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The Invasion of Poland | Where: Poland
Beginning of Second World War
The NAZIS used ''Blitzkrieg'' tactics, which helped them sweep through Poland encountering very little resistance.
France and Britain immediately declared war on Germany.
Canada declared war a week later. Quebec supported Canada on the condition of no conscription. -
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The Phony War | Where: Western Europe
PictureAllied troops and Canadian soldiers waited for Germany to attack Western Europe. But Bad weather and indecision prevented this from happening. -
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Battle of the Atlantic part 2
Map (Picture)The development of sonar also helped the Allies to detect the enemy submarines by using sound waves. By the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Navy had expanded to 370 ships and almost 100,000 personnel. Over 2,000 members of the navy lost their lives in combat. Merchant sailors who were not in the armed forces also played a large role in the battle as they manned the freighters that transported war materials to Europe and were exposed to great danger as their ships wwere very lightly armed. -
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Battle of the Atlantic part 1 | Where: Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Irish Sea,Labrador Sea, Gulf of St. Lawrence,Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Outer Banks, Arctic Ocean
PictureLongest campaign of the Second World War. Germany wanted to cut off all Allied supplies to Britain in hopes of starving Britain to submission. To protect supply ships from the German U-boats, the Royal Canadian Navy provided much of the protection with corvettes (small warships). The development of sonar also helped the Allies to detect the enemy submarines by u-boats, the Royal Canadian Navy provided much of the protection with corvettes (small warships). -
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Evacuation of Dunkirk | Where: Dunkirk, France
PictureAfter the collapse of Belgium, British and French troops retreated to the French beaches of Dunkirk and were trapped. Approximately 900 ships sailed from England and rescued 340,000 soldiers. It was a moral victory for the Allies, and saved the best of the British forces who would live to fight another day. A few weeks later the evacuation, France surrendered to Germany. -
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The Battle of Britain | Where: Britain
Picture British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe fought in the airspace over Britain. Individual Canadians served the in Britain’s air force. Britain had superior fighter planes and used radar to detect Germans, they also possessed the Enigma, which was the German cipher machine. The British was able to retrain and rebuild when the Germans changed their strategy to daylight bombing raids in London and win the battle. It was the first time that Hitler had been denied of conquest. -
Invasion of the Soviet Union | Where: Soviet Union
Hitler invaded the Soviet Union to fulfill ''Lebensraum'' and destroy communism. When 'Operation Barbarossa' began, 3 million German troops smashed into the Soviet Union. Stalin used the “scorched earth” policy against the NAZIS as they advanced. -
Pearl Harbour | Where: Pearl Harbour, Hawaii
Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base to give the Japanese Navy control of the Pacific in preparation for future attacks. On December 8th, President Roosevelt gave his famous “Day of Infamy” speech. The United States and Britain declared war on Japan. Hitler declared war on US and the US also declared war on Germany. Britain finally gains the ally it had been waiting for. Canadians also declared war against Japan and were sent to fight the Japanese in Hong Kong. -
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Battle of Midway Where: Midway Islands northwest of Hawaii
PictureWhere: Midway Islands northwest of Hawaii
The turning point in the Pacific theatre, Americans intercepted the Japanese’s planned attack and soundly defeated them. This is a turning point because it the Japanese string of victories was over. The American fleet sank the best units of the Japanese aircraft carries, which allowed the Americans to control the waters of the Pacific. After the battle, the Japanese was on the defensive. -
Dieppe Raid | Where: Dieppe, France
5,000 Canadian soldiers landed at Dieppe on the coast of France to take the beach and the town of Dieppe back from the Germans. Upon arrival, the soldiers were mowed down on the beach by German fire. 900 Canadian soldiers were dead or dying, 1,000 were wounded, and 1,900 were taken prisoner. The disaster at Dieppe taught the Allies that heavy air and sea support would be required for any future invasion of France. The lesson learned at Dieppe saved lives on the beaches of Normandy later. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad | Where: Stalingrad, Soviet Union
PictureHitler attacked Stalingrad because the city was named after Stalin and abandoned his original plan to go past Stalingrad and secure the Caucasus oil fields. By late January 1943, the Soviets had a smashing victory either killing or capturing the entire German army in the region. Stalin proved that the once invincible German war machine could not only be defeated, but defeated decisively. After, Germans suffered defeat after defeat on the eastern front as Stalin's forces moved closer to Berlin. -
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Battle of El Alamein | Where: 60 miles west of Cairo, Egypt
PictureWhen Mussolini attacked Egypt, British forces resisted this attack, and German forces went to the aid of the Italians. This decisive victory proved to be a turning point not only in North Africa, but in the entire war since it was the first time that the Allies had defeated the forces of the fascist countries. The Allies prevented the Germans from seizing the Suez Canal and denied Hitler the important oil resources of the Middle East. -
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The Italian Campaign
PictureAllied forces landed on Sicily using an amphibious attack and captured Sicily in one month. After that, Allied troops began to move into the peninsula of Italy. A French-Canadian unit (the Vandoos) succeeded in breaking through the last line of German defenses before Rome. The fighting in Italy was some of the toughest of the war, in late April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress were captured, hung, and "displayed" for several days in the streets of Milan. Important step towards liberating Europe. -
The Normandy Landing part 2
German losses were catastrophic due to their limited forces, nearly 200,000 were killed, wounded, or missing, and an equal amount were taken prisoner. The Allies finally have a foothold in Europe from which they could begin pushing back the German armies. -
The Normandy Landing/Operation Overlord part 1 | Where: Normandy, Franch
It was the most complex military operation ever attempted. The Allies planned to use naval and aerial bombardment to knock out German defenses. It was the largest Canadian military operation of WWII: 14,000 Canadian soldiers, 100 ships, and 36 bomber squadrons from the Royal Canadian Air Force. Canadian forces were assigned with the target of a beachfront code-named Juno. -
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Bttle of Leyte Gulf | Where: Leyte Gulf Philippines
PictureThe Americans took on virtually the whole Japanese fleet. The American navy sank one half of the Japanese fleet and four more aircraft carriers. During this battle the Japanese introduced the kamikaze suicide technique, the pilots would load their planes with explosives, and deliberately try to crash them into American ships. -
The Liberation of Holland | Where: Holland
Canadian forces drove NAZIS to retreat from Holland and surrender. This important victory allowed Allied troops to continue forward towards Germany. -
Hiroshima | Where: Hiroshima, Japan
Truman decided to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese City of Hiroshima. "Little Boy" was dropped on the industrial city of 340,000 people and destroyed 60,000 of 92,000 buildings. 78,000 died by the official count, and an additional of 60,000 died later of related injuries or diseases. -
Nagasaki | Where: Nagasaki, Japan
Since Japan did not surrender immediately, Truman ordered the second atomic bomb "fat man" to be dropped on the Japanese city of Nagaski. 35,000 out of 250,000 people died.
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