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Invasion of Poland
German forces move into and invade Poland from the north. south, and west. Poland divided between Germany and Soviet Union by Oct. 6. -
Declaration of War
Britain & France declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, whom they are allied with. Allied troops positioned along France's German border, nothing happened for 7 months (October to April). This period was called the phony war. -
Blitzkrieg
Germany started using "Blitzkrieg" tactics to invade Denmark and Norway in april 1940. Blitzkrieg was a type of warfare that employed war planes knocking out supply lines and enemy positions, followed by lightning fast "Panzer" tanks crashing through enemy lines, with soldiers parachuting in to surround the confused soldiers. Germany quickly conquered Denmark and Norway. -
Dunkirk Evacuation
German panzers advance to the English Channel through France shortly after taking Belgium, and surround allied forces in the port of Dunkirk. English ships of all sorts carry allied forces back across the channel to England, so they don't lose the bulk of their troops when France surrenders to Germany. 846 boats used over 8 days to bring back 340,000 soldiers. -
Desert Wars
Once Italy enters the war, British troops invade Libia, an Italian colony. In response, Italy invades Egypt in an attempt to control the Suez canal. These areas were resource rich and would give the Axis or Allies access to the Middle East. British Commonwealth forces all but destroyed Italian army by december 1940. Once Allies took North Africa, they could attack from the south up into Italy. -
French Surrender
France surrenders to Germany. Britain and it's empire stand against Germany alone at this time. -
Battle of Britain
German Luftwaffe began bombing raids to destroy the RAF. These bombings began at ports, moved to target airfields, and eventually aircraft factories and civilian areas in major cities (London). RAF countered these by bombing Berlin, created "The Blitz", the bombing of civilian centres. Over 23,000 casualties, mostly civilian. -
Operation Barbarosa
Hitler launches an attack on an unprepared Soviet Union, breaking their non-aggression act. German forces push deep into Russian territory, but aren't equipped to deal with long, cold Russian winter. In 1942, German forces launch another assault and reach all the way to Stalingrad, but stopped by winter again. after 300,000 casualties, German army surrenders in early 1943. Soviets go on the offensive. -
Operation Jubilee (Dieppe)
Soviet Union and Americans wanted a second front to stretch the German army's resources, so Allies chose to send The 2nd Canadian Division for 4 pre dawn raids on the french port of Dieppe. One ship ran into a German convoy, alerting the defenses of impeding attack. The landing parties landed late and were mowed down by machine guns in daylight, without tank support as the tanks were ineffective at moving on the pebbles of the beach. Bad communication led to more troops being sent in to die. -
Italy Campaigns
After failure at Dieppe, Allied forces felt they needed to push into Europe through the "soft underbelly" that was Italy. The success of the Desert Wars made the Italian jobs possible. The first of the battles was for Sicily, and lasted 38 days. Gradually Allied forces made their way up the island, leading to the downfall of Mussolini's downfall and surrender of the Italian government. -
D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy
Allies launch a massive invasion to take back Europe from Germans. Invasion was planned carefully and made perfect and precise. 5 seperate beaches, each with huge amounts of naval and air support, dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines and bombed defensive positions. German troops didn't know what hit them, didn't expect an attack in bad weather. -
Juno Beach at Normandy
14,000 Canadian soldiers landed at Juno beach during the first wave of the Normandy invasion. They had to make their way past German defensive lines to take the beach. By dusk they had battled 9 kilometres inland. Casualties were high, but the raid was successful- 359 canadians died, and 715 were wounded. -
Battle of The Scheldt
After weeks of endless fighting, Allied forces were able to advance through France and Belgium towards Germany. The campaign lasted 11 months, and the Allies were recognised as liberators of Europe. Canadians were assigned to clear enemy troops from the Scheldt river in Belgium. The schelt was tactically important because it allowed access to the sea, which the German forces still controlled. Fighting lasted for a month before the river and surrounding areas were secure to move Allied supplies. -
Battle of the Rhineland
175,000 Canadian soldiers, along with Allied troops of other nations, began to drive the Germans out of the netherlands, back across the Rhine River. Heavy flooding and mud coupled with German resistance made for slow fighting with high casualties. Close to 23,000 Allied soldiers were killed, 5000 of which were Canadians. German forces lost 90.000 men, 52,000 of which were taken prisoner. On March 10th, German troops drew back to the east bank of the Rhine, allowing Allies to liberate Holland. -
Liberation of The Netherlands
The Allies faced a hard battle after winning the Rhine, because of Germany nearly destroying Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as well as flooding the country side. Supplies were cut off and many men starved, which was only worsened when wintertime came. It took a month of fighting to drive back the Germans, upon which a truce was made to supply the dutch people with much needed supplies. -
Germany Surrenders, Victory in Europe!
The Allies and the Soviet Union attacked from three sides, the Allies from the north and west, and the Soviets from the east. With no other option than to concede defeat, Germany surrenders. Adolph Hitler commits suicide in a bunker before Soviet and Allied forces can detain him and charge him with the heinous war crimes he committed.
