Canada enters WWII
Battle of Britain
Amid the second year of Word War Two - July 1940, Hitler’s plans to attain European-superiority sieged onward by confronting Britain’s RAF in an aerial battle. Predicting an easy victory, Hitler began 'Operation Sealion' – German intelligence's code name for the Battle of Britain. This was WWII’s first major aerial battle, with Germany’s success depending primarily on domination over British air. Through challenging the British in airborne battles, as well as airstrikes targeting RAF airports and civilian locations, Germany prepared for quick victory over the outnumbered RAF, dubbed even by Churchill, “The Few”. Unprecedented to Germany’s vast air force, “The Few”, were resilient and skilled pilots. Hitler’s unexpected frustration mounted as stalemate inconceivably progressed. At last, Germany discontinued it's aerial efforts on a victorious Britain, turning instead to Russia. Britain’s success was astonishing, and can be measured simply by viewing the battle’s statistics: the Axis’ losses outweighed the Allies’. In the face of Germany’s mega military prowess, Britain single-handedly maintained staunch valour and determination to ‘keep calm, and carry on’. This immovable resolve beckoned their impossible victory.
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Battle of the Atlantic
How do you force an entire nation into submission? By starving it. The Germans believed this was the case at the start of World War II on September 1, 1939. As the surrounding countries fell, only Britain was left. After an unsuccessful attempt to control the air across the English Channel, Hitler and his Naval Admiral Karl Donitz decided to starve it by cutting off all trade from North America. However, this would prove to be a costly conflict for both sides, as hundreds of ships and submarines were sunk.
Battle of the Pacific
The Second World War affected many nations, and battles took place in a myriad of locations. The European Theatre is where the Allies fought Germany and Italy, while the other main war zone of the Second World War was the Pacific Theatre. War in the Pacific was where the United States and Japan had most of their WWII conflict. Although the primary combatants in the Pacific Theatre were the American and Japanese, countries allied with those nations also participated in this side of the war. Canadians were among the other Allied men who served in this brutal and dangerous war zone. Though their troops were small in size compared to the primary forces, the Canadians still made an impact in the Pacific Theatre. Throughout the Pacific War, significant battles took place on multiple islands, starting with the horrific bombing of Pearl Harbour. The defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific during August 1945 was the end of World War Two, as Germany had been previously defeated a few months prior. Canadian involvement in the Pacific Theatre was small, however, the Canadians who were part of air, naval, and army troops for Canada were courageous people. The differences made by these exceptional soldiers added to Allied victories, and helped bring about the end the Second World War.
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