• Attacks on North America during World War II
• Battle of the St. Lawrence

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Invasions of Europe

Canadian forces in Italy advancing from the Gustav Line to the Hitler Line

Buffalo amphibious vehicles taking troops of the Canadian First Army across the Scheldt in Holland, September, 1944.

The 1st Canadian Division and the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in Operation Husky, 10 July 1943 and also the Allied invasion of mainland Italy on September 3, 1943. Canadian participation in the Sicily and Italy campaigns were made possible after the government decided to break up the First Canadian Army, sitting idle in Britain. Public pressure for Canadian troops to begin fighting forced a move before the awaited invasion of north-eastern Europe.^[8] Troops fought on through the long and difficult Italian campaign until repatriated to North-West Europe in February-March 1945 during Operation Goldflake. By this time the Canadian contribution to the Italian theatre had grown to include I Canadian Corps headquarters, the 1st Division, 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division and an independent armoured brigade. Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to Canadian Army troops in Italy; Captain Paul Triquet of the Royal 22^e Régiment, Private Smokey Smith of The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, and Major John Mahoney of The Westminster Regiment (Motor). Notable battles in Italy included the Battle of Ortona and the Hitler Line.

On June 6, 1944, the 3rd Canadian Division landed on Juno Beach in the Battle of Normandy and sustained 50% casualties in their first hour of attack. By the end of D-Day, the Canadians had penetrated deeper into France than either the British or the American troops at their landing sites, overcoming stronger resistance than any of the other beachheads except Omaha Beach. In the first month of the Normandy campaign, Canadian, British and Polish troops were opposed by some of the strongest and best trained German troops in the theatre, including the 1st SS Division, the 12th SS Division and the Panzer Lehr Division. Several costly operations were mounted by the Canadians to fight a path to the pivotal city of Caen and then south towards Falaise. Some feel that Canadian inexperience during the battle to close the Falaise Gap allowed German forces to escape destruction, but by the time the First Canadian Army linked up with U.S. forces, the destruction of the German Army in Normandy was nearly complete. Three Victoria Crosses were earned by Canadians in Northwest Europe; Major David Currie of the South Alberta Regiment won the Victoria Cross for his actions at Saint-Lambert-sur-Dive, Captain Frederick Tilston of the Essex Scottish and Sergeant Aubrey Cosens of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada were rewarded for their service in the Rhineland fighting in 1945, the latter posthumously.

One of the most important Canadian contributions was the Battle of the Scheldt. The Battle of the Scheldt involved the II Canadian Corps. The Corps included the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Although nominally a Canadian formation, II Canadian Corps contained the Polish 1st Armoured Division, the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade, and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division.

The British had liberated Antwerp, but that city's port could not be used until the Germans were driven from the heavily fortified Scheldt estuary. In several weeks of heavy fighting in the fall of 1944, the Canadians succeeded in defeating the Germans in this region. The Canadians then turned east and played a central role in the liberation of the Netherlands.

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Liberation of the Netherlands

The royal family of The Netherlands eventually moved to Ottawa until The Netherlands were liberated, and Princess Margriet was born during this Canadian exile. In 1944-45, First Canadian Army was responsible for liberating much of The Netherlands from German occupation. The late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child of then Queen Wilhelmina and heir to the throne, sought refuge in Canada with her two daughters, Beatrix and Irene, during the war. During Princess Juliana’s stay in Canada, preparations were made for the birth of her third child. To ensure the Dutch citizenship of this royal baby, Canadian Parliament passed a special law declaring Princess Juliana’s suite at the Ottawa Civic Hospital “extraterritorial” (or Dutch territory). On January 19, 1943, Princess Margriet was born. The day after Princess Margriet’s birth, the Dutch flag was flown on the Peace Tower. This was the only time a foreign flag has waved atop Canada’s Parliament Buildings.

In 1945, the people of the Netherlands sent 100,000 hand-picked tulip bulbs as a post-war gift for the role played by Canadian soldiers in the liberation of the Netherlands. These tulips were planted on Parliament Hill and along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway.

Princess Juliana was so pleased at the prominence given to the gift that in 1946, she decided to send a personal gift of 20,000 tulip bulbs to show her gratitude for the hospitality received in Ottawa. The gift was part of a lifelong bequest. Since then, tulips have proliferated in Ottawa as a symbol of peace, freedom and international friendship. Every year, Canada’s Capital receives 10,000 bulbs from the Dutch Royal Family.

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Canada during the war

One of the major Canadian contributions to the Allied war effort was the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the largest air force training program in history. Over 167,000 air force personnel, including more than 50,000 pilots^{[citation needed]}, were trained at airbases in Canada from May 1940 to March 1945.

