|
European Tensions |
War |
Mobilization |
Poland - France |
Battle of Britain |
Dieppe |
North Atlantic |
Training the Empire |
The Pacific |
Quebec Conference |
Hong Kong |
Home Front |
Sicily |
Italy | Conscription
| Normandy |
France |
Netherlands |
Germany
The Fall of Poland was complete by
October 6th and Germany turned its eyes upon the Western
allies. Hitler's intention was to launch an attack on
France before Christmas but he was convinced that a
winter campaign would e premature. The attack was
rescheduled for May with other operations in Denmark and
Norway before then. This interlude period was known as
the phony war because no real military action took place
on the western front. The lure of the attack had been
tarnished by the bloodshed of the First World War and
neither France or England were in a hurry to sacrifice
it's youth. The Germans however used this period to
review the results of their Blitzkrieg on Poland and to
redefine their tactics further. Heinz Guderian fought
for a plan which would direct the main force of the
German attack through Sedan with an amour spearhead
after drawing the allies into the lowlands by initially
invading Holland and Belgium. On May 10th the attack
began and as expected the Allies initiated there
planned response with the British Forces moving into
Belgium to make contact with the Belgium and Dutch
forces to form a united line of defence. Once they were
well into the lowlands, the Germans launched their
attack on Sedan and quickly broke through driving behind
the French left flank and towards the channel coast. The
British and French forces were effectively cut off and
trapped in a large pocket which only left ne route of
escape - by sea. The trapped allied forces retreated to
Dunkirk to regroup or evacuate.
The allies were
quickly trying to improvise a strategy to stop the
Germans and the 1st Canadian Division became a part of
the calculation. They had been training at Aldershot in
England and their insertion into the battlefield in
France was considered as an option. On May 24th the 1st
Canadian Brigade was order to Dover for embarkation for
France. This commitment to the desperately trapped
forces in France and Belgium was reconsidered and they
did not sail but with the fall of Dunkirk the allies
planned to send a second expeditionary force to France
where it world join with the remaining French forces to
help resist the next phase of the German attack.
The 1st Brigade once
again departed Aldershot for embarkation but this time
the destination was Brest in France. On June 12-13 they
arrived in France and began to travel inland to help
plug the holes in the line against the Germans. The
British Commander of the force, Sir Alan Brooke, quickly
realized that the allied cause in France was lost and on
June 14th reversed the Canadian's orders and directed
them to get back to Breast for evacuation.
The Canadians escaped
with their big guns and Bren Gun carriers but little
else of their large equipment. At this point the Battle
of France was over and the Battle of Britain was about
to begin. The only two fully equipped divisions in
Britain included the Canadian First Division and they
were positioned south of the Thames as the mobile
reserve in case of German invasion.
For the next year
Canada was to serve as Britain's ranking ally and the
main supplier of equipment, food and new military
formations. The battle of Britain was to determine
whether the German invasion was to be launched or not.
Canada stood by England ready to fight.
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