Canada's Victory In World War II

World War II was a war spanning from 1939-1945 in which the Canadian army fought battles worldwide and contributed greatly to the allied victory in the war. Many Canadians fighting in the war were part of a gruelling Italian campaign. The army first landed on the Italian island of Sicily, where they then made their way deeper into Italy, fighting battles in Ortona, Cassino and Rome. Secondly, some soldiers who were part of the Canadian army went to Hong Kong to fight the Japanese. The Canadians were heavily involved in the planning of the battle of Hong Kong. Once the battle began, the Canadians managed to put up a good fight against tough opposition. The Canadians also demonstrated determination in their effort to hold the Wong Nei Chong Gap
“The task of taking the town (Ortona) was assigned to the 1st Canadian Infantry division. In early December, the division began preparing an attack over the Moro River, the first major German position in front of Ortona.”4 Once again, the Canadians were given a mission to complete independently. Ortona was their mission entirely. Not only were they assigned to take the town, but they were also involved in the planning and preparing for the attack. This speaks volumes to the trust that the other Allied nations had in the Canadian Army, because they not only believed Canada could complete the mission independently but also plan for the mission independently. The first step towards taking Ortona was the Casa Berardi, and “under the command of Capt. Paul Triquet, C Company of the Royal 22nd captured the Casa Berardi and held it against determined German counter-attacks.”5 This demonstrates that when given independence, Canada could be trusted to finish the job. A Canadian Captain was in charge of this mission and showed that he could successfully plan and complete the mission. Those Canadian soldiers fighting at the Casa Berardi also had to face very difficult German opposition and they succeeded. This demonstrated that when given independent tasks, they could complete the job. Once the Casa Berardi was cleared, Canadians then had to continue to
They did this in innovative ways, firing their anti-tank shells through windows because they could not penetrate the thick walls of the houses, and clearing houses from the top down, so that they could drop their grenades down on the heads of the Germans.6

The Canadians demonstrated that even when faced with a difficult challenge, they could come up with new and creative ideas to conquer it. They were given a lot of responsibility and independence in the battle of Ortona, and showed that they deserved this independence by completing difficult missions and tasks.

After Ortona had been taken, the Canadians then had to continue further into Italy. The Liri Valley, which led into Rome was to be the Canadians next mission.7 The Canadians were given a lot of independence and responsibility because they needed to succeed if they wanted to capture Rome. For the Canadians to be assigned such an important mission as taking a key point leading into the Italian Capital, shows that they were beginning to become independent of other nations. Throughout the battles leading up to the fall of Italy, “Allied commanders recognized the Canadians’ and employed them in numerous battles. The Germans also had a high opinion of them putting their best troops against the 1st Canadian Corps whenever it came into the line.”8 For the Allied commander of other nations to speak so highly of