History Browser

The Battle of the Atlantic was the struggle for control of the sea routes between the Americas and Europe and Africa. German forces attempted to break Britain’s vital supply link from the United States and Canada. During this six year conflict both sides suffered losses of personnel and materials.

On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded Western Europe along an 80-kilometre front in Normandy, France. Of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, 14,000 were Canadians.

Almost 9,000 members of Canada’s armed forces became prisoners of the enemy during World War II, as well as several hundred Canadian civilians. Undernourishment and boredom were the prisoners' great enemies. There were worries at home about prisoners in the deteriorating conditions of 1945, but nearly all were liberated by the advancing Allied armies, including the Russian Red Army, or freed themselves when the enemy surrendered.

Hitler's invasion of Poland triggered the beginning of the Second World War after which France, Great Britain, and Canada declared war on Germany. The first movements of these forces were discussed in newspaper articles of the day.

In 1919, Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the war, and joined the newly-created League of Nations as a member state in its own right.

In Canada’s first sustained land operation of the war, Canadian troops helped capture Sicily in a five-week campaign beginning 10 July 1943.

An article about the origins of the South African War and Canada's involvement in it. Includes reading list.

Many Canadians lost their lives while serving their country during World War II. 42,042 men and women of Canada's armed forces died during the war: 22,917 in the Canadian Army, 17,101 in the RCAF, and 2,024 in the RCN. 54,414 were wounded and 8,995 taken prisoner.

Major Arthur L. (Gat) Howard accepted the position of machine gun officer in the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (later called the Royal Canadian Dragoons). Instead of returning home from the South African War with his unit in December 1900, Howard organized the Canadian Scouts and took command of the unit.

Despite early growing pains, the Royal Canadian Navy grew into a formidable anti-submarine force. The R.C.N. sank 28 enemy submarines and escorted Allied shipping across the Atlantic and along the northeastern seaboard of North America.