History Browser

This report is an account of the effect of enemy air action on units and men of the Canadian Army in the United Kingdom during the period 1939 – 1943, and of the part played by Canadian units in the defence of Britain against the enemy air force in those years.

The countries of the Commonwealth, on balance, managed to get along quite well together and to cooperate effectively in prosecuting a war in which the interests of all of them were very much at stake. This paper looks at the satisfactory nature of the relationship and also some of its more serious problems during the Second World War.

This report deals with the formation, organization, training and operational role of the 6th Canadian Infantry Division.

Canada's regular army emerged from the war with two new regiments, one of which was francophone, that formed the professional core for the Canadian Army Corps. A Non-Permanent Militia was planned with a fifteen division structure. There was considerable debate over merging the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) units into the militia.

This book describes the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), a scheme that produced more than 130,000 trained aircrew for the Allies during the Second World War. The training took place in Canada, and the Royal Canadian Air Force was the controlling authority. This book highlights the changing relationship in authority between Canada and England by comparing the differences in the administration of air training programs that Canada hosted for Britain during the two world wars.

During World War Two Canada assumed the role of trainer of the pilots and aircrew for the Allied war effort. This was done under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, an agreement signed in December 1939 by Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand to train aircrew in Canada.

Canadian forces raised in the First World War were disbanded and military affairs resumed their pre-war status. The National Defence Act of 1923 rationalized the three services into one organization that was poorly funded until rearmament began in 1936. The financial crises of the 1920’and 30’s severely restricted budgets and military planning.

From 1965-1980, Colonel C.P. Stacey organized the Directorate of History out of the three former separate Service historical sections. He introduced the practice of writing historical narratives of current operations or on topics of contemporary interest. The Canadian Forces Headquarters Reports deal with peacekeeping, naval aspects of the Second World War, and the organization and structure of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence from colonial times.

This report is an analysis of the events that led up to the successful Normandy Invasion. Much of the information in the report comes from original German sources.

This document describes Canada's effort to mobilize and effectively deploy infantry troops for west coast defence during the Second World War.