Second World War (WWII)

Memories of WWI - the tragic loss of life, the heavy burden of debt and the strain on the country's unity imposed by CONSCRIPTION- made Canadians, including politicians of all parties, loath to contemplate another such experience. Initially Prime Minister Mackenzie KING warmly supported British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasing German leader Adolf Hitler, and when Chamberlain postponed war by sacrificing Czechoslovakia in the Munich Crisis of September 1938 King thanked him publicly, and Canadians in general certainly agreed. Nevertheless, the shock of this crisis likely turned opinion towards accepting war to check the advance of Nazism. Only gradually did the progress of events, notably Nazi aggression, alter this mood to the point where Canada was prepared to face taking part in another great war. King himself had no doubt that in a great war involving the UK, Canada could not stand aside.

One of the German weapons faced by Allied troops during the Second World War, the Nebelwerfer (literally "Fog thrower") rocket mortar. It was nicknamed the Screaming Mimi or Moaning Minnie because of the howling noise of incoming shells. From You Tube.

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Declaration and Mobilization
When the German attack on Poland on 1 September 1939 finally led Britain and France to declare war on Germany, King summoned Parliament to "decide," as he had pledged. Declaration of war was postponed for a week, during which Canada was formally neutral. The government announced that approval of the "Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne," which stated the government's decision to support Britain and France, would constitute approval of a declaration of war.

On September 9 the address was approved without a recorded vote, and war was declared the following day. The basis for parliamentary unity had in fact been laid in March, when both major parties accepted a program rejecting conscription for overseas service. King clearly envisaged a limited effort and was lukewarm towards an expeditionary force. Nevertheless, there was enough pressure to lead the Cabinet to dispatch one army division to Europe. The Allies' defeat in France and Belgium in the early summer of 1940 and the collapse of France frightened Canadians. The idea of limited and economical war went by the board, and thereafter the only effective limitation was the pledge against overseas conscription. The armed forces were rapidly enlarged, conscription was introduced June 1940 for home defence (see NATIONAL RESOURCES MOBILIZATION ACT), and expenditure grew enormously.

The army expanded until by late 1942 there were 5 divisions overseas, 2 of them armoured. In April of that year the FIRST CANADIAN ARMY was formed in England under Lieutenant-General A.G.L. MCNAUGHTON. In contrast with WWI, it was a long time before the army saw large-scale action. Until summer 1943 the force in England was engaged only in the unsuccessful DIEPPE RAID (19 August 1942), whereas 2 battalions sent from Canada had taken part in the hopeless defence of HONG KONG against the Japanese in December 1941. Public opinion in Canada became disturbed by the inaction, and disagreement developed between the government and McNaughton, who wished to reserve the army for a final, decisive campaign.

The government arranged with Britain for the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to join the attack on Sicily July 1943, and subsequently insisted upon building its Mediterranean force up to a 2-division corps (by adding the 5th Division). This produced a serious clash with McNaughton, just when the British War Office, which considered him unsuited for field command, was influencing the Canadian government against him. At the end of 1943 he was replaced by Lieutenant-General H.D.G. CRERAR.

The 1st Division was heavily engaged in the Sicilian campaign as part of the British Eighth Army, and subsequently took part in the December 1943 advance up the mainland of Italy, seeing particularly severe fighting in and around Ortona (see ORTONA, BATTLE OF). In the spring of 1944 Canadians under Lieutenant-General E.L.M. BURNS played a leading role in breaking the Hitler Line barring the Liri Valley. At the end of August the corps broke the Gothic Line in the Adriatic sector and pushed on through the German positions covering Rimini, which fell in September. These battles cost Canada its heaviest casualties of the Italian campaign.

The final phase of Canadian involvement in Italy found 1st Canadian Corps, now commanded by Lieutenant-General Charles FOULKES, fighting its way across the Lombard Plain, hindered by mud and swift-flowing rivers. The corps' advance ended at the Senio River in the first days of 1945. The Canadian government, so eager to get its troops into action in Italy, had soon begun to ask for their return to join the main Canadian force in Northwest Europe. Allied policy finally made this possible early in 1945, and the 1st Corps came under the First Canadian Army's command in mid-March, to the general satisfaction of the men from Italy. All told, 92 757 Canadian soldiers of all ranks had served in Italy, and 5764 had lost their lives.

