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The influence of the Second World War on Canada
Canadian involvement in world war 1
Canadian involvement in world war 1
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With the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, another World War was on its way, but this time unlike WW1 Canada made an independent decision to join the war. So on September 10th, 1939, Canada officially declared war on Germany. In the midst of the war Canada and the Allies suffered a major downfall the would really test them and their desire to win the war. During the summer of 1942, the Soviet Union were rushing the Allies to attack German-controlled Europe from the west. The Allies were far from ready to launch and all out assault, but they did want to test new equipment and gather intelligence. So Allied leaders decided that the 2nd Canadian infantry Division should launch a raid on Dieppe. Unfortunately this operation was a complete failure …show more content…
from the outset. The Allies lost the element of surprise as their ships encountered a German convoy during the night.
The landing sites were poorly planned, and the Germans were able to fire shells at Allied landing crafts when they were still 10 minutes away from shore. After six grueling hours of slaughtering the raid was called off. Out of the 6033 Allied troops 4963 were Canadian, 907 of them were killed, 587 were wounded, and 1946 were captured.Dieppe was the greatest sacrifice of Canadian lives during this war.This event was known as the Disaster at Dieppe, but was a valuable learning for Canada and the Allied soldiers. It taught them that the element of surprise is crucial for success. It also taught them patience and to never underestimate your opponent. Maybe they got cocky from WW1 and thought, oh we conquered them there so it's no problem and we could do it here. Nonetheless Canadian troops in Britain spend more than 4 years preparing to invade France, which was occupied by Germany. This vent was called D-Day. Since Dieppe, the Allies had improved their landing craft and communication links. They also provided more effective air and naval support for the troops. The invasion was called “Operation Overlord” and was launched on the morning of June 6th,
1944. The 14,000 Canadians who took part in Operation Overlord were assigned to Normandy beach code named “Juno”. Here they faced intense German defenses, but they were ready ad fought their way past the German defenses. D- Day was a success, and Canadians took pride in the fact that, by the end of the day they had penetrated further inland than any other Allied forces. Junobeach.info (2012) states “Fourteen thousand young Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day. Their courage, determination and self-sacrifice were the immediate reasons for the success in those critical hours.” Canada's participation in WW2 just showed many things about Canada that are even acknowledged and demonstrated today. We showed true perseverance, as when our backs were against the wall we never gave up. When we don’t succeed at first we will come back stronger than ever. We showed our patience, our skill, our decision making, we demonstrated we are able to learn from our mistakes and improve, and most importantly I say we cemented ourselves as one of the world’s top countries. Canada is known as a country of peace today and we love to lend a helping hand, this was evident as Justin Trudeau took in more than 25,000 Syrians into Canada in their time of need back in 2015. On February 8th, 1945, almost 175,000 Canadians, the largest assault force in history, joined the Rhine offensive. In this campaign, Canadian forces successfully drove the Germans out of the Netherlands and chased them into Northern Germany. As they liberated the Dutch towns, Canadians discovered people on the verge of starvation. On April 22, a truce was negotiated to enable the Allies to provide disaster relief to the Netherlands. Canadians are fondly remembered by the Dutch as both liberators and saviors who rescued millions from sickness and starvation. Every year since the war, the Netherlands has sent thousands of tulips to Ottawa, in appreciation for Canada's sacrifice and for providing safe harbour to the Dutch royal family, which lived in exile in Canada during the war.
The Allies now commanded the high position overlooking the Douai Plain, an occupied portion of France that was controlled by Germany. The determination Canadians brought to the battle on that Easter morning is something that will never be forgotten not only by Canadians, but by other countries as well as they noticed that Canada was unafraid to get involved in war efforts. Soldiers conveyed to the world on that day, that Canada was not to be pushed around anymore, for they bore a huge conviction towards defence of what is right and
One of Canada’s largest military endeavors was the battle of Vimy Ridge during World War One. It was a fierce battle between Germans and Canadians. Canada was trying to take over the German controlled ridge, which ran from northwest to southwest between Lens and Arras, France. Its highest point was 145 feet above sea level, which was exceptionally helpful in battle because of the very flat landscape. Already over 200,000 men had fallen at Vimy, all desperately trying to take or defend this important and strategic ridge. As a result of its success in taking the ridge, Canada gained a lot more than just the strategic point. Canada was united as a nation, and the victory changed the way other counties viewed them. Canadians no longer viewed their soldiers as merely an extension of allied forces; they now viewed their troops as an independent and unified entity.
