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Germany invades Poland
An official start of the World War Two.
As Germany attacked Poland, the Allies joined the fight. Britain and France turned their faces to the open scale warfare and commenced to provide protection to other countries. Canada was autonomous country already and there was no obligation for Canada to enter the war. -
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World War Two
The most tragic event in the history of mankind. The World War Two cost around 73 000 000 lives around the world. Was started by Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler in purpose of expanding his country and getting power over "less developed" nations and communists -
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Battle of the Atlantic
This battle was the longest and the most intense and stressing. The warfare was very strategic, despite it was in the ocean. German U-boats were used against allied forces and US later.
The submarine and warships were dominating in the open water area. Almost 37 000 Ally sailors died during the whole campaign but as the war finished, the whole operation in the Atlantic stopped. -
Canada declares war
As conscription could have separated Canada again, King (The Prime Minister during that time) said "So long as this government may be in power, no such measure shall be enacted." The economy was suffering and the war could have boosted the industrial production and let people have work at factories working for the war. -
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Total War
The war effort required a good systematic administration and therefore the Department of Munitions and Supply was established. Howe, the leader of this organization, opened Crown Corporations, businesses that belong to the Government and brought new engeneer plans for military tanks and planes and general war demands. WIth his control over everything, Canada's war effort and production was on the peak. -
Evacuation at Dunkirk
Germans reached the English Channel and came from all sides to the allied forces, so the only way to go was the French port of Dunkirk. Every single boat was filled with soldiers that escaped the port in hope to reach the English territory. The journey ended on June 4, 1940 -
France surrendered
Germans had a very powerful and strong army, so France could not stand a chance against it. Al the troops were killed easily and finally France surrendered, leaving the Commonwealth and Britain against Nazi Germany -
Operation Barbarossa
The new controversial operation was started by Hitler against his non-combatant ally Soviet Union. The Union was not ready for the attack and the Brest Fort (the first open warfare on the territory of USSR) was completely destroyed. Hitler's plan was to attack 3 main cities: Moscow (the capital), Leningrad (the north port with the open passage to norhtern seas) and Stalingrad. -
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Siege of Leningrad
A long military operation by German Army that held Leningrad from getting any support from Soviet army. 872 Days were incredibly hard to survive, so the citizens were eating leather, rats and other organic substances that they were able to digest as there were no goods coming to the city from outside. During that time 800,000 people, nearly a third of the population at the siege’s beginning, starved to death. -
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Battle of Moscow
The hardest operation in the history of the World War Two. Soviet army was defending the capital in the seweve freezing conditions. During 4 months from Oct 1941to Jan 1942 Soviet army was fearlessly defending their capital city. Total casualties are estimated to be between 174,000 and 400,000 for the Wehrmacht and between 650,000 and 1,280,000 for the Red Army (Moscow encyclopedia estimate). The Battle of Moscow is considered among the most lethal in history of wars. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan was at war for almost 10 years already, as the emperor beilieved that the country requires more space and he invaded China terrirories with a bright success. The Japanese strategy was to perform quick and fast pace hits on the enemy. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Hawaii. American fleet and more than 2000 people were killed and later the next day America declared war on Japan and the Axis powers -
Hong Kong
After taking Pearl Harbor, Japanese powers turned to the British colony Hong Kong. The battle lasted for 18 days of fighting Japanese took over Hong Kong and killed all defenders, taking some as prisoners. Severe humiliation and camps turned the life of Prisoners of War extremely hard -
The Raid on Dieppe
The massive battle that lasted only 8 hours and took 907 lives of Allied soldiers. Britain suffered a huge failure. Almost 1950 people were taken prisoners and this event forever changed the attidudes of both sides. Germans gained confidence and saw how weak are the allies. There was no good result for the British side, they just lost a lot of soldiers for no good reason. -
Battle of Sicily
Forces of Britain and Canada started a military campaign against Italy on the south shore. After 38 days of struggle and 562 casualties on the ally side, the island was taken by Allies. This victory led to the crash of Mussolini politics, later he was kicked out of the government as it surrended. But Germans were still fighting for Italy. -
Battle of Ortona
This battle was a significant signal that the allied forces have their own power. Canadians showed their courage and skills in fight while they were trying to capture Ortona.
Suffering only 1372 casualties, the city was taken by Canadian and British troops and they continued to go to the northern parts of Italy. In total, around 6000 Canadians were killed on the territory of Italy. -
D-Day: The Normandy Invasion
On that day, the massive scale warfare was started on the north shore of France. It was called "Operation Overlord" It was planned to avoid the same situation like at Dieppe. The Ally forces used Paratroopers who flanked the enemy and with the surprise attack used to immobilize German artillery and troops. The weather also played the role, as it disoriented the German defence lines. -
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Battle of Rhineland
Forces were concentrated on taking back the territory of Rhine River and Netherlands. The battle was won again by the Allies and only 23 000 killed compared to 90 000 German soldiers, 52 000 were taken as prisoners. -
Victory
Germany surrendered to Allies and Soviet Union as there was no way to continue the fight. Hitler committed suicide before the Berlin was taken. The day of May 8 is declared to be a Victory Day in Europe (VE) day. It is celebrated in Russia on May 9. -
Manhattan Project
Americans launched the first atomic bomb project against Japan and on that day dropped one over Hiroshima. In several days, the second bomb was thrown on Nagasaki. The destruction was devastating and killed more that 100 000 people. -
Japan surrenders
As military power of US was much stronger, and 2 atomic bombs brought so much death on the population of Japan, the emperor surrendered to US.
The WAR ENDED
