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World War II Begins
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Battle of The Atlantic (BOTA)
"The war against the U-Boats... was the formative experience for the [Royal Canadian Navy]" - Department of National Defence The Royal Canadian Navy got their first single-handed enemy destruction during the Battle of the Atlantic, when U-501 was blown up and rammed into. CITATION
Milner, Marc. The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945. https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/services/history/naval-service-1910-2010/battle-atlantic-1939-1945.html -
Canada Declares War on the German Reich
CITATION
The Globe and Mail, September 11th 1939 -
Department of Munitions is Established
Greatly expanding Canada's Industrial efforts, The Department built new factories, repurposed old factories for war purposes, and oversaw the construction of Weapons, Airplanes, Ships and Vehicles. CITATION
Stacey, C.P.. "Second World War (WWII)". <em>The Canadian Encyclopedia</em>, 30 November 2023, <em>Historica Canada</em>. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii. Accessed 21 July 2025. -
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Battle of Britain (BOB)
"Hitler was preparing to launch a full-scale invasion of Great Britain. But first, he needed to dominate the airspace over the English Channel. To do so, his Luftwaffe (air force) needed to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF)." - Department of National Defence 2353 pilots and aircrew joined the fight in the Battle of Britain, supporting the Royal Air Force in their operations. Notably, there was a significant contribution from Winnipegers. CITATION
Department of National Defence, 2024 -
The Defence of Hong Kong (DHK)
"As tension in the Pacific grew, the vulnerability of the outpost of Hong Kong became more and more apparent" - Department of National Defence Sailing from Vancouver, the Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers were sent off to Hong Kong. Despite having no training on being front-line soldier, they were sent under the impression that Japanese attack was not imminent, unfortunately just a few weeks after their arrival, they were proved wrong.
CITATION
Department of National Defence, 2024 -
BOTA: The Royal Canadian Navy sinks its first U-Boat, U-501
CITATION
Department of National Defence, 2024. https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/services/history/naval-service-1910-2010/battle-atlantic-1939-1945.html -
The Dieppe Raid (TDR)
"The Raid on Dieppe would offer invaluable lessons that ultimately led to the successful D-Day invasion in 1944." - Department of National Defence With Canadian politicians anxious for Canadian Soldiers to experience battle, The Dieppe Raid was designed so Canadians could get the practice and test the equipment needed to later launch a full-scale assault against Germany. CITATION
Department of National Defence, 2024. -
IC: The Italians surrender unconditionally
SEPTEMBER: Despite the Italians surrender, the Germans quickly took over the country.(Please note that the Italian surrender occured as part of the Italian Campaign, but this software would not let me save the month and the year without a day as well) CITATION
Department of National Defence, 2024 -
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The Itallian Campaign (IC)
The invasion of Sicily is considered a "Prelude to the Invasion of Mainland Europe" - Department of National Defence The Invasion of Sicily is Important because it helped to secure a necessary airbase that would later be crucial to the liberation of Italy CITATION
The New York Times, 06/05/1945
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Department of National Defence, 2024. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/italian-campaign -
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The Normandy Campaign (NC)
The Canadians, allied with soldiers from both Britain and America landed on D-Day (The First Day of the Normandy Campaign) on a section of beach known as Juno Beach. Canadian Soldiers engaged in brutal fighting but played an important role in an even more important battle. CITATIONS
Department of National Defence, 2024
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Stacey, C.P. "Second World War (WWII)". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 30 November 2023, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii. -
World War II Ends