Canada’s Role in WWII.

From the Beginning…Canada entered the 1939-1945 War on 10th September 1939. Within two months the first contingents of Canadian troops arrived in the United Kingdom to supplement the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF). Forestalled by the evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk and the Channel ports, Canada’s role became one of defence of the British Isles. Far across the globe a small force of Canadians arrived in Hong Kong in time to meet the Japanese invasion, and fought with the British, Indian and Hong Kong forces in defence of the colony until the surrender on Christmas Day 1941. |
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DieppeOn l9th August 1942 troops of the Canadian 2nd Division |
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The Cost of BattleOn 3rd September a combined Canadian, British and American force made the first full-scale invasion of mainland Europe, attacking on the ‘toe’ of Italy and reaching Naples on 1st October. Canadian troops fought at Ortona and Monte Cassino and in May 1944 took part in the costly, but successful, attack on the Hitler line: the first major operation by a Canadian corps in the 1939-1945 War. The battle northwards through Italy continued to the war’s end and ultimately cost the lives of nearly 6,000 Canadians. NormandyLanding in Normandy on 6th June 1944 as part of the Allied invasion force, the Canadians played an important role in the battle to take Caen. They then advanced along the French seacoast to the Pas-de-Calais and took Dieppe on 1st September. Canadians fought with British soldiers in the freeing of the Scheldt Estuary and success here enabled the first Allied convoy to arrive in Antwerp in November 1944. |
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Contributions on LandSome Canadian units played a prominent part in the liberation of the Netherlands while others went on to participate in the Battle of Germany. In February 1945 the Canadian First Army |
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Contributions on the SeaDuring the 1939-1945 War the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) |
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Contributions in the AirAlthough a major task of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) |
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