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On Spetember 1st 1939, Germany invades Poland, starting World War 2
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Honouring a treaty with Poland, Britain declares war on Germany
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As soon as Britain and France declared war on Germany, they started a massive naval blockade. In response Germany mounted a counter-blockade. The Battle of the Atlantic ran for the entire course of the war, with German U-boats pitted against Allied vessels.
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One week after Britain declared war, as a symbol of their independence, Canada declares war on Germany
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Canada's open skies, and its great distance from the enemy, made it the perfect place to train pilots for combat in Europe
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The German campaign of Poland had just ended, and during this period both the Allie and Axis armies set up defensive lines along the German-French border, and other then minor skirmishes, no major fights occured
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After Finland did not allow the Soviet's "mutual assistance", they invaded and fought for four months were the Soviet's gained little ground. the conflict ended with the siging of the Moscow Peace Treaty.
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After the 7 month Phoney War, Germany started Operation Weserubung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway
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On May 10 the Nazi's started their lightning war by invading France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The Nazi Blitzkrieg was fast, mechanized and organized, and they took the Netherlands in a few days and Belgium in a few weeks.
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Between May 27 and June 4 every available ship that could navigate the British Channel was used to evacuate British and French soldiers from mainland Europe. This massive effort lead to 338,226 soldiers being evacuated.
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The Italiens invaded France, forcing them to fight a two front war. Looking at a hopeless situation, the French Surrendered.
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Italy starts its invasion of Africa ny initiating the siege of Matla, conquering Somniland and fighting Egypt
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The Soviets annex Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, replacing their governments with communist regimes.
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Fighting on two fronts verse the Germans and the Italiens, the French surrender.
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Hitler decided to attack Britain via the air instead of launching a full scale land invasion. The Battle lasted for four months with bombings of military and civilian targets. Hitler and the Nazi's were repelled and suffered their first major defeat, Operation Sea Lion never took place.
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Italy, Germany and Japan sign a pact that said they would be allies in the war to come. This affirmed them as the Axis powers. Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Slovakia, Croatia, Thialand, Manchukuo and the Nanking Government in China later signed the pact.
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The Allies start to push Italien forces back, but Hitler sends reinforcements and a pushes the Commonwealth back. A stalemate ensues.
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The Nazi's invade and conquer Greece in less then a month
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With Operation Sea Lion(Invasion of Britian) never beginning, Hitler decides to go and invade the Soviet Union, a country he had a no aggression pact with. The operation proved costly as the brutal Soviet winter took many lives
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The Soviets pushed the German forces back 100 miles over the course of the month
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The Japanese air force bombed Pearl Harbour destroying numerous American Navy vessels. Many Americans lost their lives, and this brought America into the war. This attack also start the four year long "Battle of the Pacific"
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The Worst Canadian defeat of the war, as almost 2000 soldiers were killed or taken prisoner. The troops were badly trained, intellignece was bad and Canada did not know how hopeless the situation was. The Battle ended Christmas Day. This was part of a huge Japanese offensive throughout south Asia
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The Battle saw almost 80,000 Allied soldiers captured and enslaved by the Japanese. The battle last one week. By the end of this battle the Japanese had most of the control over the Pacific
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Regarded as the most important naval battle in the Pacific during the war. The Japanese planned to ambush the US Navy stationed at the Midway Atoll, but Americam codebreakers discovered the attack and the Americans had their own ambush. The Japanese Navy never recoverd
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After three years of inaction, only getting to train in Britain, 5,000 troops of the Second Canadian Division landed on the beach. Air and sea support did not materialize, and the Canadians were sitting ducks. About 2600 troops were killed or captured
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As the Germans tried to capture the oil fields of the Caucasus. In mid-Spetember the Germans had almost taken Stalingrad and had the maximum stretch of control, from the British Channel to Moscow, and Norway to North Africa. The Soviets fight off the Germans
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After a major campaign be the Allies, using a pincer movement, they were able to force Hitler out of Africa and back to Europe
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The Soviets hold off a major German offensive at Kursk and then launch a counter attack which ends in Berlin
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Most of the First Canadian Army was deployed to invade Sicily, and strike at the "soft under-belly of Europe. The Canadians fought for two months and forced the Nazi's back to mainland Italy. The fighting was fought city-by-city, house-by-house.
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The 1st Canadian Infantry Division landed at Cape Spartivento, thus beginning the Allied invasion of Italy. Along with American and British troops, Canadian troops fought to Rome, but were deployed to Northern Europe before the Liberation was complete.
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The Japanese launch an attack on the city of Changde, using extensice biological and chemical warfare. China repelled the Japanses long enough for reinforcements to arrive and the Japanese were defeated on December 20
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The Canadians landed at Juno beach, and pushed farther into enemy territory then either the Americans or the British. The Canadians linked up the other Divisions and pushed towards Paris, before being deployed to Belgium and the Netherlands
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The Canadian soldiers cleared Scheldt of Axis forces. Scheldt was as key strategic position and was the beginning of the Liberation of the Netherlands
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The German forces go on a last ditch offensuve through the Ardennes region of France. By January the offensive had been stopped by the Allies
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The Canadian forces sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium, clearing all German forces and freeing the starving people.
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The Allied forces marched on Berlin from the East and the West, and after 14 days of fighting, the Reichstag was captured and the Third Reich was defeated.
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By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Navy had lead 25,343 succesful escort voyages across the Atlantic, and had delivered 164,783,921 tons of cargo
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The last German soldiers were captured after they had resisted in Prague