The Normandy Campaign
In the final great campaign in Northwest Europe, beginning with the NORMANDY INVASION (code name Operation Overlord) on 6 June 1944, the First Canadian Army under Crerar played an important and costly part. Since the 1st Corps had been sent to Italy, its place had to be filled by British and Allied formations. The army's central kernel, however, was the 2nd Canadian Corps, under Lieutenant-General G.G. SIMONDS, who had commanded the 1st Division in Sicily; it was normally composed of the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. Throughout, the army was part of the 21st British Army Group commanded by General Sir (later Field-Marshal Lord) Bernard Law Montgomery.

In the landing phase only the 3rd Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade were engaged, fighting under the 2nd British Army. These formations landed on D-Day, experiencing bitter fighting then and subsequently. On July 11 Simonds's corps took over a section of the line near Caen, but Crerar's army did not become operational (on the extreme left of the Allied line, where it remained for the rest of the campaign) until July 23. On the 31st its front was extended to include the Caen sector.

The Canadian formations played a leading part in the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead in August, fighting against fierce opposition to reach Falaise and subsequently to close the gap south of it through which the enemy was retiring to avoid being trapped between the British and Canadians coming from the north and the Americans approaching from the south. Falaise was taken on August 16 and on the 19th the Allies finally made contact across the gap. The next phase was one of pursuit towards the German frontier. The 1st Canadian Army, with the 1st British Corps under command, cleared the coastal fortresses, taking in turn Le Havre, Boulogne, and Calais. Early in September the British took Antwerp, but the enemy still held the banks of the Scheldt River between this much-needed port and the sea, and the Canadians fought a bitter battle to open the river through October and the first week of November.

The first major Canadian operation of 1945, the Battle of the RHINELAND, was to clear the area between the Maas and the Rhine rivers; it began February 8 and ended only March 10 when the Germans, pushed back by the Canadians and the converging thrust of the 9th US Army, withdrew across the Rhine. The final operations in the west began with the Rhine crossing in the British area on March 23; thereafter, the 1st Canadian Army, still on the left of the line, liberated east and north Netherlands and advanced across the northern German plain (see LIBERATION OF HOLLAND). When the Germans surrendered on Field-Marshal Montgomery's front on May 5, the 2nd Canadian Corps had taken Oldenburg, and the 1st Canadian Corps was standing fast on the Grebbe River line while, by arrangement with the Germans, food was sent into the starving western Netherlands. The entire campaign had cost the Canadian Army 11 336 fatal casualties. Some 237 000 men and women of the army had served in Northwest Europe.

Engagement in the Air Campaign
The war effort of the Royal Canadian Air Force was deeply affected by its management of the BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN. Great numbers of Canadians served in units of Britain's Royal Air Force, and the growth of a national Canadian air organization overseas was delayed. Nevertheless, by the German surrender, 48 RCAF squadrons were overseas, virtually completely manned by Canadian officers and men. A landmark was the formation of No 6 (RCAF) Bomber Group of the RAF Bomber Command on 1 January 1943. It grew ultimately to 14 squadrons. It was commanded successively by Air Vice-Marshals G.E. Brookes and C.M. MCEWEN. The Bomber Command's task was the night bombing of Germany, a desperately perilous job calling for sustained fortitude. Almost 10 000 Canadians lost their lives in this command.

Canadian airmen served in every theatre, from bases in the UK, North Africa, Italy, Northwest Europe and Southeast Asia. Squadrons in North America worked in antisubmarine operations off the Atlantic coast and co-operated with US air forces against the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands. At one time or another 7 RCAF squadrons served in the RAF's Coastal Command over the Atlantic. RCAF aircraft destroyed or had a part in destroying 20 enemy submarines. In the Northwest Europe campaign of 1944-45, the RCAF deployed 17 squadrons, 15 of them in No 83 Group of the RAF's 2nd Tactical Air Force. During the war 232 632 men and 17 030 women served in the RCAF, and 17 101 lost their lives.

