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Battle of the Atlantic
This battle began because of the sinking of the Montréal-bound passenger ship SS Athenia by a German submarine, Over the course of the battle, the Canadain Navy (which originally only had 11 ships and 3000 men) grew to a size of 4000 ships and over a hundred thousand men. There were 2000 casualties during the battle. -
Dunkirk
The ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’ was the mass evacuation of Allied soldiers in Dunkirk, France, mostly due to the fact that the Nazi’s advancing on the soldiers suddenly received a ‘Halt order’, preventing the soldiers from destroying the Allied army. The operation that the soldiers were taking part in was considered a tragedy similar to Dieppe, though it differs due to the fact that several soldiers made it out miraculously, greatest evacuation of Ww2. -
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was unique because it was one of the few battles that took place entirely in the air. Only about 3000 pilots fought, roughly 500 from overseas and 100 Canadian. Canadian had 2 squadrons up at the time: the No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron and the 242 “All-Canadian” squadron. In an intense air battle, Britain won, shattering Germans rushing advantage. “Never in the field of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few." This is a section from Churchhills speech -
Hong Kong
The Japanese empire invaded Hong Kong, notably violating international law as Japan did not declare war on the Allies at the time. The soldiers in Hong Kong, consisting of British, Canadian, and Indian troops, surrendered within a week.
The Japanese inhabited Hong kong, keeping the Canadian troops prisoner for 3 and a half years. The Japanese soldiers reportedly slaughtered and raped ten thousand civilians. The Japanese general responsible for the invasion was excecuted. -
Dieppe
The force, made up of 5000 Canadian troops and 1000 British commandos, had to hold a fort on the coast in order to gather intelligence. The cruel and ironic twist was that this operation was to PROVE that France, despite being under heavy occupation, could be invaded.
70% of the Allied troops that landed in Dieppe were killed or captured. The operation was a blatant failure, and many blamed the Canadians inexperience at fighting as one of the prime sources of the disaster. -
Italian Campaign
Canadian troops were part of the group that captured Silicy within five weeks. Germany occupied Italy at the time, and the two fought in the hazardous, mountain terrain for two years. Casualties were heavy on both sides; ninety two thousand Canadian troops fought, with twenty six casualties and five thousand dead. -
Canada D-day
D-day is possibly the most famous and recognizable battle of WW2, even today. It is the greatest seaborne battle in history, with well over a hundred thousand troops taking part. It was incredibly important to Canada because they had control of their own section of beach to invade (Juno). To add to the sense of self accomplishment, they were the first group to successfully capture their section of beach and remained the only ones that completed the capture of their beach within two hours. -
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a tad complicated as it is not truly considered a ‘battle’. However, it remains to be one of the most important events that Canada has taken part in. After Germany invaded and took over the Netherlands, the Dutch Royal family took shelter in Ottawa, Canada. During 1945, Canada was responsible for liberating Netherlands. As thanks, the Dutch royal family sent tens of thousands of tulips to Canada (Tulips being the Netherlands National flower).
