Canada

1
Canadas Main Contributions

• The Battle of the Atlantic
• Hong Kong
• The Italian Campaign
• D-Day on Juno Beach
• Dieppe

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Introduction

• Canadian troops played a vital role in the
  20-month Mediterranean campaign which led to the
  liberation of Italy during the Second World War.
• Fought in Sicily from July 10 - August 6, 1943
• Fought in mainland Italy from September 3, 1943 -
  February 25, 1945
• The Germans took full advantage of mountain peaks
  and swiftly running rivers.
• There were 25,264 Canadian casualties in the
  fighting, including more than 5,900 who were
  killed.

3
The Conquest of Sicily

• The 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st
  Canadian Army Tank Brigade
• En route, 58 Canadians were drowned when enemy
  submarines sank three ships of the assault
  convoy, and 500 vehicles and a number of guns
  were lost.

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• Canadian troops pressed through the Southern
  Coast.
• American troops cleared the western part of the
  island.
• British troops took the east coast.
• In taking Sicily, the Allies aimed to trap the
  German and Italian Armies and prevent their
  retreat across the Strait of Messina into Italy.
• Sicily had been conquered in 38 days.

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• Canadian casualties throughout the fighting
  totaled
• 562 killed,
• 664 wounded and
• 84 prisoners of war.

7
Canadians in Italy

• With Sicily in Allied hands, the Italian
  dictator, Mussolini, was overthrown.
• New Italian government surrendered on September
  3, 1943
• The Germans immediately seized control
• The 1st Canadian Division,
• The 5th British Division and
• The 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade

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• By the end of September, the German hold on
  northern and central Italy was still unshaken,
  but the Allies had overrun a vast and valuable
  tract of southern Italy.
• Allied armies stood on a line running across
  Italy from sea to sea.
• The next objective was Rome.

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• From October 1, 1943 December 28, 1943,
  Canadian troops fought in battles to liberate
  towns like Campobasso, Vinchiaturo, Termoli,
  Cassino, and Ortona.
• By now the Canadian Army in Italy had reached its
  peak strength of nearly 76,000.
• Total casualties in the Corps had climbed to
  9,934 in all ranks, of which 2,119 had been
  fatal.

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• Canadian troops participated in 2 more major
  battles in Italy between the spring of 1944 to
  February 1945
• The Battle of Liri Valley
• Rimini
• Canadian troops did not stay in Italy for the
  final victory.
• Troops needed a well-deserved break and to
  prepare for D-Day at Normandy.

11
Canadian Cemeteries and Memorials in Italy

• Canada has more than 5,900 identified war dead in
  Italy, buried mainly in 18 Commonwealth War
  Cemeteries or commemorated on the Cassino
  Memorial.

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• 1939-1945 WITHIN THIS CEMETERY STAND MONUMENTS
  WHICH BEAR THE NAMES OF SOLDIERS OF THE BRITISH
  COMMONWEALTH AND EMPIRE WHO FELL IN THE ASSAULTS
  UPON THE SHORES OF SICILY AND ITALY OR IN LATER
  BATTLES TO FREE ITALIAN SOIL AND TO WHOM THE
  FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED A KNOWN AND HONOURED GRAVE.
  AROUND THEM ARE THE GRAVES OF THEIR COMRADES WHO
  DIED FIGHTING IN THESE PARTS TO OPEN THE WAY TO
  ROME AND THE NORTH