The Naval War
The Royal Canadian Navy was tiny in 1939, but its expansion during the war was remarkable: it enlisted 99 688 men and some 6500 women, and it manned 471 fighting vessels of various types. Its primary task was convoy, protecting the troop and supply ships across the Atlantic. It carried an increasing proportion of this burden, fighting grim battles sometimes of several days' duration with U-boat "wolfpacks." Its vast expansion produced some growing pains; in 1943 measures had to be taken to improve its escort vessels' technical equipment and in some cases the crew training. During the war it sank or shared in sinking 33 enemy submarines.

After the Atlantic Convoy Conference in Washington in March 1943, the Canadian Northwest Atlantic Command was set up, covering the area north of New York City and west of the 47th meridian; a Canadian officer, Rear-Admiral L.W. MURRAY, was responsible for convoys in this area. Apart from their main task in the Battle of the ATLANTIC, Canadian naval units took part in many other campaigns, including supporting the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942; and to the Normandy operations of June 1944 the RCN contributed some 110 vessels and 10 000 men.

During the war it lost 24 warships, ranging from the "Tribal" class destroyer Athabaskan, sunk in the English Channel in April 1944, to the armed yacht Raccoon, torpedoed in the St Lawrence in September 1942 (see U-BOAT OPERATIONS). In personnel, the navy had 2024 fatal casualties.

The Industrial Contribution
Canada's industrial contribution to victory was considerable, though it began slowly. After the Allied reverses in Europe in 1940, British orders for equipment, which had been a trickle, became a flood. In April 1940 the Department of MUNITIONS AND SUPPLY, provided for in 1939, was established with C.D. HOWE as minister. In August 1940 an amended Act gave the minister almost dictatorial powers, and under it the industrial effort expanded vastly. Various CROWN CORPORATIONS were instituted for special tasks. New factories were built, and old ones adapted for war purposes.

Whereas in WWI Canadian production had largely been limited to shells (no weapons were made except the ROSS RIFLE), now a great variety of guns and small arms was produced. Many ships, notably escort vessels and cargo carriers, were built; there was large production of aircraft, including Lancaster bombers; and the greatest triumph of the program was in the field of military vehicles, of which 815 729 were made. Tanks were produced, chiefly of components imported from the US. More than half the material produced went to Britain. Britain could not possibly pay for all of it; so Canada, in the interest of helping to win the war, and keeping her factories working, financed a high proportion. At the beginning of 1942 a BILLION-DOLLAR GIFT was devoted to this purpose. The next year a program of MUTUAL AID to serve Allied nations generally, but still in practice mainly directed to the UK, was introduced. During the war Canadian financial assistance to Britain amounted to $3 043 000 000.

Canada had a limited role in the development of atomic energy, a fateful business that was revealed when atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in August 1945. Canada had an available source of uranium in a mine at Great Bear Lake, which led to Mackenzie King's being taken into the greater Allies' confidence in the matter in 1942. That summer the Canadian government acquired control of the mine. A team of scientists that had been working on the project in England was moved to Canada.

Tension developed between Britain and the US, but at the Québec Conference of September 1943 an Anglo-American agreement was made that incidentally gave Canada a small share in control. A Canadian policy committee decided in 1944 to construct an atomic reactor at the CHALK RIVER NUCLEAR LABORATORIES. The first reactor there did not "go critical" until after the Japanese surrender. Canada had no part in producing the bombs used against Japan, unless some Canadian uranium was used in them, which seems impossible to determine.

Canada had no effective part in the higher direction of the war. This would have been extremely difficult to obtain, and King never exerted himself strongly to obtain it. It is possible that he anticipated that doing so would have an adverse effect upon his personal relations with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which he considered very important to him politically.

The western Allies' strategy was decided by the Combined Chiefs of Staff, a purely Anglo-American committee. Its most important decisions were made in periodical conferences with political leaders, 2 of which were held at Québec. Even to these King was a party only as host. Although Canadian forces were employed in accordance with the Combined Chiefs' decisions, it is a curious fact that Canada was never officially informed of the institution of the committee at the end of 1941. Even formal recognition of Canadian sovereignty was minimal; although the directives of the Allied commanders for the war against Japan were issued in the names of the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, the directive to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander in Northwest Europe, under whom large Canadian forces served, made no mention of Canada.

