D-D AY By Nele and Kelsey

“D-Day was June 6, 1944; the day the allied armies, including Canada, invaded France; the biggest allied invasion of the Second World War” (Cranny, 147) “ The Allies launched a full scale invasion of Europe called, “Operation Overlord” and to avoid disaster like Dieppe, the Allies planned and rehearsed the invasion down the smallest detail. The Allies launched their attack by landing their troops on 5 beaches along an 80 Kilometer stretch of the Normandy Coast in Northern France.” (Cranny, 146) The Allies used code names for these beaches, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah

T HE I NVASION “The invasions were successful because the Allies managed to keep it a secret from the Germans” “The Germans had anticipated the attack but thought they would come from the North.” “A storm delayed the initial attack so the Germans believed that the allies would not attempt a landing attack.” “As a result the German defense was poorly coordinated.” (Cranny, 146)

J UNO B EACH “ Canadian soldiers arrived on Juno Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944” “Had to try to make their way past German defenses including concrete barriers, barbed wire, and land mines.” “By end of day Canadians had fought their way 9 Km inland” “Although successful, casualties were high- 359 Canadians died and 715 wounded.” (Cranny,146)

B ATTLE OF THE S CHELDT AND B ATTLE OF THE R HINELAND Battle Of The Scheldt “It took the Allies weeks of constant fighting to expand their territory before they could begin to advance through France and Belgium toward Germany” “This 11 month campaign was exhausting and there were several moving points” “In October, Canadians were given the task of clearing enemy troops from the Scheldt River in Belgium” Battle Of The Rhineland “February 8, 1945 the allies, including Canadians, began their attack to drive the Germans back over the Rhine river and out of the Netherlands” “ allied soldiers were killed, including Canadians” “Germans lost about men, were taken prisoners” “On March 10 the German army withdrew from the East bank on the Rhine river, allowing the Canadians to continue north to liberate Holland.” (Cranny, 147)

L IBERATING THE N ETHERLANDS AND LASTING G RATITUDE Liberation the Netherlands “After reaching the Rhine River and Germany Canadian soldiers were given a separate task. This was a difficult job.” “Earlier attempt at liberating Holland had failed and German troops had practically destroyed the port cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and flooded most of the country side” “By the end of 1944, food and fuel supplies to the Dutch had been cut off and many were starving to death” Lasting Gratitude “Took another month of fighting to drive the Germans out of the Netherlands” “April 28,1945 the Allies negotiated a truce with Germany, allowing them to bring in the much needed supplies to the Dutch” “As they liberated towns and cities throughout the Netherlands Canadians were hailed as heroes in victory parades” (Cranny, )

Works Cited Cranny, Michael. Counterpoints. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc., Print. © Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. “D-Day and the Normandy Campaign.” Democracy at War. Canadian War Museum, 22 Oct Web. 9 Nov