D-Day to V-E Day

D-Day to V-E DayHow Canada Helped Win The War

Planning The InvasionThe Allied Forces learned their lessons from the failed Raid on Dieppe and this time were more preparedThe attack was originally planned for June 5th, 1944The attack was codenamed Operation OverlordThe coast of Britain had various allied troops camped out ready for the invasionMost knew it was only a matter of time before the invasion of FranceGeneral Eisenhower of the United States was given supreme command of the mission

Map Of The Invasion

The Attack Gets PostponedStormy weather on June 5th caused the invasion to be postponed even though several units were already at seaThe weather conditions were not going to improve enough to invade so the forces were forced to turn backThe troops had to stay on the boats in dangerous waters for the next 24 hours while waiting to goOn June 6th, they got the chance as the moon and tides and weather were cooperating in the early hours of that morningGeneral Eisenhower gave the go ahead and there could be no turning back

The Morning Of The RaidsThe morning of the raids, the Germans spent spy planes to try to figure out if and where an invasion would happenThe Allied Forces set up empty tents, dummy ships, plywood flyers and inflated tanks at Dover Castle to lead the Germans to believe the launch would be from thereThe plan succeeded when the Luftwaffe pilots reported this information back to their commandersThe Allies Actually struck 200 km southwest on the Beaches of NormandyBombers struck German defences all night longJust before dawn, paratroopers dropped behind enemy linesThe main force hit the beaches and the liberation of Europe began

Lessons From DieppeThe Dieppe raid has taught the Allies that the Germans could defend any portThe Allies built two complete harbours that they towed across from EnglandFuel for trucks and tanks flowed through Pluto and underwater pipeline from ships to the shoreThe Royal Canadian Air Force In ActionCanadian airmen and sailors were among the first into actionThe Royal Canadian Air Force had already been involved for several months in bombing key enemy targets in the invasion area: roads, bridges, railways, airfields, and command and communications centresNow they flew as part of the 171 Allied squadrons that attacked on D-DayAs H-Hour approached, RCAF Lancasters of No. 6 Bomber Group dropped thousands of tons of explosives on German coastal defencesCanadian fighter pilots fought the Luftwaffe in overcast skies, contributing in large measure to the achievement of Allied air supremacyThey protected the soldiers on the beach, and attacked German formations on the ground

The Royal Canadian Navy In ActionThe RCN provided 109 vessels, and 10,000 sailors as its contribution to the 7,000 Allied vessels which went to sea on D-DayDespite choppy waters and rain, they kept the German fleet bottled up in its portsCanadian minesweepers assisted in clearing a safe path across the English Channel for the invasion fleetThe guns of Canadian destroyers like HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Sioux silenced enemy shore batteries and continued to fire in support of ground attacks in the days to comeRCN flotillas of landing craft transported infantry and tanks to shore and provided additional fire support for them

Canadian ParatroopersIn ActionWhile it was still dark in the early hours of June 6, Allied paratroopers, including 450 Canadians, jumped from aircraft or landed in gliders behind the German coastal defencesSeparated by gusty winds, outnumbered, and only lightly armed, they nevertheless captured a German headquarters, destroyed a key bridge, and seized an important crossroads, all the while sowing confusion and disorder within enemy ranks

Canadian Soldiers in Action The 1st Hussars and The Regina RifflesThe Canadian soldiers scheduled to land at Juno Beach warily approached the coastline in their landing craftWet, cold, and seasick, they were also confidentMost of the 1st Hussars' tanks managed to get ashore in good order to provide covering fire as the Regina Rifles touched down just after 8:00 a.mThe preliminary bombardment had failed to knock out many German defensive positions

Canadian Soldiers in Action The 1st Hussars and The Regina RifflesThe near invulnerable pill-boxes could be destroyed only by direct hits through their observation slits Working in tandem, the tanks and infantry succeeded in fighting their way off the beach and into the nearby town of Courseulles-sur-MerThere they became engaged in house-to-house combatThey were moving inland by late afternoon

Canadian Soldiers in Action Victorias Canadian Scottish and The Royal Winnipeg RiflesThe company of Victoria's Canadian Scottish and most of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles made it ashore without much troubleThey benefitted from naval gunfire which neutralized the German battery that dominated their area of the beachThe Winnipeg company at the western edge of Courseulles was not so luckyThere the bombardment had missed its targets, and the landing craft came under brisk gunfire while they were still far offshore

