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Germany Invades Poland
(September 1, 1939) Hitler invades Poland. Britain and France declare war two days later. CAPTION - Refugees near Warsaw during the 1939 German invasion of Poland. (Sign reads, 'Danger Zone -- Do Not Proceed.') -
Canada Declares War on Germany
Canada declared war on Germany seven days after Britain and France did. The first Canadian troops left for England in December. CAPTION - Prime Minister Mackenzie King's request to King George VI for approval that war be declared against Germany, 10 September 1939. -
Rationing Starts in the UK
(Feburary 1940). Russia and Finland fought with each other and the battle concluded in March. CAPTION - The Ration Book became the key to survival for nearly every household in Britain. Every member of the public was issued with a ration book. -
Germany Invades a Number of Countries
(April to May 1940) Germany invaded Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.
Also on April 4, Vancouver shipyards began to build corvettes and minesweepers for action in the Battle of the Atlantic. CAPTION - View of Rotterdam, Netherlands after German bombing in May 1940. -
Communists Declares Illegal
Nazi, Fascist and Communist groups were declared illegal in Canada, and their leaders were jailed. CAPTION - Picture of Adrien Arcand in 1930. He was detained by the federal government during World War 2. -
Conscription Act / National Resources
Conscription Act Passed - Parliament passed the National Resources Mobilization Act, providing for the conscription of able-bodied men for home defence. National Resources Mobilization - The National Resources Mobilization Act responded to the public clamour for a more effective Canadian war effort that arose in the wake of the stunning German victories in Belgium and France. CAPTION - Anti-conscription rally in front of the Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, -
Houde Arrested for Sedition
Camillien Houde, the mayor of Montréal, was arrested by the RCMP for sedition in having advised Québec men not to take part in the compulsory National Registration. CAPTION - Houde was placed under arrest by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on charges of sedition, and then confined without trial. -
Battle of Britain Ends
(September 1940) The Battle of Britain, lasting from July to September, was the first to be fought solely in the air.The British victory in this battle forced Hitler to postpone invasion plans. CAPTION - The average age of an Royal Air Force pilot in 1940 was 20. The strain they were under is clearly written on the face of Squadron Leader B J E 'Sandy' Lane (centre), pictured here aged 23. He was killed in combat 2 years later. -
German Prisoner Escapes
Oberleutant Franz von Werra escaped from a train near Smiths Falls, Ontario, and returned to Europe. He was the only German prisoner of war to make it back across the Atlantic from Canada. CAPTION - Franz won Werra with his aircraft, pictured at Marden, Kent, England. -
Hyde Park Declaration
(April 20, 1941) Mackenzie King and F.D. Roosevelt signed the Hyde Park Declaration, uniting the economies of the two countries for war. (Canada) CAPTION - The Hyde Park Declaration - Statement by William Lyon Mackenzie King -
Hitler Begins Operation Barbarossa
(June 22, 1941) While the bombing of British and German cities continued, and the gas chambers at Auschwitz were put to use, Hitler invaded Russia. It was called Operation Barbarossa. CAPTION - German soldiers advancing, June 1941. -
Women Enlist in Army
(June 27, 1941) The Canadian federal government passed legislation that allowed women to enlist in the army. CAPTION - Members of the Canadian Auxiliary Women's Corps (CWAC) in August 1942. -
Japan Attacks the Pacific
(December 7, 1941) The Japanese, tired of American trade embargoes, mounted a surprise attack on the US Navy base of Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. CAPTION - Photograph of Battleship Row taken from a Japanese plane at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS West Virginia. Two attacking Japanese planes can be seen. -
Canada Declares War
(December 7, 1941) Canada declared war on Romania, Hungary, Finland, and Japan. Canada joined Great Britain and the US in declaring war on Japan after the Japanese attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. CAPTION - World War II comes to the United States as war is declared on Japan. -
Japanese Attack Hong Kong
The Japanese attacked the mainland (Kowloon) side of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong itself on December 18. Hong Kong surrendered on December 25. Numerous Canadians were killed or died in Japanese prison camps. CAPTION - Japanese troops in Tsim Sha Tsui
during the Battle of Hong Kong. -
Singapore Falls to the Japanese
(Febuary 1942) In the Pacific, the Japanese continued their expansion into Borneo, Java and Sumatra. The British fortress of Singapore fell rapidly in February, with around 25,000 prisoners taken, many of whom would die in Japanese camps in the years to follow. CAPTION - Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, Japanese officer, walks under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. -
Turning Point in Pacific War
