Canadian Military Contributions

Superior Essays
Canada's Contribution to the Allied Effort
Canadian Military Contributions were essential to win WWII. Ortona, D-Day-Juno Beach, and The Liberation of the Netherlands are three critical conflicts that Canadian Army and Navy conquered to deliver victory to the Allied effort. Through the hard work, courage, and great sacrifices of Canadian soldiers and the Allied forces, German forces surrendered on May 7th, 1945, and on May 8th, 1945 Victory in Europe (V-E) Day was declared. Canada proved a powerful force, an accomplished allied partner, and national pride and confidence soared.
The Battle of Ortona started on December 20th, 1943. Ortona, Italy was of high strategic importance; one of Italy's few usable deep water ports on the east coast was
…show more content…
Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German occupied France in the Normandy landings. Canadian assault troops stormed the Juno Beach shoreline in the face of fierce opposition from German strongholds and mined beach obstacles. The soldiers raced across the wide-open beaches swept with machine gun fire, and stormed the gun positions. It was hoped that the preliminary naval and air bombardments would soften up the beach defenses and destroy coastal strong points. Close support on the beaches was to be provided by amphibious tanks of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Once the landing zones were secured, the plan called for the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade to land reserve battalions and deploy inland, while the Royal Marine commandos established contact with the British 3rd Infantry Division on Sword Beach and the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade to link up with the British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on Gold Beach. The 3rd Canadian Division's D-Day objectives were to capture Carpiquet Airfield and reach the Caen–Bayeux railway line by nightfall. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, they fought their way into the towns of Bernières, Courseulles and St. Aubin and then advanced inland, securing a critical bridgehead for the allied invasion. The victory was a turning point in World War II and led to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany. 14,000 Canadians stormed the beach at a cost of 340 lives and another 574 wounded. The fighting they endured was fierce and frightening. John Keegan, eminent British historian who wrote Six Armies in Normandy, stated the following concerning the Canadian 3rd Division: “At the end of the day, its forward elements stood deeper into France than those of any other division. The opposition the

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Throughout history WW2 has killed more people than any other war, but it was actually a good thing that it happened, especially for Canada. At the time before the war the world was in a great depression, let alone millions suffering inside of Canada, but as the war was declared more and more people found jobs in the factories and soon everyone could have a job working in some way to afford necessary human needs such as food and to start up the suffering economy creating the cycle of redistribution. With those factories opening the technology and inventions for the war which would lead to them coming out to the public and not only broadening Canada’s technology and making it better, but also helping out significantly with the war. Not only did this war lift Canada out of the depression and inspire different inventions but it also raised Canada’s reputation with the brave battles that we have fought in the war and our large support with troops and supplies. A lot of people are convinced that WW2 was a terrible tragedy, but in reality WW2 was actually good for Canada’s growth and involvement in world affairs.…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vimy Ridge History Essay

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Events such as Vimy Ridge, where Canada had to fight against the German Sixth Army in a battle that no other country could win. This is the fight that would decide if Canada is truly its own nation that is able to hold its own. In the Second World War, Canada’s task was to raid a German occupied port called Dieppe. The events that followed…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vimy Ridge Essay

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages

    On Easter Monday, April 9th, 1917, Canada attacked. The first, second, and third divisions completed their attacks within a few hours, but the fourth division was delayed their victory by the Germans on Hill 145. Nevertheless, the ridge was Canada’s in three days. This was the first time the Canadian Corps fought together. The victory of Vimy Ridge determined Canada as a nation.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    How Did Ww1 Affect Canada

