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Germany Invades Poland
In August 1939, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, as part of a plan to capture Poland without having the U.S.S.R. react to it. On September 1st 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This invasion became the trigger of the Second World War. -
Declartion of War: Britain and France
In response to the Nazi's invasion of Poland, Britain and France finally declare war against Germany after appeasing Hitler for three years. -
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World War II
The second world war lasted for almost 6 year and was fought by the Allies against the Axis. It was one of the most bloodiest conflicts ever fought. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
For the first three years of the longest military campaign of WW2, it seemed that the Germans had the advantage over the Atlantic Ocean with their dreadful U-Boats. Many Allied supply ships were sunk by "wolf packs" of German U-Boats. The Allies gradually gained the upper hand as the British had cracked the German naval code and soon defeated their naval army. -
Canada Declares War
Although still part of the British Commonwealth, Canada was an autonomous country and its parliament was the one who made the decision to go into war. -
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The Phony War
After Britain and France declared war on Germany, no military action had been seen, although both sides had troops prepared for combat. This period became known as the 'Phony War" and many people started believe there was not going to be war. -
Germany Attacks Denmark and Norway; Blitzkrieg
Germany quickly conquered Denmark and Norway through the successful tactic, "Blitzkrieg". It involved the use of surprise, speed, and massive power to overwhelm the enemy. -
Germany Attacks the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium
After quickly conquering Denmark and Norway, Germany then invaded the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Within weeks, all three countries were overtaken by the Hitler and the Nazis. -
Dunkirk Evacuation of Allied Forces
The German panzers, who were making their way through France, reached the English Channel and surrounded the Allied forces at the French port of Dunkirk. The British navy desperately rounded up any boat capable of going across the Channel and made their way to Dunkirk. Nearly 340,000 troops were rescued and were brought safely to Britain. The evacuation was seen as a miracle to the Allies and boosted their morale. -
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North-African Campaign - Desert War
A three-year campaign by the Axis forces to attempt to control the valuable resources and strategic positions of North Africa. It included campaigns fought in Libyan and Egyptian deserts, Morroco, Algeria, and Tunisia. By December 1940, the Italians were destroyed.Since German forces came to aid Italy, their forces were now engaged in a second front.During the 3 years, neither side won decisive victories, but the tide turned in 1942 with an Allied victory in 1943. -
France Surrenders to Germany
Shortly after the evacuation of Dunkirk was completed on June 4th, the German army continued to invade the rest of France. The French were no match for the mighty German troops and surrendered on the 22nd of June. Britain and the Commonwelath now stood alone to face the Axis forces. -
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The Battle of Britain
Although "Operation Sea Lion" (plan to invade Britain), was postponed indefinitely, the Battle of Britain occured to gain air superiority. The Luftwaffe started a massive bombing campaign at several numerous targets. In retaliation, the RAF bombed Berlin. On September 7th, 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed London for 57 consecutive nights (AKA "the Blitz"), but were unable to defeat the RAF. Hitler finally gave up on his plans to invade Britain. This loss was was a crucial turning point in WW2. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler launched "Operation Barborossa" to invade the Soviet Union for their benefits that would help Germans. Although they were successful in the beginning, striking deep into the Russian territory, they were ill-equipped for the Soviet winter. After suffering more than 300,000 casualties, the German army surrendered in 1943. Soon after, the Soviet army reclaimed much of their territory they had lost. -
Pearl Harbor
As a part of a campaign to expand their territory, Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Much of the American fleet were destroyed, along with 2400 people who were killed. Japan also bombed the U.S. territory of the Philippines. The bombings were a sudden surprise and stunned the Americans. -
U.S. Joins The War With the Allies
A day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. joined the Allies and declared war on Japan. -
Battle of Hong Kong - "Black Christmas"
Weeks earlier, before the battle began, Canada had sent 2 inexperienced battalions to Hong Kong to reinforce the British and the Commonwealth forces. Despite the reinforcements, they were still no match for the skilled Japanese soldiers and the Japans conquered Hong Kong on December 25th, 1941, after only 18 days of fighting. -
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as Operation Jubilee, was a questionable raid by Allies to invade the French port of Dieppe. Many say this was a trial run for a future invasion. Nevertheless, this invasion was a terrible disaster for the Allies as soldiers from all along the coast were slaughtered by the Germans. -
Battle of Sicily
The Canadians proved themselves to be tough opponents as they fought Italian and German soldiers through 240 kilometers of land and eventually capturing the island after 38 days. This vicotry led to Mussolini's downfall and was overthrown. The new Italian government surrendered, but the Germans continued to defend their territory. -
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The Italian Campaign
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill felt that the best chance for the Allies to recapture europe was through Sicily and Italy, or what he called the "soft underbelly" of Europe, thus started the Italian Campaign. The victory in North Africa made it possible for the Allies to launch this attack. However, the invasions in this campaign proved the "underbelly" was anything but soft. -
Battle of Ortona
Once the Allies had captured Sicily, they followed the Germans as they retreated to mainland Italy. Canadians, given the task of capturing Ortona, fought a slow, house-to-house battle against the Germans and captured the town by December 28th, 1943. -
D-Day
Also known as "Operation Overlord", the Allies followed their success in Italy with the biggest Allied invasion. The Allies launched their attack by landing troops followed by massive air and naval support on five beaches code-named Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah, on the coast of Normandy in northern France. The D-Day invasions were successful due to numerous reasons such as even the weather. -
Battle of Scheldt
Canadians were give the task of clearing enemy troops from the Scheldt River in Belgium in order to bring the Allies supplies for their final advance into Germany. This river was important because it connected Antwerp to the North Sea and the German forces were in control of the river. Canada achieved their goal after a month of fighting. -
Battle of the Rhineland
The Allies began their attack to drive the Germans out of the Netherlands. Nearly 23,000 Allies were killed and the Germans lost about 90,000 men, including 52,000 who became prisoners of war. On March 10th, 1945, the Germans withdrew to the east bank of the Rhine River, allowing the Canadians to continue to liberate Holland. -
Hitler Suicides
As the Allied forces were closing in on Germany, Hitler, knowing he was facing certain defeat, shot himself in a bunker in Berlin before he could be captured. -
Germany Surrenders
With the Allies invading from the north and west, the Soviet Union attacking from the east and the news of the death of Hitler, Germany surrenders. The following day, the Allies declare Victory in Europe Day. -
Japan Surrenders
After the bombings of Hiroshima on August 6th,1945 and Nagasaki on August 9th,1945, Japan realized they could not withstand the power of the new U.S. weapon. After six gruesome years and losses of millions of lives, the Second World War was now officially over.
