Tag: history

Canadians took part in many hard struggles to help the Allies to victory during the Second World War. D-Day and the Battle of Normandy was one of the best-known chapters of the entire conflict and our service members would play an important role in this pivotal campaign.

Destroyers and supporting craft of the Royal Canadian Navy shelled German positions onshore and cleared sea mines in the approaches to the French beaches. Many Royal Canadian Air Force planes were among the some 4,000 Allied bombers and 3,700 fighters / fighter bombers that relentlessly struck at shoreline defences, inland targets and enemy squadrons that day.

More than 450 members of the 1^st Canadian Parachute Battalion jumped inland before dawn on June 6 and were the first of our soldiers to engage the enemy on D-Day. A few hours later, some 14,000 Canadian troops from the 3^rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2^nd Canadian Armoured Brigade—composed of military units from coast to coast—would begin to come ashore at Juno Beach. Their mission was to brave heavy fire to establish a foothold along an eight-kilometre stretch of coastline fronting the villages of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer, Courseulles-sur-Mer, and Graye-sur-Mer. Our soldiers would then push inland towards the city of Caen, an important communications and transport centre.

Victory in the Battle of Normandy came at a terrible cost. The Canadians suffered the highest casualties of any divisions in the British Army Group during the campaign. Some 359 Canadian soldiers were killed on D-Day alone, and a total of more than 5,000 of our men would die during the two-and-a-half-months of fighting in Normandy. Most of these fallen heroes lie buried in France in the beautiful Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery and the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery. Over 13,000 more of our soldiers were wounded in Normandy, with many suffering injuries to body and mind that they would carry for the rest of their lives.

Canada’s impressive efforts in the Second World War remain a point of great national pride, even many decades later. The brave Canadians who came ashore on D-Day and saw action in the Battle of Normandy were among the more than one million men and women from our country who served in the cause of peace and freedom during the conflict. Sadly, over 45,000 of them would lose their lives.

Read the full account at Veterans Canada

Image credits: Library and Archives Canada

8 May 1945 – VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) – was one that remained in the memory of all those who witnessed it. It meant an end to nearly six years of a war that had cost the lives of millions; had destroyed homes, families, and cities; and had brought huge suffering and privations to the populations of entire countries.

Millions of people rejoiced in the news that Germany had surrendered, relieved that the intense strain of total war was finally over. In towns and cities across the world, people marked the victory with street parties, dancing and singing.

But it was not the end of the conflict, nor was it an end to the impact the war had on people. The war against Japan did not end until August 1945, and the political, social and economic repercussions of the Second World War were felt long after Germany and Japan surrendered.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand. 

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Ottoman Empire to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was a member of the Central Powers during the war. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. The Allied deaths totalled over 56,000, including 8,709 from Australia and 2,721 from New Zealand. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.

Though the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, the actions of the Australian and New Zealand troops during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an Anzac legend became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This has shaped the way their citizens have viewed both their past and their understanding of the present. The heroism of the soldiers in the failed Gallipoli campaign made their sacrifices iconic in New Zealand memory, and is often credited with securing the psychological independence of the nation.

Read more on the Wiki ANZAC entry

Visit the Australian War Memorial for more information on ANZAC Day