-
Poland is invaded
Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to invade and split Poland in half. After the Germans invaded Britain demanded Germany leave Poland by Sept. 3 or Britain would declare war. Germany did not leave. -
Battle of the Atlantic starts
The Battle of the Atlantic was the fight between Britain (and its allies) and Germany to control the Atlantic Ocean. This ocean was very important for Britain to get supplies from Canada and the USA during the war. It did not end until Germany surrendered in 1945. -
Canada enters WWII
After Britain declared war on Germany, Canada had to decide if it would as well. Canada's Parliament debated it and voted almost unanimously to declare war on Germany. -
Hong Kong is attacked
The day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they attacked the island of Hong Kong which was defended by 3 divisions of Canadian soldiers. Hong Kong was lost on Christmas Day. The soldiers there spent the rest of the war as prisoners of Japan where they were treated very poorly. -
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid was a short invasion of Dieppe, France to get information from the Germans who controlled France. It was a disaster and resulted in hundreds of Canadian deaths, especially from the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. It did teach lessons that were used on D-day 2 years later. -
Invasion of Italy begins
Canada, along with Britain and the USA invaded Italy at the island of Sicily. After capturing Sicily the mainland was invaded. Eventually Italy would surrender, leaving only Japan and Germany as opponents in WWII. -
D-Day Invasion
D-Day is the name for the invasion of Normandy France by Canada, Britain and the USA. Canada invaded at Juno Beach and captured more land from the Germans than either of its allies. It was the largest invasion from sea to land ever. -
Conscription for Overseas service begins
Earlier in the war Canada imposed conscription but only for service in Canada. By 1944 there were enough losses that the government decided it needed to send conscripted soldiers overseas. -
Indigenous Men not allowed to Be conscripted
Early in WWII Canada conscripted men across Canada to defend Canada IN Canada. By 1944 there was pressure to force men to serve Canada overseas. This created a problem because the treaties between Canada and the different indigenous people stated that indigenous men from bands that signed Treaties 3,6,8, and 11 (mainly in Western Canada - 20% of all indigenous men) could not be conscripted. The government then decided to honour this part of the treaties and stopped conscripting these men. -
Netherlands are Liberated
Germany had controlled the Netherlands since the start of WWII. The Canadian army was given the job of freeing the Netherlands from German control. Canada receives over 10,000 tulips from the Dutch people every year as a thank you. -
V-E Day
On May 7, 1945, the German army surrendered entirely to the Allies. The next day, Canada and its allies declared it V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day). This left Japan as the only remaining opponent in the war. -
Atomic Bomb is dropped for first time
The United States Air Force dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on the Japanese city of Hiroshima to encourage Japan to surrender in WWII and avoid the need to the US to invade. The bomb used uranium that was mined in Canada as its radioactive material. -
V-J Day
V-J Day (Victory Over Japan Day) marks the day that the USA announced that Japan had surrendered to the USA and its allies. This fully ended WWII.