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Germany Invades Poland
Germany had promisd Britain they would stop the invasions but instead of doing so, they continued. This event lead to Britain and Canada declaring war on them 2 days later. This became the main cause for staring World War 2. -
Period: to
WW2
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Britain Declares War on Germany
Britain declares war on Germany because of continuous invasions. At this time Canada was still under British rule, and so declared war on Germany as well. Britain and France were the first countries to declare this war on Germany, which eventually created the start of World War 2. -
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
Denmark surrenders the day of the attack, Norway persisted until June 9, with the help of Canadian, British and French forces. Luxembourg was taken on May 10, the Netherlands surrendered on May 14, and Belgium surrendered on May 28. On June 22, France signs an peace agreement with the Germans for Northern France and a collborationist rule in Vichy. This battle is known as "the lightning war" because of the Germans fast and effective attacks on land and air. The Germans continued to invade France -
British Expeditionary Force Evacuated from Dunkirk.
Britain had entered the war with 80,000 military vehicles of all types. Unfortunatley, 75,000 of these British vehicles were left behind in the evacuation at Dunkirk. Britain turned to Canada, particularly the auto industry, to replace what had been lost. Canada had replaced all that was left behind, and produced more weaponry and other military vehicles which were also used in the Battle of Britain. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese planes bombed the American naval fleet in Hawaii. Canadian forces fought direct combat with the Japanese almost immediately at the Battle of Hong Kong for destroying something of the Allied forces. The colony surrendered but many Canadians were captured and became prisoners of war. Many prisoners had died before Hong Kong was released. -
Raid on Dieppe
Troops of the Canadian 2nd Division formed the majority of the Dieppe Raid. The idea was to launch a large scale raid on the French coast, destroy German equipment, and take back Dieppe. While many men were lost and the raid did not meet most of its expectations, many feel that the lessons learned played an important role in the success of later actions. -
Italian Invasion
By mid-August, the Allies controlled Sicily. The invasion was at the time, the largest coast invasion in history. The italians surrendered, but the Germans came into power. Canadians fought in brutal combat pushing the Germans back, and forcing them to retreat. The victory allowed for another Allied invasion in France, to force out the Germans. -
D-Day
Five heavily secured beaches in Normandy were attacked. Canadians were responsible for Juno beach. 3 million Allied soldiers arrived on the beaches of Northern France. This caught the Germans by surprise, and were unable to counter-attack because they did not have enough soldiers. The allies fought their way through France and Belgium and into Germany. Leading up to the surrender of Germany. -
Freedom from German Forces
Allied troops reached Paris, freed French forces, and by September, the Allies reached the German border. By December, all of France, most of Belgium, and part of the southern Netherlands were free from German rule. Canadians fought with British soldiers in the freeing of these countries. -
Germans Surrender
German forces on the British and Canadian front surrender. Adolf Hitler commits suicide, on April 30, knowing he would not win. The Canadians, along with the British free Holland, giving the Germans no hope to win, ending the war on May 7, 1945. Because of Canada's role in freedom, a close relationship between these countries still remains today.