Relations with the Allies

Canadian relations with the US became notably closer during the war. From the moment King resumed office in 1935, he had cultivated his connection with Roosevelt. During the first months of the war there was little contact, but the fears aroused by early German victories immediately produced a rapprochement. On 18 August 1940 King and Roosevelt, meeting at Ogdensburg, NY, announced an agreement (not a formal treaty) to set up a PERMANENT JOINT BOARD ON DEFENCE, which met frequently thereafter to discuss mutual defence problems. In 1941 Canada's balance of payments with the US became serious, largely because of the difficulty of financing imports from the US resulting from Canada's industrial production for Britain. It was solved by the Hyde Park Declaration on April 20. Nevertheless, King sometimes worried over what he saw as a danger of the US absorbing Canada. A reaction to American activity in the Canadian North (eg, the building of the ALASKA HIGHWAY in 1942) was the appointment in 1943 of a Special Commissioner for Defence Projects in the Northwest, to reinforce Canadian control in the region.

The Conscription Issue
The worst political problems that arose in Canada during the war originated in the conscription question, and King had more difficulties in his own Liberal Party than with the Opposition. The election of 26 March 1940, before the war reached a critical stage, indicated that the country was happy with a limited war effort and gave King a solid majority. French Canada's lack of enthusiasm for the war and its particular opposition to conscription were as evident as in WWI (voluntary enlistments in Québec amounted to only about 4% of the population, whereas elsewhere the figure was roughly 10%). By 1942 agitation for overseas conscription in the English-speaking parts of the country led King to hold a plebiscite on releasing the government from its pledge. The result was a heavy vote for release in every province but Québec. Nevertheless, there was still little active enthusiasm for conscription in English Canada; when Arthur MEIGHEN returned to the Conservative leadership and advocated overseas conscription, he failed to be elected even in a Toronto constituency. But the atmosphere changed after casualties mounted.

After the Normandy campaign in 1944 a shortage of infantry reinforcements arose and Minister of National Defence Colonel J.L. RALSTON told Cabinet that the time for overseas conscription had come. King, who had apparently convinced himself that there was a conspiracy in the ministry to unseat him and substitute Ralston, dismissed Ralston and replaced him with McNaughton. The latter failed to prevail on any large number of home-defence conscripts to volunteer for overseas service, and King, finding himself faced with resignations of conscriptionist ministers, which would have ruined his government, agreed to send a large group of the conscripts overseas. Québec reluctantly accepted the situation, preferring King's to any Conservative administration, and he was safe again until the end of the war.

Making the Peace
Canada had little share in making the peace. The great powers, which had kept the direction of the war in their own hands, did the same now. The so-called peace conference in Paris in the summer of 1946 merely gave the lesser Allies, including Canada, an opportunity of commenting upon arrangements already made. Canada signed treaties only with Italy, Hungary, Romania and Finland. With Germany divided and the eastern part of the country dominated by the USSR, there was never a German treaty. In 1951 Canada, like other Western powers, ended the state of war with Germany by royal proclamation. That year a treaty of peace with Japan, drafted by the US, was signed by most Allied states, including Canada (but not including the communist powers).

Cost and Significance
The financial cost of the Canadian war effort was astronomical. Expenditure for the fiscal year 1939-40 was a modest $118 291 000. The next year it rose to $752 045 000; in the peak year, 1943-44, it was $4 587 023 000. The total through the fiscal year 1949-50, for the 11 years beginning 1939-40, was $21 786 077 519.12. Other costs due to the war have continued to accumulate. During the war, 1 086 343 Canadian men and women performed full-time duty in the 3 services. The cost in blood was smaller than in WWI, but still tragic: 42 042 lost their lives.

