The Second World War started in 1939, with Britain and France declaring war on Germany. This war drew in most of the countries in the world, with over 60 million deaths in total. It has now been more than 70 years since the war started, and the spotlight is on the countries that had the largest armies, navies and air forces, but the great impact that Canadian soldiers had on the war should not be lost. Many people have dismissed Canada as a peaceful, non-militaristic country, but saying that Canada played an insignificant part in the Second World War is simply inaccurate: manpower does not equal effectiveness. The actions taken and victories gained by the Canadian Forces in the Second World War have had large and visible impacts on the final
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Behind this success was the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, hosted by Canada’s government that would train thousands of airmen for both the RAF and RCAF throughout the war, allowing the Allies to bear sustained losses (CanadianSoldiers). Over 240,000 men and women would serve in the RCAF alone, which was active in almost every theater of the war; from playing an anti-submarine role in the Battle of the Atlantic, or the No. 6 RCAF group which conducted night bombings of Germany late into the war (thecanadianencyclopedia). Apart from those roles, the RCAF was also heavily involved with the decisive Allied victory in the Battle of Britain. In late 1940, the German army took control of France, forcing British troops off the continent, meaning that their last major target was Britain. Knowing that Britain could not launch an effective counterattack, Germany’s “Operation Sea Lion” was put into action in order to cripple Britain’s forces by bombing strategic targets, and gaining air supremacy (Giesler 3). The Royal Canadian Air Force stepped up to the task of defending British airspace in 1940, with many Canadians serving in the squadrons of Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes that inflicted heavy losses on the Luftwaffe. With full control of the skies, the Battle …show more content…
The Canadian military involvement was marked by decisive victories, such as Juno Beach, the offensive in Italy, the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of Britain. There were few operational failures, and the ones that did occur such as the Raid on Dieppe also provided valuable information on how to carry out future assaults, paving the way to the Normandy campaign; as mistakes force the development of more advanced techniques. Through six years of war, over a million men sent overseas and 45,000 casualties; it is clear that Canada was a formidable opponent and was instrumental in the downfall of Nazi Germany, ending the Second World
Behind this success was the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, hosted by Canada’s government that would train thousands of airmen for both the RAF and RCAF throughout the war, allowing the Allies to bear sustained losses (CanadianSoldiers). Over 240,000 men and women would serve in the RCAF alone, which was active in almost every theater of the war; from playing an anti-submarine role in the Battle of the Atlantic, or the No. 6 RCAF group which conducted night bombings of Germany late into the war (thecanadianencyclopedia). Apart from those roles, the RCAF was also heavily involved with the decisive Allied victory in the Battle of Britain. In late 1940, the German army took control of France, forcing British troops off the continent, meaning that their last major target was Britain. Knowing that Britain could not launch an effective counterattack, Germany’s “Operation Sea Lion” was put into action in order to cripple Britain’s forces by bombing strategic targets, and gaining air supremacy (Giesler 3). The Royal Canadian Air Force stepped up to the task of defending British airspace in 1940, with many Canadians serving in the squadrons of Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes that inflicted heavy losses on the Luftwaffe. With full control of the skies, the Battle …show more content…
The Canadian military involvement was marked by decisive victories, such as Juno Beach, the offensive in Italy, the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of Britain. There were few operational failures, and the ones that did occur such as the Raid on Dieppe also provided valuable information on how to carry out future assaults, paving the way to the Normandy campaign; as mistakes force the development of more advanced techniques. Through six years of war, over a million men sent overseas and 45,000 casualties; it is clear that Canada was a formidable opponent and was instrumental in the downfall of Nazi Germany, ending the Second World