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Battle of the Atlantic
Germans used their U-Boats to sink allied merchant ships in the Atlantic, their goals was to bring down Britain which were extremely dependant on Canada and the United States for food and munition supplies. The Germans had the lead but the allies cracked the German naval code, etc and were able to win the Battle of the Atlantic. This was great success for Canada and the allies because supplies could be sent over to Britain without any delay, this also increasing Canada's economic contribution. -
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Canada at World War II
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Canada Declares War
On September the 8th there were decisions on whether Canada should join the war or not, both Liberal and Conservative parties were wanting to join the war but were only faced opposition by J.S. Woodsworth, the leader of the CCF. Two days later Canada declared war on Germany -
Creation of Britains Commonwealth Training Plan
Canada wanted to participate in the war without sacrificing lives so Canada created a training plan. This plan was for British instructors to train volunteers from all over the Commonwealth. They became pilots and aircraft servicemen in Canada. Canada's climate and massive area made training an ideal location from Europe and the Pacific. The program trained half of allied pilots and aircraft personnels in WW2 costing over 2.2 billion! This program was a success making Canada play a big role. -
National Resources Mobilization Act
Prime Minsiter Mackenzie King introduced the National Resouces Mobilzation Act, which allowed the goverment to create al the resouces in Canada to defeat the enemy when needed. King had promised there would be no concription, this Act required major enlistment. -
Japanese POW Camps
After the Battle of Hong Kong, many of Canadian troops with other allied soldiers had been captured by the Japanese were taken to POW Camps located in the Japanese empire. Prisioners were forced to do labour in horrific conditions, lacked food and water, also clothing. Prisioners also became test subjects for Japanese doctors and were used in "experiments" such as starvation and freezing. This "experiments caused half the deaths in POW camps. -
Japanese Canadians at Interment Camps
Canadians became very suspicious of Japanese spies in Canada during the Pacific War. These camps were ran by the government and Japanese were forced to attend. Under the Internment, around 22,000 Japanese Canadians weren't allowed within 160,934 kilometers of the coast, also needed to move inland to camps where they were to be detained till the end of war. Internment Camps weren't as bad as POW camps. -
Dieppe Raid
During the experimental raid on the German-occupied French port of dieppe, the Second Canadian Division were so eager to fight in war because of years of training. They were chosen as the main force of attack against German defenses. The raid was a horrific defeat for the allies due to a German convoy. Communications between ships and troops were poor, tanks were immobile on pebbled beach, and Germans soldiers stationed on the alongside the English Channel could easily machine-gun Canadians. -
Invasion of Sicily and Italy
Allies invaded Sicily and Italy to recapture Eorupe, Canadian soldiers also participated. Sicily was captured successfully within 2 weeks, Italy was captured with a bit for difficulty, and then the allies took over Rome on June the 4th, 1944. -
Battle of Ortona
Canadian soldiers encountered German troops as they fought to capture the medieval coastal town of Ortona during the allies' campaign through Sicily and Italy. This battle was tought for Canadians but they still won losing a staggering 1372 soldiers. -
D-Day / Invasion of Normany at Juno Beach
On this day, allies planned to invade Normady in order to advance through Europe. The invasion was very dangerous and many casualties were resulted. The allies were successful as they kept an attack secret from the Germans, they also had immense air and naval support. -
Freedom of the Netherlands
While the allies were attacking Germany, Canadians were sent to Netherland to free them. Fighting was slow and casualities were high. Germans eventually had to surrendur to the Canadians on May the 4th, 1945. Canadians began dropping food and fiel to starving civilan of the Netherlands. This was a significant event in Canada's war effort as they fought hard to free the Netherlands. Till this day both countries had a special relationship. -
Victory in Europe
Allies attacking from the West and Russia attacking from the East, Germany was surrounded and was forced to surrender on May the 7th 1945. The defeat of the Germans was celebrated one day after on VE Day. This mean't World War II had endede in Europe. -
Victory in Japan
The Pacific war progressed, the United States made the first uses of the atomic bombs in war, destroying 2 major cities in Japan. The Japanese goverment and the treat of the new weapon made them surrender to the allies. This marked their defeat on V-J Day ending World War II.