This effort created political strain in Canada. However, the political astuteness of Mackenzie King, combined with much greater military sensitivity to Quebec volunteers resulted in a conscription crisis that was minor compared to that of World War I. French-Canadian volunteers were front and centre, in their own units, throughout the war, highlighted by actions at Dieppe (Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal), Italy (Royal 22^e Régiment), the Normandy beaches (Régiment de la Chaudière) and the thrust into Holland (Régiment de Maisonneuve).

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The Pacific

Upon the request of the British Government, Canada agreed to send reinforcements to garrison Hong Kong, therefore freeing up troops for other British possessions in the Far East. The Department of National Defence sent C Force: 1,975 soldiers (including two civilian services officers) from the Royal Rifles of Canada (from Quebec City) and the Winnipeg Grenadiers. However, the Canadian forces in Hong Kong did not have much of an impact when Japan invaded the Crown Colony on December 8, 1941 (see Battle of Hong Kong). Those men not killed in the fighting were captured, many dying of mistreatment and vicious torture in captivity. Company Sergeant Major John Osborn of the Winnipeg Grenadiers was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his actions during the fighting. Other involvement in the Pacific occurred in 1944, the Canadian Government sent some of their Chinese-Canadian recruits into occupied Malaya as spies and trainers of the local guerrillas.

Canada also sent 5,300 troops of the 13th Canadian Brigade to participate in military operations in the Aleutians in 1943. The invasion, on 7 August 1943, also included the Canadian-American First Special Service Force. The objective was to reclaim the islands of Kiska and Attu from the Japanese, and the force saw no combat there as the Japanese had withdrawn on 28 July 1943, prior to the Allied landings. The battle was significant in that large numbers of conscripts had been included in the brigade.

Canada remained active in the Pacific theatre until the end of the war on 2 September 1945. Individual augmentees to Commonwealth forces served in various roles, including Canadian signallers in Australia, sailors with the British Pacific Fleet, RCAF airmen in Burma, and naval aviators with the Fleet Air Arm. The final Canadian Victoria Cross of the war went to one of the latter, Robert Hampton Gray, who was killed attacking Japanese shipping on the same day as the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

At the time of the armistice with Japan, the Canadian 6th Division was in training to take part in the proposed invasion of the mainland, entitled Operation Downfall. Canadian ships in the British Pacific Fleet and bomber squadrons had also been transferred from Europe with Tiger Force and were also training for their participation. The planned invasion of Kyūshū, Operation Olympic, was cancelled after Japan's surrender following the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war on Japan.

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Conclusion

Royal Canadian Army Private using artificial hand to learn penmanship during a retraining course

Canada's military deaths in the Second World War (which included deaths from wounds to the end of 1947) are recorded as 42,042. Of these, perhaps three-quarters are listed as "killed in action", while the rest died of sickness, accidents, and so forth. Several thousand Canadian pilots, for instance, died in training accidents in Canada. In addition, some 1,148 Canadian merchant seamen were killed. Canada's loss of more than 40,000 was a heavy price to pay for a small nation, though relative to population it was approximately half the burden in lives borne by Canadians in the First World War.

In 1945, most Canadians reflected on their nation's war effort with pride. Canadian forces had fought in most major theatres of war and had made major contributions to the Battle of the Atlantic, the Combined Bomber Offensive, to the invasions of Sicily, Italy, Normandy, and to the subsequent liberation of Holland. Canadian production of war materiel, foodstuffs, and raw materials had been indispensable to the Commonwealth's war effort, as had been the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Despite her small population, Canada had the 4th largest navy in the world at the end of the war (3rd largest Allied Navy)^[9], representative of a disproportionate contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic. In the course of time, Canadians would learn more about their nation's efforts on the scientific front and in codebreaking.

Moreover, Canada had emerged from the war united. Mackenzie King's Liberals were returned to power (albeit with a bare majority) in the federal election of June 1945. In Quebec, 53 of the 65 ridings went to King, a reflection of most Québécois' belief that King had done all he could to maintain his promise on conscription.

The war furthered Canadians' sense of nationalistic pride and forged closer political, economic, and military bonds between Canada and the United States. Canadians emerged from the war ready to play a major role on the world stage.

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See also

Military history of Canada: Wars since Confederation

Boer War

First World War

Russian Civil War

Spanish Civil War

Second World War

Korean War

Cold War

Vietnam War

Invasion of Afghanistan

Iraq War

• Military history of Canada
• George F.G. Stanley, Canadian military historian, soldier, designer of Canadian flag, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
• Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years

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Notes

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References

• Faces of War at Library and Archives Canada

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External links

• www.canadiansoldiers.com - extensive coverage of the Canadian Army in the Second World War.
• WWII.ca - Canada and World War II.
• Juno Beach - The Canadians On D-Day
• The Road to Victory A Dramatized Documentary of World War II on CD Originally Broadcast May 8, 1945 on CBC
• - Historic Farnborough - many Canadian troops were stationed in Farnborough (UK) during WWII and the build-up to D-Day

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