8, 1945. -
United States Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb "Little boy" was dropped on Hiroshima killing between 90 000 and 166 000 lives. The order was given by Harry S. Truman who believed dropping this bomb could make the Japanese surrender, and save many more American and Japanese lives in the long run. August 8, 1945, a second atomic bomb "Fat man" was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 60 000 to 80 000. -
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Japan Surrenders
Japan surrendered August 15, 1945 after nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fighting between Japanese and other allied forces stopped August 15, but it was officially signed September 2, 1945. Somewhere between 90 000 to 166 000 people were killed in Hiroshima by the "Little Boy" bomb dropped August 6, 1945. 60 000 to 80 000 Japanese were killed in Nagasaki by the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb on August 8, 1945 and Japanese questioned what the government would be doing to end this.
