The Liberation of Europe

By mid-1944, the Allies were ready to invade German-occupied Europe.

Why?

They had already occupied most of Italy.

They had almost complete air superiority over Germany.

The Russians were pushing the Germans back in Eastern Europe.

How?

The Allies used their naval and aerial superiority to bombard German positions near the coast of Northern France (Normandy).

After months of bombing, the Allies invaded on June 6, 1944.

This day is known as D-Day, and is the first day of Operation Overlord.

German Reaction:

The Germans did not react effectively.

Their meteorologists had concluded that the weather was too rough for the Allies to try an invasion on that day.

The details of the attack had been kept secret.

The invasion was too massive and too well supported from the sea and the air to be defeated.

Canada’s Role:

Canada was a major contributor to Operation Overlord.

On D-Day, we contributed 14,000 troops, 100 ships, and 36 bomber squadrons.

Canadian troops were responsible for attacking 1 of the 5 beaches that were attacked on D-Day.

At Juno Beach, we captured more land than any of the Allied attacks that day.

After D-Day:

Within a month, over 1 million Allied soldiers were in France, along with over 200,000 vehicles.

D-Day and the battles that followed led to the final defeat of the Germans in Europe.

These were also the bloodiest battles in the war against Germany, resulting in over 20,000 Canadian casualties.

Effect on Germany:

The success of Operation Overlord was a disaster for the Germans. Why?

They had no more soldiers or resources to call upon, while the Allies seemed to have an endless supply.

At this point, the defeat of the Germans became a matter of time.

Hitler began a desperate search for miracle weapons that might help him win the war.

The end of the war in Europe:

In May of 1944, the Allies, including the Canadians, liberated Holland.

The Germans continued to fight hard. Progress was slow as the Allies were fighting house to house.

In April of 1945, the Allies and the Soviets finally met in Germany.

On April 30, 1945, as Russian troops approached his hideout in Berlin, Hitler committed suicide.

The last German troops surrendered on May 8, 1945 (VE Day), and the war in Europe was over!