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Canada declares war on Germany
Following Germany's invasion on Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3. One week later Canada declared war on Germany out of their own free will to assert independence from Britain. They declared war with the thought that there would be no conscription and that Canada would only act defensively. -
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
In 1939, the power of aerial combat was considered a factor in obtaining ultimate victory. So Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia created the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train Pilots, Air Gunners, Navigators, Bombers, and Flight Engineers for the allies. This plan had trained over 131,000 soldiers with at least 73,000 of them being Canadian, who would go on and join the RCAF. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the first Battle of the WWII to be fought in the skies. The Battle was between Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) with support from Canadian forces against Nazi Germany's Air Force Luftwaffe when Germany tried to invade Britain after their previous European invasions. The Germans could not attack by land or sea without crossing the alerting the English. After four months of combat, the RAF along with Canadian air and ground forces, reigned victorious. -
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Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong was the first land battle the Canadians fought in to defend the British Crown Colony from invading Japanese forces.Canada was sent for not being actively engaged in the war and were only sent to Hong Kong for initial guard duty due to the risk of Japan taking Britain's Colony. Despite their inexperience in battle, The Canadians fought bravely against an overpowered invasion. By the end of the Battle, Hong Kong fell, with over 290 Canadians killed and 1685 taken prisoner. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a U.S. naval base that fell victim to a surprise attack by Japanese forces. 20 navel vessels, 8 battleships, and 300 airplanes were either damaged or destroyed. 2,400 Americans died during that attack, along with a 1,000 wounded. Following the attack, Japanese Canadians were then removed from their homes and were sent to detention camps (women and children were held at livestock buildings). -
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee) was an assault by Canadian and British forces on the French coastal port of Dieppe. This was the first active engagement for the Canadian army in order to test new equipment as well as gain experience and knowledge necessary for planning a greater assaults that could defeat Germany. The raid ended in disaster with over 900 Canadian soldiers dead and at least 1874 taken prisoner. The failure of the raid did provide valuable lessons for subsequent assaults. -
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Invasion on Sicily
The invasion, or Operation Husky, was the beginning of an Allied Campaign to take Italy from Germany. The allies had the upper hand during the invasion due to a lack of German reinforcements in Sicily after Operation Mincemeat. This was a British deception allowing Germany to find false plans for an invasion west from Italy, redirecting their forces away from Sicily. Once the forces were redirected, the allies begun the invasion with success and managed to claim Sicily within 5 weeks. -
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Battle of Ortona
This Italian Campaign battle was lead by the Canadian army to free Ortona from Germany. When the Canadians arrived, they were caught in a street battle with the Germans with mines scattered all over. To avoid any recklessness, the Canadians had to blast through the walls and buildings to avoid stepping into any traps and clear a way to attack Germans, also called mouseholing. After days of constant street fighting, came to an end when the Germans withdrew, and Ortona surrendered to the allies. -
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The Battle of Liri Valley
The Battle of Liri Valley was an Italian Campaign plan to open the Liri corridor in order to liberate Rome, which was protected by the defenses of the Gustav Line, and the Hitler Line. Canadian Forces aided the attack on the Gustav Line which they would destroy after 4 days then aimed for the Hitler line, where they fell under heavy machine-gun fire but was soon breached. Once they managed to cross over the Melfa River, the fighting in Liri Valley came to an end, leading to the freedom of Rome. -
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D Day and the Battle of Normandy
The Battle of Normandy was the most pivotal battle of WWII which would lead to the liberation of France from Germany. The Battle began on D-Day, with over 156,000 men landing on the Normandy beaches with multiple assaults on each side, and ended with bloodshed on both sides but with the allies securing the beaches. After D-Day, the allies made their way through the Normandy countryside fighting German resistance, with the battle ending after closing the Falaise Gap and capturing enemy soldiers. -
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Battle of the Scheldt
The Battle of the Scheldt was an allied operation in the Netherlands in order to open a shipping route to the port of Antwerp for military supplies for troops in western Europe. The Scheldt was one of the most difficult battlefields in the war due to its German defenses, , canals, dykes and flooded lowlands. Canadian forces fought a series of German amphibious assaults due to the dykes restricting any heavy equipment. A month later, the Canadians managed to secure the port of Antwerp. -
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Battle of the Rhineland
After the Battle of the Scheldt, The Canadian army was responsible for patrolling the front line in the Netherlands and France with occasional encounters with the enemy. During this, the allies began to advance to northwestern Europe attempting to drive enemy forces to the Rhine River which would lead to Germany. The Canadian army was in charge of clearing the area between the Maas and Rhine Rivers. As they drove German forces away, they managed to liberate small towns and were hailed as Heroes. -
Germany surrenders
On May 7th, German High command Gen. Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces within northeast France. Jodl initially wished to limit the terms to the forces fighting the western allies, but American Gen.Dwight Eisenhower demanded the complete surrender or he would seal of the western front, preventing anyone to flee to the west. Jodl informed Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, Hitler’s successor, with the terms who ordered him to sign the terms, signaling the loss of Germany. -
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Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
After testing the first atomic bomb, the allies demanded the unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces with failure to comply would mean the destruction of Japan. The Government of Japan payed no attention to the terms, which led to the the U.S dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima killing 80,000 people and wounding thousands more. Even after the attack, Japan still resisted until another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later giving Japan no choice but to surrender. -
VJ-Day
Victory over Japan day marked marked the end of the war in the Pacific as well as the end of World War II. Following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the allies thereby ending the war. Many Canadians celebrated as soldiers were coming home, but soon after all the celebrations turned to looting and riots with people dying on the streets and stores destroyed. Following VJ-day, Japanese Canadians were forced to go back to Japan or relocate to the Rockies. -
World War II ends
One month after Japan announced their surrender to the allies, over 250 Allied warships were anchored in Tokyo Bay with ships from Canada, Britain, the United States, and other allied countries for the formal ceremony of Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri. The Japanese had signed twice on behalf of their government and their armed forces, and each allied country had signed on behalf of their own countries. After the ceremony was completed, the Second World was was finally over.
