-
The beginning of World War 2
Britain and France realized there can be no more appeasement. They declared war on Germany. Therefore, WW2 begins. -
Battle of Britain
July to October 1940, Canadian fighter pilot helped seal the Allied victory. Canadian pilots in the Royal Canadian Air and the Royal Air Force fought alongside other Allied pilots in the air. At sea, Canadian ships helped to ensure that vital supplies crossed the Atlantic. -
Battle in the Atlantic
The German navy intensified its campaign of submarine warfare against the Allied naval convoys, which endeavoured to supply a besieged Britain.
By March 1941, the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, attempted to counter the U-boat threat by ordering the RN to establish a supply base in Iceland. RN warships were to escort vulnerable supply ships from Ireland to Canadian waters. With the aid of the RCN, warships guarded supply convoys, laden with vital food supplies and other war materials. -
Battle of Hong Kong
In December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, bringing the United States in to the War. Canada joined its allies in declaring war on Japan.
The Canadian troops were also first to see active battle in the war. -
Battle of Dieppe
By August 1942, the allies sent Canadian and British troops, to test the German forces along the French coast at Dieppe. The allies hoped to worry the Nazis and act as a dress rehearsal for the full scale Allied invasion. However, German were ready for the attack, this lead 907 Canadians, including 56 officers, lost their lives in a battle that lasted for only nine hours. A total of 3,369 men were killed or wounded. -
Air War
Engaged in the dangerous job of bombing enemy targets at night. On 17 May 1943, Canadian bombers took part in the daring raid on hydroelectric installations in the Ruhr valley of Germany. The goal was to cripple German industry and shorten the war. -
Battle of Italy
Canadian and German troops clash daily, in bitter, house-to-house fighting. Snipers, booby traps and land mines were a constant threat as every building gained brought about a terrible cost in blood. Finally, Canadian take full control of Ortona. Canadian casualties for the month of December 1943 near 2400 men, effectively taking the 1st Canadian Division out of the war for a short period in order to rest its wounds. The Battle for Ortona has been won by the Canadian. -
D-Day
The military planners had given Canada a major role on D-Day: to take one of the five designated beaches where Allied forces were to land to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. The Americans had Utah and Omaha beaches in the west, then came the British at Gold, then the Canadians at Juno Beach and finally the British at Sword on the east.
The soldier landed at Juno Beach, and they faced underwater obstacles, land mines, barbed wire, and heavy machine- gun fire from the Germans. -
Battle of Europe
Canadian forces continued to press forward in Italy and Western Europe. Some of the toughest fighting fell to Canadian soldiers, who lost 1000 men for each of the remaining months of the war. Canadian units had to clear German forces from the channel ports. As the Nazis retreated from Holland, the flooded the lowlands. Canadian troops pushed the Nazis out from the dykes and towns of the Netherlands. The German generals surrendered to the Canadian troops. -
Battle in Pacific
The allies needed soldiers who could speak Japanese and Chinese to serve behind enemy lines. British and Australian forces pressured the Canadian government to recruit Chinese Canadians.
Japanese Canadians faced even greater hostility and distrust. After pearl Harbor and the fall of HK, they were seen as a potential traitors. Many Japanese Canadian wanted to fight for their country because they believed in the war effort and wanted to prove their loyalty to Canada. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day marked Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Atomic bombs were dropped on Japan
The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The two bombings killed at least 129,000 people, this made Japanese surrenders. -
The end of World War 2
