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Jewish Refugees Denied Entry Into Canada
The Canadian government did not welcome people of non-Caucasian immigrants, which included people of Jewish descent. The government denied the entry of a boat filled with Jewish refugees from Germany and sent them back. Almost everyone on board was killed. -
The Battle of the Atlantic
To maintain the war effort, Britain imported large amounts of supplies overseas. The Germans knew this and began sinking merchant fleets using submarines. Germany nearly won the battle but retreated in 1943 after suffering heavy damages from Allied forces. The Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Merchant Navy was vital in the victory. -
Canada declares war on Germany
Britain's declartion of war did not automatically commit Canada like the First World War, but there was no doubt that Canada would support the Allies. After the parliament debated the matter, Canada joined the war and promised to only send volunteers. -
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
Canadians still remembered the past horros of WWI, so most did not want to Canada to participate again. The government also wanted to avoid a conscription crisis, so they decided to sent a small number of soldiers to fight but agreed on the aiforce training plan. This was the government's plan to contribute to the war and avoiding anything dangerous. -
Canada created Dept. of Munitions and Supply
Lead by C.D. Howe, 28 crown coporations are created for large-scale production of manufactured goods for the Allies. By 1941 the number of employees in Canada's manufacturing sector increased by 50%, and by the end of the war Canada had a more highly skilled labour force. -
The Evacuation at Dunkirk
The British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops were evacuated from the Dunkirk to England. Naval vessels and hundreds of civilian boats were used in the evacuation. About 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops had been saved. -
The Battle of Britain
The battle between the British Royal Air Force and the German's Luftwaffe. The Germans failed to gain air superiority after repeared bombings of British air bases, military posts, and civilian population. Britain's decisive victory saved the country from potential ground invasion of German troops. -
Japanese Invasion of Hong Kong
The first time Canadian troops were sent to fight was to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese. However this decision was extremely controversial as they had no chance of victory. Sure enough, all soldiers sent were either killed in battle or taken prisoner by the Japanese. -
Pearl Harbour
Japanese air forces bombed an American military base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to destroy the Pacific Fleet. The next day the U.S. entered the war against Japan. Only 100 Japanese perished in the attack while America lost 2,400 men and 188 US aircrafts. -
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The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a US government research project that produced the first atomic bombs. The project included famous scientists such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Richard Feynman. Many of the scientists involved were refugees from facist regions of Europe. -
War Comes to Canada
On this day a German u-boat sank a British stream 100 miles southeast of Cape Sable in Nova Scotia. Until the end of the war, German submarines sank over 100 ships in Canadian and Newfoundland coastal waters. -
RAF Bomber Command
The Bomber Command was the Allies' plan to destroy Germany's ability to wage war. Therefore, most target cities were military or industrial facilities. Canada's contribution was an extremely powerful air strike force. The No. 6 (RCAF) included nearly 300 heavy bombers, each carry several tons of explosives. This plan has been controversial as the bombings happened at night and many civilians were killed because pilots could not distinguish between military facilities and civilian households. -
Japanese Canadian internment
Passed under the War Measures Act, it gave the federal government the power to intern all people of Japanese racial origin. Japanese Canadians were forced to move inland and all their properties were sold at very low prices. Even when the war ended they did not get them back,The Japanese Canadian Internment Camps marked the beginning of intended racism towards Japanese Canadians. -
Battle of Midway
The U.S. decisively defeated the Japanese Navy attack on Midway Atoll, causing huge casualties for the Empire of Japan. The battle of Midway effectively ended Japanese offensive power in the Pacific when the US destroyed four of Japan's aircraft carriers. The war turned from Japan on the offense to Japan on the defense. -
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe raid was an assault on the French coast port of Dieppe. This was the first Canadian engagement in the war. It was designed to test the Allies' ability to launch amphibious attacks on Hitler's "Fortress Europe." The raid was a failure, more than 900 Canadian soldiers were killed and thousands more were wounded and taken prisoner. -
Invasion of Sicily
The Allies decide to to win against Hitler's occupied Europe they must first get rid of Italy and their facist regimes. The invasion that will be known as the Italian Campaign began with the invasion of Sicily.
The Canadian Army, stationed in Britain, had not been involved in any large-scale land operations. The need for battle experience and the demand for action led to the decision to include the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade in the assault of Sicily. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Nazi Germany fights the Soviet Union for control of Stalingrad in Southern Russia, east of Germany. This battle is often regarded as the most bloodiest battle in history, as combined casualities from both sides near 2 million. This was an important battle as German forces were heavily crippled after the failed invasion. -
D-Day (Normandy Landing)
The Allies launched a full-scale invasion of Europe called “Operation Overload”, which was called D-Day. The allies started the attack by landing their troops on 5 beaches along an 80km stretch of the Normandy coast, code named Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah, and Omaha. Juno was the beach the Canadian army invaded and the Canadian navy contributed 110 ships and 10,000 sailors to the operation. -
Belgium War
The Canadians were given thetasks of clearing coastal areas in the north of France and capturing the launch sites of German rockets to stop their attacks on southern England. The Canadian army also played a leading role in opening the Scheldt estuary, the gateway to the Belgian port of Antwerp. Access to this port was essential to maintain supply lines to the Allied armies as they continued their push toward Germany to defeat Hitler's forces. -
Hitler commits suicide
After realizing it was impossible for him to win anymore, Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide pill and shooting himself. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered themselves to the Allies. -
Liberation of Holland (Nertherlands)
In the final months of WW2, Canadian forces were given the task of liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. The First Canadian Army fought German forces and then cleared northern and western Netherlands of Germans, allowing food and other relief to reach millions of people. Today, Canada is remembered by the Dutch for ending their oppression under Nazi Germany. -
VE Day
The First Canadian Army helped lead the final Allied offensive against Germany. Germany formally surrendered on this May 8, 1945, marking it Victory Day. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the first ever atomic bomb is dropped above a hospital in Hiroshima, instantly killing 80,000 people, injuring 35,000. Another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year due to fallout. US president Harry Truman made the decision to use the atomic because he predicted a greater loss if the US were to invade the Japanese mainland. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Right after the bomb on Hiroshima, the US dropped another atomic bomb, "Fat Man", on Nagasaki. This was the last major act in World War 2 and within days Japan surrendered. The atomic bombs stopped Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night, the Japanese plan of waging biological warfare upon civilian populations in Southern California.