Canada at War

Season 1

The seminal Canada at War documentary film series is presented in 13 half-hour episodes and culled from more than 14,000,000 feet of film, mostly shot by Canadian Army cameramen during the Second World War.

Where to Watch Canada at War • Season 1

13 Episodes

  • Dusk
    E1
    Dusk1936 - March 1940. In Europe war clouds gather as Germany re-arms and Hitler propounds his 'master race' doctrine. Britain declares war; Canada makes an independent decision to join. The first Canadian troopship sails from Halifax.
  • Blitzkrieg
    E2
    BlitzkriegApril - November 1940. With devastating speed Germany takes Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Italy declares war. The British withdraw from Dunkirk. Mackenzie King feels the Canadian pulse on conscription. England is strafed by the Luftwaffe, and Britons accept Churchill's challenge of 'blood, sweat and tears.'
  • Year of Siege
    E3
    Year of SiegeSeptember 1940 - October 1941. The Battle of the Atlantic begins. German U-boats take their toll of Canadian convoys. The purge of Jews begins. German armies march into Russia. