The Valour and the Horror

In the autumn of 1941, nearly 2,000 inexperienced Canadian soldiers were sent to Hong Kong at the request of the British government as a symbolic show of strength that would deter a Japanese attack on the colony. Canada's soldiers found themselves in the midst of a desperate battle they could not hope to win. On Christmas Day, 1941, the British colony of Hong Kong officially surrendered to Japan.

Veterans return to World War II battlefields in a chronicle of Canada's involvement.

On June 6, 1944, a combined force of American, British, and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. The Allied invasion of occupied France was a turning point in the war against Hitler's Germany. Canada's infantry and armored regiments were thrown against Germany's elite troops and tank divisions. From a tactical view, Canada's role was limited; strategically, it was pivotal.