Second World War

One More River to Cross: The Canadians in Holland

Along one of the myriad canals that crisscross the Dutch Lowlands, the enemy was fighting with a last-ditch determination and suicidal fury. In a typical engagement a German sniper killed a member of a Canadian tank crew. The Canadians went after him, hurling grenades. Just as quickly he tossed them back until he in turn was killed.

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Corvette Ville de Quebec Sinks U-224

Corvettes were seaworthy but unpleasant. Their rounded bottom made them bobble like a cork. To a casual observer, the key battles of World War II were fought on land. Normandy, Stalingrad, El Alamein and others come to mind. Yet many historians believe that the key to the Allied victory was the war at sea, in particular the Battle of the Atlantic.

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Dieppe: The Beaches of Hell

“Dieppe was a tragedy, not a failure.” At 0523 hours, August 19, 1942, Captain Denis Whitaker and the men of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry listened as the hull of their flat-bottomed landing craft grated on the stone shingle of the broad beach fronting the French town of Dieppe.

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