Canada was one of Great Britain’s empire who fought under British units or in the Canadian Corps, formed by the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. These Canadians who fought aside with Great Britain earned a recognition of becoming an independent strong fighting force. They earned this reputation through one of World War One’s battles called, Vimy Ridge. Canadian soldiers who were in the Canadian Corps had an awful General named, Sam Hughes who preferred to use the Ross rifle. This type of weapon was too heavy and often jammed too many times to be used as a rifle for upcoming horrific battles. Thus, a new general replaced Sam Hughes and that was, Arthur Currie. General Currie had the desire for the Canadian Corps’ four divisions to fight together to take hold of Vimy Ridge. Arthur Currie made precise plans of military tactics that no general had done to their troops. General Currie gave his troops maps and had a duplicate model of Vimy Ridge so that troops are able to have an ideal look of what they should be taking hold of. Als...
One of the reasons that Dieppe failed so miserably is that their leadership, Louis Mountbatten in particular, planned very poorly for the operation. Firstly, the attack failed to use strategies that had proved to be extremely effective, and that should have been logical. The attack took place in daylight, which was a product of the Allies woefully underestimating the German opposition. Mountbatten was quoted to calling Dieppe “a piece of cake” proving how aloof he was to the strength of the German opposition. On top of that, intelligence reports indicated that Dieppe was not heavily defended. They could not have been more mistaken. The Germans had copious advance notice about the raid, eliminating an...
A century ago, Canada was under control by the British Empire. The battles we fought the treaties we signed and the disputes we solved all helped us gain independence from our mother country “Britain”. Canadians fought a long battle protecting others, and from these battles we gained our peaceful reputation and our independence from Britain. Canada became a nation on July, 1st 1867. Although we were an independent country, our affairs and treaties were all still signed by Britain. In the next years Canada would establish its own government, and lead its own affairs. Many important events led to Canada’s independence, one of the earliest signals that Canada wanted to establish autonomy was the Chanak affair of 1921. In addition the battle of Normandy, which occurred on June 6 1944, contributed to the autonomy of Canada. The Suez Canal Crisis, which took place in the year 1956, earned Canada a place in the media spotlight, displaying Canada as a peaceful country that deserves the right to be independent. One of the final steps that aided with Canada’s independence from Britain was the Canada Act of 1982. Independence from Britain steadily increased throughout the 20th century because of political decisions made in Canada.
currently occupied by the German Army and both failed. It was left to the Canadian
One would have to admit that World War One did give Canada a reputation and Canadians pride. Canada’s accomplishments in the war, notably the victory at Vimy Ridge and Canadian troops holding against the German attack in the Second Battle of the Ypres, not only gave Canadians a reason to be proud of their country, but also let other countries to see that Canada was a very helpful and useful. Also, Canada representing itself in signing the Treaty of Versailles increased Canadian pride and further showed Canada’s contribution to the war. However, this increased Canadian pride and reputation came at a heavy price. As
From a strategic point of view the Canadians were extremely innovative in their offensive tactics and without doubt led to their success in the battle. Should the Canadians followed similar tactics of the French or British of sending their soldiers wave after wave in tightly packed groups and not using their artillery to its best use the attack likely would have befell the same fate, accomplishing little and many dead. Instead the Canadians invented a tactic of using platoons that included specialists in different weapons (bombs, machine guns, etc.). These platoons attacked in a loose formation (unlike in waves tightly packed men) making it a lot more difficult for the Germans (or any other force for that matter)...
Despite the 21 year difference between the end of World War I and start of World War II, shows the amount of confidence the one battle gave to Canada. It proves that Canada was proud of their actions and it allows one to realize how significant it was to the growth of Canada. The carry out of the victory plan during the Battle of Vimy Ridge conveyed confidence in the Canadian Army. The growth of Canada as a nation was substantially affected by the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Canada’s suitability to partake on the world stage and that they were ready for independence without other nations.
The events of July and early August 1914 are known as the sparks that lit the explosion of World War I. Uneasy tensions that had been boiling beneath the surface of Europe for many years soon erupted and with that several alliances that were formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; via their colonies, the conflict advanced rapidly. When war officially broke out in 1914, Britain joined in the defense of Belgium and in reaction to Germany's violation of the treaty in which the countries neutrality was to be respected by all other nations. Upon this Britain requested that all dominions of the British Empire, including Canada were to fight on its behalf. Canada’s involvement in the War changed history, deepening our independence, strengthening our right the self govern and opening a gap between the French and English-speaking populations. Canadian's were a great asset in WW1, and it marked the beginning of independent Canadian forces fighting under a Canadian-born commander. On August 5, 1914, the Governor General declared a war between Canada and Germany.
