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Declaration of War
The Allies and Commonwealth coutries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand raced to get their forces organized. -
Period: to
World War 2
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Phony War
Oct 1939 - April 1940 For 7 months nothing happened because the allied troops were stationed along the border of France with Germany where they waited for Germany's next move. This was know as the "Phony War" because many people thought the was would never start. -
Blitzkrieg
It was an extremely successful war tactic. It used surprise, speed, and massive power to quickly overwhelm the enemy. War planes lead the attack knocking out the key positions and supply lines. Using those tacts got Germany to quickly conquer Denmark and Norway. They then attacked Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium. Hitler then set his sights on France. -
Evacuation at Dunkirk
The British navy rounded up every boat capable of navigating through the English Channel. 2 days later, the German Luftwaffe bomb the port of Dunkirk. The evacuation was finally completed on June 4 1940. The evacuation was instead seen as a "miracke" because it saved hundreds of thounds of Allied soldiers. After the evacuation, the German amry continued to sweep through France. France surrendered. The British and Commonwealth now stood alone against the German. -
Battle of Britain - Fear in Britain
There was fear in Britain because they were certain that Germny would attack Great Britain and those fears were confirmed. The British would basically rely on air and naval power. If the German troops set foon on British soil, Britain knew they would quickly lose. -
Battle of Britain - Channel Battle
There was a German code to conquer the United Kingdom named Operation Sea Lion. Hitler made a last minute speech advocating peace with Britain. Britain ignored the appeal. The first bomber attack over the Channel came on July 10. As a result, British shipping in the Channel suffered greatly due to heavy damage but the RAF was able to conserve pilots and planes for the coming battle. -
Battle of Britain - London Blitz
Hitler directed the Luftwaffe to focus on the major British cities, including London. Many people lost their lives during this time along with other British cities. While that was happening, British Bombers were conducting nightly air raids on central Berlin. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union. This attack broke the non-aggressive pact that Hitler has made with Stalin in 1939. Hitler mainly wanted the raw materials, agricultural land and labour for the German army. Conquering the Soviet Union was apart of Hitler's long terms plans for the new German Empire. The Russians were unprepared for the attack. -
Operation Barbarossa-pt2
During the winter, the ill-equipped Germans suffered the long and bitterly cold Soviet winter. They went as far as Stalingrad but were again stopped by the cold winter. The German army eventually surrended in early 1943. After the Germans had surrendered, the Soviet army took much of the land they had lost. With Hitler's aggression, he was assured that the Soviets joined the war on the Allies' side. -
Dieppe Raid
Known as the Battle of Dieppe or Operation Jubilee. It was asn attack on the German-occupied port. Many Canadians were supported by large British navel and Allied air force. The objective of this raid was to seize and hold a major port for a short period of time to both prove it was possible and to collect intelligence from captured materials and prisoners while assessing the German responces. Opinions are divided whether Dieppe was a learning experience or a complete disaster. -
Battle of Sicily
It was code named Operation Husky. The Allies took Sicily from the Axis powers. It was mainly an air and water battle followed by six weeks of land combat. Canadians fought Italian and German soldiers through 240 kilometers of mountainous terrain losing 562 soldiers. Because of this victory, it led to Mussolini's downfall. The Germans however. continued to defend their Italian territory. -
Battle of Ortona
It was a small yet fierce battle between Germans and Canadians. The Canadians were given the task of capturing the town of Ortona on the Adriatic Sea but before they could do that, they had to capture smaller villages, cross the river of Moro and fight across several kilometers of German-occupied territory. Once the Canadians reached Ortona the advances were slow and the battles were often fought house by house. The Canadians captured the town on Dec. 28 1943 but also lost 1372 soldiers. -
D-Day
D-Day was the day the Allied armies, including Canada, invaded France. Itn was the biggest Allied invasion of the Second World War. The invasions were successful because the Allies had managed to keep the details of the attack a secret from the Germans. The weather also helped the Allies because the Germans believed that the Allies wouldnt attempt to land in bad weather. In the end, the German defence was poorly coordinated. -
Juno Beach
14000 Canadian soldiers arrived at Juno Beach.The Canadians needed to make their way past the German defences along with concrete barriers, barbed wires, and land mines. By the end of the day, the Canadians fought their way inward for about 9km. Even though they were successful, there were many casualties with 359 Canadians dead and 715 wounded. -
Battle of the Scheldt
This battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands. The Canadian troops were given the task of clearing enemy troops from the Scheldt River. The river important because it connected Antwerp to the North Sea. German forced still controlled the river and access to the sea so the Allies had to defeat the Germans. The Canadians achieved thier goal after a month of bitter fighting. -
Battle of the Rhineland
The Allies the attack against the Germans to get them back over the Rhine River and out of the Netherlands. The fighting was slow because of the mud and floods soldiers had to struggle through. On March 10, the German amy withdrew to the east band of the Rhine River allowing the Canadians to continue north to liberate Holland.
