|
Determined
to end four years of often-brutal German
occupation, on 6 June 1944, Allied forces
invaded Western Europe along an 80-kilometre
front in Normandy, France. Of the nearly
150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted
into the invasion area, 14,000 were Canadians.
They assaulted a beachfront code-named
“Juno”, while Canadian paratroopers
landed just east of the assault beaches.
Although the Allies encountered German
defences bristling with artillery, machine
guns, mines, and booby-traps, the invasion
was a success.
Other
Canadians helped achieve this victory.
The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110
ships and 10,000 sailors in support of
the landings while the R.C.A.F. had helped
prepare the invasion by bombing targets
inland. On D- Day and during the ensuing
campaign, 15 R.C.A.F. fighter and fighter-bomber
squadrons helped control the skies over
Normandy and attacked enemy targets.
On D-Day, Canadians suffered 1074 casualties,
including 359 killed.
See also :
Canadian
Newspapers and the Second World War : D-Day and the Normandy Campaign
|
 |