(June 1942) The Battle of Midway, in which US sea-based aircraft destroyed four Japanese carriers and a cruiser, marked the turning point in the Pacific War. CAPTION - US troops land on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands group. American victory in the Solomons halted the Japanese advance in the South Pacific. Guadalcanal, August 1942. -
Mass Murder of Jews
(June 1942) Mass murders of Jewish people by the Nazis reached the Allies, and the US pledged to avenge these crimes. CAPTION - Hungarian Jews are selected by Nazis to be sent to the gas chamber at Auschwitz concentration camp, May/June 1944. -
Veterans' Land Act
(July 20,1941) The Veterans' Land Act made provision for returning veterans to obtain loans in order to buy land in Canada. CAPTION - Welcome Home for Warrant officer Class 2 J.R. Hutchinson. -
Battle Of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal, in the southern Solomon Islands, was assaulted by the US Marines in one of the most bitterly fought campaigns of World War II. CAPTION - Horrifying: This image of a Japanese soldier's burned head staked on a tank shocked the nation and became a symbol of the brutality of the Battle for Guadalcanal. -
Dieppe Raid
Canadian and British troops raided the French port of Dieppe to test German defences. The raid lasted only 9 hours, but of the nearly 5000 Canadian soldiers involved, more than 900 were killed and 1874 taken prisoner. CAPTION - Dieppe's chert beach and cliff immediately following the raid on 19 August 1942. A Dingo Scout Car has been abandoned. -
Germans Surrender at Stalingrad
The German army surrendered to the Soviet army at Stalingrad, the first big defeat of Hitler's armies. Battle continued to rage in the Atlantic, and one four-day period in March saw 27 merchant vessels sunk by German U-boats. CAPTION - A German prisoner of war escorted by a Soviet soldier with a machine gun. -
Invasion of Sicily
The Canadian 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Tank Brigade took part in the invasion of Sicily. CAPTION - The U.S. Liberty ship Robert Rowan explodes after being hit by a German bomber off Gela, Sicily, 11 July 1943. -
Battle of Ortona
Infantry from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada attacked Ortona, Italy. The German forces withdrew on the night of December 27. CAPTION - Canadian sniper at the Battle of Ortona. -
D-Day
(June 1944) Allies invade Normandy to begin the liberation of France .Canadian troops land on three of the five beaches. CAPTION - US Army troops wade ashore on Omaha Beach on the morning of 6 June 1944. -
Liberation of Dieppe
(September 1, 1944) The 1st Canadian Army liberated Dieppe, scene of the previous disaster. CAPTION - Dieppe Liberation. 1st September 1944. -
Second Québec Conference
The second Québec Conference of Allied leaders Winston Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt was held at the Château Frontenac in Québec City, hosted by Mackenzie King. CAPTION - US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. -
Battle of Aachen
After a fierce defence by the Germans under Gen Hermann Balck, the Allies captured Aachen, the first German city captured by the Allies in World War II. CAPTION - Machine gun crew in action against German defenders in the streets of Aachen on 15 October 1944. -
Troops Mutiny at Terrance, BC.
Officers regained control of their troops at the Terrace, BC, army base after 5 days of mutiny among soldiers, the most serious breach of discipline in the Canadian military during WWII. CAPTION - Parade of soldiers on the corner of Lakelse and Kalum. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was Germany’s last counterattack on the allies. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II. CAPTION - American soldiers of the 117th Infantry Regiment, Tennessee National Guard, move past a destroyed American tank on their march to recapture the town of St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. -
Auschwitz Liberated By Russian Troops
(January 1945) The Soviet liberation of Auschwitz, and the revelation of the sickening obscenity of the Holocaust, its scale becoming clearer as more camps were liberated in the following months CAPTION - Eyeglasses of victims. -
Russians Reach Berlin
(April 21, 1945) The Western Allies raced the Russians to be the first into Berlin, Germany and the Russians won. CAPTION - The Reichstag was the target both Soviet Marshals wanted. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
(April 30, 1945) Adolf Hitler commited suicide by gunshot. CAPTION - Front page of the U.S. Armed Forces newspaper, Stars and Stripes, 2 May 1945. -
Germany Surrenders / VE
(May 7, 1945) Germany surrendered and the follwing day was celebrated at VE (Victory in Europe) day. The war in Europe was over. CAPTION - The German instrument of surrender signed at Reims, 7 May 1945. -
Japan Surrenders
After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders on 14 August. It was signed on September 2, 1945. CAPTION - Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on board USS Missouri as General Richard K. Sutherland watches. -
Canadian Prisoners Shot
Nazi general Kurt Meyer personally gave orders for Canadian prisoners of war to be shot. CAPTION - A memorial to the executed Canadian soldiers in the garden of the Abbaye. -
Nazi Prisoner in Canada
A Canadian military court in Aurich, Germany, found Major-General Kurt Meyer guilty of war crimes: he was the only Nazi prisoner imprisoned in Canada after the war. CAPTION - Picture of Kurt Meyer.
