Canadian Military History in Perspective

“It is considered that North West Air Command should examine the Northwest Territories in the interests of the safe and efficient conducting of air, land and sea rescue operations in the future. Such action is considered to be in line with the recent Cabinet Decision that the RCAF is to be responsible for the co-ordination of all air, land and sea rescue.”

The war at sea in 1942 pulled Canada’s small-ship navy in several directions simultaneously. The importance of the Royal Canadian Navy’s contribution to transatlantic convoy operations east of Newfoundland was confirmed in early 1942. As American destroyers drifted away to warmer climes, the RCN assumed responsibility for their escort duties in the northwest Atlantic. However, American preoccupation with the Pacific war and the spread of U-boat attacks to the eastern seaboard of North America also drew the fleet south, into the American coastal zone and as far as the Caribbean. And while this was happening, the U-boat fleet struck deep [...]

This is the last of a series of articles on Canada’s role in the Second World War Italian Campaign. The series began in the September/October 2005 issue of Legion Magazine, and all of the articles, with photos and sketch maps are available on this website. After five years of reading, archival research and three trips to study the ground over which the battles were fought, I continue to marvel at what our soldiers accomplished.

Many Second World War aircraft became object lessons in beating swords into ploughshares. Once the Cold War developed, many such ploughshares were hastily reconverted to swords. Such was the case of the Avro Lancaster in Royal Canadian Air Force postwar service.

American entry into the war in December 1941 promised eventual allied victory: Churchill claimed he slept well for the first night in years when he heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But it would be at least a year—and more like two—before America’s potential could tip the balance. For the moment, the Allies scrambled to contain Japan’s astonishing advances in Asia and the South Pacific. Only the British and Americans had the aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers capable of stopping them. Moreover, this had to be done while holding off the still powerful German and Italian fleets in European waters.

The original plan for 1st Canadian Corps’ Operation Chuckle, December 1944, called for the capture of Ravenna, situated along the Adriatic coast in northeastern Italy, and an advance beyond the Senio and Santerno rivers to the town of Massa Lombarda. If the Canadians succeeded, their thrust would outflank German positions at Imola and threaten the enemy’s hold on Bologna further to the west. While Ravenna was liberated on Dec. 4, the 1st Canadian Division suffered a serious reversal when a hastily prepared attack across the Lamone River failed, forcing a withdrawal.

In April 1945 there was a new kid on the block. The De Havilland Vampire jet, which had been test-flown as a prototype on Sept. 20, 1943, was in mass production, and soon the Royal Canadian Air Force would acquire one for winter trials at the Winter Experimental Establishment, Edmonton.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, turned a European conflict into a global war. Once again the British Columbia coastline was largely undefended, and the province’s citizens clamoured for action. In early 1942, Japanese citizens were stripped of their possessions and removed from the Pacific coast to internment camps, while a massive expansion of the Royal Canadian Air Force was planned to secure the west coast from Japanese aerial assault. As one British official observed ruefully of the Canadian request for scores of aircraft for home defence, “Vancouver is fighting with its back to the wall!”

The battle for Italy’s Savio River, Oct. 20-23, 1944, marked the turning point in the difficult relationship between Lieutenant-General E.L.M. Burns and his senior officers. Despite the success the Canadian Corps enjoyed under Burns’ leadership, his two divisional commanders had begun to echo British complaints about his style of command. Burns, who was ironically nicknamed Smiley, lacked the kind of easy-going leadership skills that were so highly valued in the 8th Army. His relations with the brash, profane divisional commander Chris Vokes had always been difficult, but in the misery of the October battles another divisional commander, Bert Hoffmeister, “lost all [...]

Although the first flights of German and British jet engine test beds occurred 21 months apart, the two nations introduced jet fighters into service at almost the same time—July 1944. But both the Me.262 and the Gloster Meteor commenced by making only a modest splash. The prototype Meteor was so underpowered that it barely staggered into the air on July 22, 1942, in a hop that was so brief it was not even considered a flight, something that was achieved with more powerful Rover engines on March 5, 1943. Development went forward using a bewildering array of engines, and one lesson [...]