The significance of WWII in Canadian history was great, but probably rather less than that of WWI. National unity between French and English was damaged, though happily not so seriously as in WWI. The economy was strengthened and its manufacturing capacity much diversified. National pride and confidence were enhanced. The status as an independent country, only shakily established in 1919, was beyond doubt after 1945. Canada was a power in her own right, if a modest one. On the other hand, it had been made painfully clear that "status" did not necessarily imply influence. A MIDDLE POWER had to limit its aspirations. Real authority in the world remained with the big battalions, the big populations, and the big money.

Author C.P. STACEY Revised: NORMAN HILLMER

Suggested Reading
J.A. Boutilier, ed, The RCN in Retrospect 1910-1968 (1982); W.A.B. Douglas and Brereton Greenhous, Out of the Shadows (rev. ed., 1995) and The Creation of a National Airforce (1986); J.L. Granatstein, Canada's War (1975); Brereton Greenhous et. al., The Crucible of War (1994); Marc Milner, North Atlantic Run (1985); G.W.L. Nicholson, The Canadians in Italy (1956); C.P. Stacey, Arms, Men and Governments (1970), Canada and the Age of Conflict, vol II (1981),Six Years of War (1955), and The Victory Campaign (1960); G.N. Tucker, The Naval Service of Canada, vol II (1952).

Links to Other Sites
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is dedicated to the men and women who served with valour and distinction in Canada’s armed services. Their website features a virtual tour of the museum and multimedia online exhibits that depict how Canada met and overcame wartime challenges throughout its history.

Historica-Dominion Institute
The website for the Historica-Dominion Institute, parent organization of The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Check out their extensive online feature about the War of 1812, the "Heritage Minutes" video collection, and many other interactive resources concerning Canadian history, culture, and heritage.

THE MEMORY PROJECT
The website for The Memory Project, a major initiative dedicated to recording and preserving Canadian veterans' first-hand accounts of their military service during the Second World War and Korean War. Click on "The Memory Project Link" to access this remarkable online collection to hear interviews with individual veterans from all branches of the Canadian Armed Forces. See also related digitized artefacts and memorabilia. From the Historica-Dominion Institute.

The War Amps
The War Amps website commemorates Canada's proud military heritage and the sacrifices of Canadian war veterans. Check out the "Canada's Military Heritage" section for extensive documentation, photographs and veterans’ accounts of their wartime experiences. Features a special section devoted to the 60th Anniversary of D-Day.

Archives of Ontario
The collections held by the Archives of Ontario are a rich resource for the study of the history of Ontario and its people. Check out the historic photographs, paintings, documents, patriotic posters, personal letters, audio files, and other online features.

Juno Beach Centre
The Juno Beach Centre in France pays tribute to Canada’s valiant military and civilian effort in the Second World War. Their multimedia website offers biographies of Canadian military officers and other officials involved in the war, details about specific battles, and much more.

Remembrances: Canada and the Second World War
Click on the buttons on each page to access digitized archival material related to the war effort at home and on the battlefield. Also, check out the glossary of military terms. From the Royal Canadian Legion and the Virtual Museum of Canada.

3D Corvette: H.M.C.S. Sackville
Take an interactive multimedia tour through a corvette, one of most storied Canadian naval vessels used in the Second World War. A Virtual Museum website.

HMCS Haida National Historic Site of Canada
This site chronicles the wartime history of the HMCS Haida, the only remaining ‘Tribal’ Class destroyer in the world. From Parks Canada.

Canadian Military Heritage Society
A website dedicated to the promotion and the preservation of Canada's national and military heritage. See the latest news about re-enactment events and interesting historical details about wartime conflicts involving various units of the Canadian military. Features videos and numerous archival photographs.

Nursing Sisters in Canada
This tribute to Canadian Nursing Sisters tells of these brave and dedicated women. Their story is one of humour as well as anguish. It is a story of unyielding women who braved all the hardships of war to do their duty and serve their patients, and of those who nursed the casualties left in the wake of war. From Veterans Affairs Canada.

Saskatchewan in Two World Wars
View an interesting selection of wartime photographs depicting life on the home front and overseas at this Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists website.

Canadian History of Radar
This multimedia presentation illustrates the vital role of Canadian radar technology in the Second World War. A Canadian War Museum website.

