Over 12,000 Canadians were part of the Canadian Merchant Navy, transporting goods and soldiers overseas. Over 1,600 were killed.
4,963 of the 6,000 soldiers in the Dieppe raid disaster on August 9, 1942 were Canadians. 993 of them were killed and 1,874 taken prisoner. The Dieppe raid was intended to make the Germans fear the Allies and continued the deception that the Allies would invade farther north. Some people thought the raid was a useless slaughter, while others believed the experience was important to the later successful D-Day Normandy.
Canadians, as part of the British 8th Army, invaded Sicily, Italy and got to the mainland of Italy not much later – September 3, 1943. 92,000 Canadians served in Italy.
On D-Day Normandy, 15,000 soldiers, 37 squadrons of the RCAF, and 60 RCN (Royal Canadian Navy) boats attacked Juno beach. That day, they got farther inland than any of the other Allies. After the entire Battle of Normandy (Ending August 25,1944) there were 9,368 casualties to the Canadians. Germany lost 52,000 + France.
On November 13, 1944 Canada enacted full conscription.
On April 28, 1945 Canada liberated Holland!
On May 18, 1945 Prime Minister King announced that Canada was willing to send 43,500 soldiers to join the fight with the US against the Japanese in the Pacific. In August when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, Canada didn’t need to send the soldiers.
Canada provided training for airmen with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. 131,553 aircrew were trained for war in Canada, and over half of them were Canadians!
Canada also played major parts in the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the defence of Hong Kong.
Most Canadians at home were completely behind the war effort: families taking in British refugee children, boys joining cadet corps, women working in factories and knitting socks for soldiers overseas, groups doing scrap metal drives, and individuals buying Victory Bonds and recycling.
Canada, like the USA, became a major industrial country in World War II and was a major producer of military supplies. Canadians also made many scientific military contributions.
© The World War Two Blog
Main source: Canada Remembers by Veterans Affairs Canada and published by St. Clair Group Inc., Ontario
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