Canadian Soldiers in Action Victorias Canadian Scottish and The Royal Winnipeg RiflesThey were forced to storm their positions cold and did so without hesitationMany men died the instant they waded into the chest-high waterThe survivors advanced past the beach defences, cleared the minefields, and occupied the adjoining coastal villagesThe victory did not come easy, the company lost almost 3/4 of its men

Canadian Soldiers in Action The North Shore Regiment and the Queens Own RifflesThe North Shore Regiment and The Queen's Own Rifles also encountered enemy gun fire that had survived the preliminary bombardmentOne concrete bunker and its defenders inflicted heavy casualties on the North Shores and destroyed several Sherman tanks The North Shore's other companies made it ashore without incident, but needed six hours and armoured support to take the town of TaillevilleToronto's Queen's Own Rifles received the worst battering of any Canadian unit on D-Day

Canadian Soldiers in Action The North Shore Regiment and the Queens Own RifflesThe initial bombardment on their sector barely dented the enemy's fortificationsThe tanks, supposed to "swim" in ahead of the infantry to diminish German resistance, had been forced by high waves to land after themOnly a few made it into actionThe landing craft carrying the Queen's Own hit the beach more or less intact but hour late The men made a mad dash from the shoreline to a seawall with no cover in between

Canadian Soldiers in Action The North Shore Regiment and the Queens Own RifflesA hidden German machine gun opened up on the lead platoon of one company, decimating two-thirds of it before being silencedOnly a handful survived to get off the beachA second Queen's Own company landed directly in front of an untouched enemy strongpoint and very quickly lost half of its men, until three riflemen eliminated it with hand grenades and small arms fireThe price had been high, but the Queen's Own moved off the beach

Canadian Soldiers in Action The Canadian Scottish and The ChaudieresThe reserve units of the Canadian Scottish and the Chaudires arrived on the heels of the initial assaultThe Scottish suffered the lightest casualties of any Canadian battalion on D-DayComing in on the rising tide, many of Le Rgiment de la Chaudire's landing craft struck concealed mines, and their occupants had no option but to throw off their equipment and swim to shoreSoon, both regiments were surging forwardBy noon, the 9th Infantry Brigade was on its way to the beaches to exploit the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's hard-won gains

Canadian Accomplishments on D-DayAlthough only one Canadian unit reached its D-Day objective, the first line of German defences had been completely smashedBy evening, Canadian troops had progressed further inland than any of their AlliesIt was a remarkable achievement but, despite casualties being less than expected, it was an expensive one, tooTo ensure that D-Day would succeed, 340 Canadians had given their lives574 had been wounded and 47 taken prisoner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pySPScgw-OQ

Allied Accomplishments On D-DayThe Second FrontThe British and Americans had also come ashore and pushed inlandThe Allied forces soon formed a continuous frontBy the end of D-Day, the Allies had landed 155,000 troops in France by sea and air6,000 vehicles including 900 tanks, 600 guns and about 4,000 tons of supplies were also brought ashoreThe Western Front had to be secured and expanded to prevent the German Army from driving the Allies back into the sea

The Push To BerlinIt took 11 months for the Allied Troops to close in on Germany and meet up with the Russians at the Elbe RiverHitler was determined to fight to the bitter endHe would rather destroy Germany and its people than surrender to his enemies

The Push To BerlinCanadians had the task of clearing German troops from French, Belgian and Dutch ports on the way to BerlinThis was slow dangerous workEvery port taken meant that Allied ships could now dock there and unload troops, weapons and tanksOn September 8, 1944 the Canadians entered Dieppe as liberators erasing the horror of their earlier defeat

The Liberation of HollandIn 1945, the Canadian Army liberated the NetherlandsThe Germans opened the dykes that held back water from flooding the low-lying fields and made it difficult for Canadians to advanceCanadian troops found boats and kept pushing forwardAs the Germans retreated, Dutch families poured out in the street to welcome their Canadian liberatorsEven today Canadians are warmly received in The Netherlands and the Dutch send the Canadian Government a gift of tulips each spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l6KhHROT_s

The End of The DictatorsOn April 27, 1945, Mussolini was captured and shot by his own peopleThey hanged his body upside down on a meat-hook and displayed it in Milan

The End of The DictatorsThree days later, Hitler knew his situation was hopeless as he listened to the Russian guns bombarding BerlinHis lover Eva Braun poisoned herself and Hitler put a gun in his mouth and pulled the triggerHis body was burned so that it could not be desecrated like Mussolinis by his enemyOn May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionallyThis was VE-Day Victory in Europe Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D5ZHKPwb7w