War Brides
This Pier 21 Society website features personal stories about war brides who came to Canada to start a new life.

William Lyon Mackenzie King Diary, 1893-1950
The entire text of William Lyon Mackenzie King's personal diary reveals his unique perspective on six decades of Canadian political and social history. Accompanied by teaching resources and informative essays about the diaries. From Library and Archives Canada.

The Canadian Letters and Images Project
This extensive collection of letters and photographs brings to light personal stories about wartime life at home and on the battlefield. Produced by Malaspina University College in British Columbia.

New Brunswick At War
This virtual exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. From the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Search this online registry of information about the graves and memorials of more than 116,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who gave their lives for their country. From Veterans Affairs Canada.

Legion Magazine
Search the Legion Magazine website for online feature articles about Canadian military history.

Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War
This collection of more than 144,000 newspaper articles, manually clipped, stamped with the date, and arranged by subject, includes news stories and editorials from newspapers, mostly Canadian, documenting every aspect of the war. From the website for the Canadian War Museum.

Juno Beach
Musician Johnny Lombardi plays "I'll Never Smile Again" for fellow Canadian soldiers near the Normandy beach in 1944. From “Historica Minutes.”

Canada at War
A very detailed information source about Canadian military activity in the First World War and the Second World War. Also features an extensive database of Canadian soldiers who died in battle.

Library and Archives Canada: Military and Peacekeeping
Check out the online exhibits about the history of Canadian military and peacekeeping operations featured at the website for Library and Archives Canada. View paintings by Canada's great war artists, gripping photographs of war on the frontlines, war diaries and stories, multimedia, and much more.

Through a Lens: Dieppe in Photography and Film
The horrors of war are clearly depicted in this collection of old photographs and newsreels about the disastrous Allied raid on Dieppe in the Second World War. From Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian War Brides
This website features remarkable life stories of war brides who immigrated to Canada after the Second World War. Also offers related studies, immigration statistics, contacts for provincial war brides associations, and much more.

Voices of the Left Behind
This program helps Canadian War Children locate long lost parents and siblings. Their website features many heart warming accounts of family reunions, historical notes, contact information, and much more.

Canadian Military History Gateway
Search this website for authoritative information about Canadian military history. Provides links to websites for Canadian museums, libraries, archives, and other heritage organizations. Also features an online glossary of military terminology, educational resources and much more. From the Department of National Defence.

Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today
An informative site about the ships and aircraft of Canada's navy, from its inception in 1910 to the present day.

Images of War
The website for the Melhuish Collection of Second World War Posters. From the Region of Peel Archives.

Canadian Forces: Glossary
A glossary of military terminology used in the Canadian Forces. From the forces.ca website.

From Colony to Country: A Reader's Guide to Canadian Military History
An extensive online bibliography concerning Canadian military history. From Library and Archives Canada.

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
An informative feature about the history of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. From Veterans Affairs Canada.

Testaments of Honour Historical Archives
Stunning photographs complement this digital video archive of personal recollections from Canadian veterans who fought in the Second World War. This Blake Heathcote project has been supported by the Canadian Studies Program, Canadian Heritage, and many other organizations. Note: some videos on this site may be inactive.

The Canadian Army 1939 -1945
An illustrated and detailed history of Canadian military action in the Second World War. From the Government of Canada.

Dear Sweetheart - Letters from a Soldier
This series of letters written by a Canadian soldier to his family during the Second World War is a poignant reminder of the emotional toll of war felt by people serving in the military and their families. From The Globe and Mail website.

Return to Ortona
View a video about Canada's role in the Italian Campaign during the Second World War. Features veterans’ personal recollections and fascinating audio clips of on-the-scene reports by CBC war correspondent Mathew Halton.

The Second World War and the NFB: On all fronts
View a selection of historical and contemporary Canadian films about the Second World War. Also, check out the glossary of terms referred to in the films. From the National Film Board of Canada.

