Canada,
Canada came into the war at the beginning and their first
men went overseas to England where they trained. Canada
hosted the Allied Air Training Program because they were
Britains only ally in North America at the beginning of
the war. Canada also sent the RCAF to bomb occupied
France and to help defend England in the Battle of
Britain. Some Canadians joined the RAF and distinguished
themselves in helping kill the Luftwaffe. My grandma's
cousin Bernard Dermody was a Seargent Air Gunner in the
RCAF and he went missing on Nov 13th, 1941.
He was
presumed dead, probably shot down somewhere over the
English Coast. Canada's first major opperation was Dieppe in
August 1942 which was unsuccessful. Canada had 987 men
killed and about were 2000 taken prisoner by the
Germans. My Great Uncle John Dermody (Grandma's bro> was one of the
nearly 5000 Canadians wounded at Dieppe. He was hit
in the back pocket by a machine gun bullet and it
deflected off his lucky spoon (which saved his life) and
it jammed the spoon into his body a bit. He was ok
after that. Canada also sent 90000 men to Italy
where they fought in the Italian campaign. Canada
also sent a few divisions to Juno where they made up
part of the Allied forces at Normandy. My great uncle
George Dermody fought there and he was injured and discharged
there after. Another of my Great Uncles' Bob Dermody
joined the RAF and when he was 19 he flew in India and
he suffered sheel shock and he was never the same after
he came home. Finally my Great Uncle Howard Dermody
was a member of the Artillery and he served in Italy.
The Canadians land on Juno beach and the objective of the 2nd Canadian Armoured
Brigade was to capture Evrecy. The Canadians advanced the farthest inland of any Allied
unit but failed to capture their objective. All the Allied units failed to take their D-Day
objectives.
June
6
The German defenders were not first class troops, but those who the Canadians would
battle the next day would be.
June
7
Radley Walters a young Canadian tank officer becomes a legend. And the Canadians meet
the German armour - 12th SS Panzer (Hitler Youth) - at Authie, just North of the
Caen-Bayeux road, the initial Canadian objective for D-Day.
June
7
The first tank battles were hopelessly one-sided. The German tanks are far superior to the
Canadians. The Germans, also, outflank and overrun Authie and take 34 Canadians
prisoner, most of whom were wounded. They were then shot or bayoneted to death. Second
World War. Martin Gilbert, page 535
June
8
Kurt Meyer's 25th SS Panzer Grenadiers encircled the Royal Winnipeg Rifles at
Putot-en-Bassin, forcing them to fight, surrounded, all day at a terrible cost.
June
8
When the Royal Winnipeg Rifles withdrewfrom Putot-en-Bassin, they were forced to leave
some of their men behind, including some wounded. The 12 SS took them to the Abbaye
d'Ardenne and systematically murdered the 18 wounded Canadian soldiers.
June
8
The German side of this story is different. The Germans say they were often retaliating
because Allied soldiers, including Canadians, often did not respect the Geneva convention
when they captured Germans.
June
11
The 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) and the Queens Own battle the 12th
SS for the second time.
June
12
The British Armoured Division thrust Southwest of Caen fails.
June
13
Virtually all units troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division spent the 2nd half of June in
reserve. Germany launches the first V-1 rockets.
Back to main page