Canada also became a leader internationally as well. With such an enormous military contribution during the war, other countries began to recognize the success of Canada. People wanted to know more about Canada. Consequently, the war advanced Canada’s sense of identity.
Canada's sacrifices and contributions to the war changed its history and enabled them to become more independent and they friendship with Britain grew stronger and stronger. Canada was first inducted into the World War 1 when Britain declared war on Germany, August 4, 1914. Canada being allies with Britain had to support those in the war even know they weren’t in there and fighting all on the front they were backup just in case the German soldiers broke through the trenches and head towards France. Later on the Governor General also declared war on Germany but the Canadians fought under the ruling of a Britain commander. The achievements of Canadian military during the First World War came during the Somme, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele battles and what later became known as "Canada's Hundred Days". They help fight for the freedom and peace for the small village of Passchendaele and however as it was a muddy hell, they still persevered throu...
During the war, Canada provisioned England with food, ammunitions, medical supplies, and other armaments without charge. During the Second World War, the Canadian Navy became the third largest in the world and escorted the convoys of supplies across the North Atlantic. As supported by historian Edward O. Gurrant, Canada greatly financed the Allies, contributing about three billion dollars to Great Britain. Canada and the United States cooperated closely in the Second World War as both nations were determined to defeat the Axis Powers. On August 1940, Canada’s Prime Minister William L. M. King and Franklin D. Roosevelt formed the Permanent Joint on Defense. When the U.S. entered the war, the Canadian aircraft industry supplied some of training aircrafts and flying boats the U.S. needed. Although relationships between Canada and the U.S were bitter prior to the war, it drastically improved post war. As stated by Roosevelt, “Our closest neighbors are good neighbors”. In stating so, he infers that it would only prove to be beneficial to the U.S. if it improves relations with its neighboring countries. As seen through the media, Canadians became deeply familiar with the United States during the Second World War. During the war, many United States citizens wanted to join Canadian air force, while Canadians wanted to join the U.S. army. During the Italian Campaign in 1943, the first Canadian infantry division advanced into the mainland of Italy and played a major role in pushing Germans back to Ortona. Over 76,000 Canadian soldiers fought alongside the Allies in Italy and played a major role in the campaign's success. Therefore, without the cooperation and military contribution of Canada during the war, the Second World War would not have ended as successfully as it
Wurld Wer 2 wes e wer loki nu uthir. It wes e griet wer thet chngid thi wurld end kollid meny piupli. Thos wer chengid thi wey thi wer luukid et Cenede, end thi wey Cenede luukid et otsilf. Wurld Wer 1 griw Cenede’s ondipindinci bat wurld wer 2 shepid Cenede’s ondipindinci end gevi Cenede e niw luuk. Wurld Wer 2 wes e cumplitily doffirint wer, thos wer elluwid piupli tu foght fur thior cuantry, end nut griet broteon, shuwong e niw sodi tu Cenede.
General Arthur Currie helped Canada to create an international reputation during World War One because he was a capable army commander who consistently has successful run of victories throughout the war. For example, his guts of going to the trenches while it was gassed and his calmness being under fire during the Second Battle of Ypres helped the allied won the battle. During the Poison Attack from the German, Currie issued from his brigade headquarter even though the area he was in was gassed and then destroyed by fire. He brought two regiments of British reinforcements. After several days later, the allied re-established a defense-line by counterattack the Germans. On May 25, 1915, the allied won the battle. This shows that General Arthur Currie played a big role in the Second Battle of Ypres and it helped Canada's reputations good. As a result of his instinct and his coolness under the fire, he was promoted to Major General. Another example of his actions would be the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Although it was controlled by the Germans, General Arthur Currie knew that sending men blindly across the no-man land would only raise the causalities up. Thus, he made a plan to have the troops closely follow a massive barrage of artillery on the German barrage. His preparations for the battle were extremely thorough and by following the barrage immediately, the Canadians infantrymen gained the element of surprise. They pushed forward by 100 yards per 3 minutes and successfully took the ridge. This shows that the Canadian won the only significant victory for the allied in 1917. General Arthur Currie's plan work and made Canada's reputation superior. In additions to his great actions, his characteristics defined him as a true Canadian hero....