Remember those who fought: Three Canadian Battles

Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) Dieppe was an operation that was meant to destroy defences and hold the town of Dieppe for a while. It was mainly a test for future invasions (like D-Day). This "test" was given to the Canadians. They weren't all Canadians but most. Of the 6,100 troops, 5,000 were Canadians. Two brigades from the 2nd Canadian Division and a Canadian Tank Division made the main part of the force. British Commandos and about 50 American Rangers supported them. The Royal Air Force (not the RCAF) gave them air cover. At about 5:00, the Canadians showed some hope of success with the early capture of a gun battery but the Germans responded with heavy fire which stopped the troops from any success. The operation gave the allies, a loss of about 1000 men who die, 900 of them who were Canadian, 600 wounded and 1,900 (1874 Canadian) who were captured. This is a battle still remembered by most Canadians as one of the main battles fought by Canadians during the Second World War.

Juno Beach, D-Day (June 6, 1944) D-Day was a slaughter for both Allies and Axis. But this time the offensive worked. There were five beaches known as "Omaha", "Utah" which were American, "Swords" and "Gold" were British, and "Juno" was Canadian. Juno was code for a strip of land about 10 kilometers long near Courseulles-sur-Mer, a French fishing port. The first assault was difficult because the beach obstacles were underwater and not visible because the tide was up. Most of the landing crafts on Juno were destroyed or damaged. There was Little fire because German guns were not aiming towards the sea. But when Canadian troops entered their aim, they suffered many casualties. In fact, for the first hour of offensive the casualty chance was one in two. After some hard fighting, Canadian troops occupied the towns of Bernières and Saint-Aubin. One of the Troop of the 1st Hussar Tank Regiment was the only allied unit that met its final objective on D-Day. The Canadians suffered 1,200 casualties of 21,400 Canadians that landed on Juno.

There you are. Three battles were the Canadians distinguished themselves and showed they weren't just colonial troops. We must remember all those who died or lived during the World Wars.

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