The Canadian Wartime Experience: The Documentary Legacy of Canada at War
This website examines the impact of wartime experiences on previous generations of Canadians. Peruse digitized images of ink-stained personal letters, official documents, news clippings, old photographs, and much more. Covers major military conflicts from the Red River Rebellion to the Vietnam War. Also offers learning activities that relate to primary source materials. From University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

The Liberation of the Netherlands, 1944-1945
Read online copies of on-the-scene news reports documenting the Canadian Infantry's heroic, and ultimately successful, efforts to liberate the Netherlands during the Second World War. From the Canadian War Museum.

The Last Canadian Battle and the Surrender of the German Army
Read an enlightening lecture given by Lieut.-General Charles Foulkes about the final months of Canadian military action in Europe during the Second World War. From the Empire Club website.

The Valiants
This Ottawa memorial honours fourteen valiant men and women who gave outstanding wartime service to Canada.

Camp X Historical Society
A great site for all would-be sleuths. Search for clues about the once secret history of Camp X, a major training and communications centre for Allied intelligence operations during the Second World War. Produced by the Camp X Historical Society in Ontario.

Artistic Impressions of War
Scroll down to the link to "Artistic Impressions of War." This nicely illustrated article focuses on the works of art produced by Canadian women during the Second World War. From the “Canadian Military Journal.” A pdf file.

Canada's Forgotten PoW Camps
CBC Archives takes a look back at the reality of life behind barbed wire in Canada's forgotten Prisoner of War Camps.

Internment Camps: Second World War
A listing of archived documents relating to Second World War internment camps. Provides a glimpse into the operation of internment camps in Canada. From Library and Archives Canada.

Canada's Fighting 'Van Doos'
This CBC Archives site features radio and TV clips that chronicle the history of the Royal 22e Régiment.

Military Oral History Collection
Click on "Canadian Military Oral History Collection database" for summaries of interviews with Canadian veterans about their wartime experiences. From the website for the University of Victoria Special Collections.

Winnipeg Tribune fonds
The material in the Winnipeg Tribune fonds pertaining to the Canadian Wartime Experience includes newspaper clippings and photographs of subjects relating to a number of conflicts including the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. From Archives & Special Collections, University of Manitoba.

70th anniversary of Dieppe raid
Watch a CTV News story about Canadian veterans who travelled to France to mark the 70th anniversary of the Dieppe raid. Includes archival footage of the battle's aftermath.

Onward Calgary Regiment
See a Canadian veteran's detailed first hand account of the Dieppe Raid, Operation Jubilee, which occured on August 19, 1942. Includes photos of military action.

Dieppe 70th Anniversary Feature
A selection of photographs of the Dieppe raid, which occurred in the Second World War. Not only are these photographs evocative for their portrayal of the death and destruction caused during the raid, but also for their vivid depiction of the immediate aftermath. From the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies.

Regimental History
See an extensive illustrated overview of Canadian military history at the website for The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum.

The Canadian Army Newsreels
Watched selected newsreels depicting Canadian soldiers on the battlefield in Europe. From "The Canadian Army Newsreels," a six DVD set of 106 newsreels filmed and produced by the Canadian Army Film Unit during the Second World War. From The War Amps website.

Vintage Wings of Canada
Explore this extensively illustrated site that highlights the heroes, heritage, and history of Canadian aviation.

canadiankangaroos.ca
This website is dedicated to the little-known 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment, home of the "Kangaroos". Learn about the Canadians who developed the concept and tactics of the modern armoured personnel carrier.

'We Never Lost a Battle': Devil's Brigade honoured
Watch a CTV News feature about the Canadian-American First Special Service Force, an elite Second World War commando unit also known as the "Devil's Brigade".

The First Special Service Force: Waste of an Elite Unit or Mountain 'Rangers' at the Perfect Time?
A review of two books that examine the Canada's role in the Second World War First Special Service Force. From "The Journal of Conflict Studies".

Canadian Army News Reel, Sicily, July 10 1943
See a Canadian Army Newsreel about Canadian troops invading Sicily in the Second World War. From YouTube.

CANADA AT WAR
See a synopsis of a graphic noveil about the Second World War written by Paul Keery and illustrated by Michael Wyatt. From D&M Publishers Inc.