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages

    However, the cost was unnecessary labor from its civilians and sending unqualified young men into battle overseas against experienced naval soldiers. Britain depended on Canada’s contribution which was vital for Allied victory (Sarty). Canada wanted to prove to Britain that they were capable of such a huge responsibility. Also, Canada wanted to be more than just a colony by showing they had the man power in troops and quickly building their fleet. It was a turning point for the Canada because they became the third largest navy in the world which proved they were more than just a small colony.…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Canada 's Role in World War II was Significant Canada joined World war II on September 10th 1939, almost at the beginning of the war. Canada did not have had to join the war but, they did anyway. Canada had one of the strongest defences any country could desire. They came to the aid of almost anyone who needed it immediately.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    World War I was one of Canada’s first chances to prove that Canada was ready to be set onto the world stage. One of Canada’s proudest moments was no doubt the Battle of Vimy Ridge. In that battle, the Canadian Corps successfully captured a strategic hill overlooking a large plot of land over France (Newman 117). This battle was unique as it implemented many solutions in an effort to overcome the power of trenches, and that both British and French troops had both tried to take the ridge with little success (Foot, “Battle of Vimy Ridge”). Once the Canadian Corps was tasked to take this ridge, they came up with new ways to get troops across a region that was already heavily fortified by German defenses (Newman 119).…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Canada's greatest contribution to World War Two would be the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan(BCATP). This was a training program for pilots in the war. They needed more pilots for the war. The British expected that the Royal Air Force (RAF) would absorb not only commonwealth air training graduates without restrictions, but also Canadian graduates. Instead, the Prime minister Mackenzie King demanded that Canadians be identified as members of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), by their shoulder badge.…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Royal Canadian Navy

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Battle of the Atlantic is Canada’s greatest contribution to the victory of World War II. Firstly, the Royal Canadian Navy successfully defended the supplies being transported over to Britain while they were in battle against Germany. Secondly, various Canadian organizations cooperated in order to improve battle conditions when the Royal Canadian Navy reached the brink of failure. Finally, the Royal Canadian Navy made many improvements to crews and vessels. Canada’s naval force, organizations and methods of improvements to the RCN were 3 major contributions to the victory of World War II.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Canadian soldiers did duty in some capacity in every continent, and the tasks they performed were of such diversity as to defy enumeration. The Canadian field army was denied large-scale action for a long period, but when its time came it played distinguished part in two of the three great European campaigns which produced the defeat of Germany: that in Sicily and Italy beginning on 10 July 1943, and that which began with the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944.”(Government of…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dieppe Raid History

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This prominent battle was significant because it tested the German army’s strength and taught the Canadian army valuable lessons which benefited Canada in the Normandy battle. Dieppe helped with technological innovations and Canada was able to prove their loyalty to the Soviet Union. Even though the Canadians lost at Dieppe, they used techniques from past conflicts, to win victoriously in…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In 1943, a was made to attack the Germans in spring of 1944. It was known as “Operation Overlord”. On June 6, 1944, Allied troops invaded Normandy beach on the coast of France. The invasion of Normandy beach was originally supposed to be on June 5th, but due to bad weather it was changed to June 6th. The allied troops of the attack were the Canada, Britain, France, and the United States.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The third Canadian division was 30 miniutes late. Canada had to go through almost 1000 woundes. This battle is significant because the Allies may not have been successful if Canada had not been involved in this battle. Even thought the third Candian divison was 30 miniutes late, Canada was the only one to go up the hill. Canada seemed more adjust.…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The invasion of Normandy was one of, if not the most important victory the allies ever had during World War II. With this victory, the United States, British and Canadian forces began pushing inland towards Germany to suffocate Hitler and his forces from the West while Stalin and his troops attacked from the East. Without this victory in Northern France, Europe and the rest of the world could look much differently than it does today. The plan for an offensive to attack Germany by crossing the English channel was talked about ever since the United States entered World War II.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    D-Day, which occurred on June 6th 1944, marked the start of the allied campaign to liberate North-West Europe from Germany’s control. It is the largest amphibious attack in history, with over 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops landing simultaneously along a 50 mile stretch of 5 beaches in Normandy. The battle, codenamed Operation Overlord, spread across the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, and utilised the latest technology available at the time. Stemming from Newton’s Principia, tide prediction machines were a crucial addition to the D-Day landings.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    D-Day At Normandy

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Battle of Normandy was an invasion initiated by the forces of western allies in Normandy in 1944, during the operation overload during the Second World War, it cost the allies more than 9,000. Although they did win the battle that was so significant it was and still is the largest invasion in history that has ever existed. What happened during D-day at Normandy and how did it affect the war? The soviets gained ground at Stalingrad and at North Africa, the Stalin continued to call for an invasion of Europe after Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin all met up in Tehran for a conference.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays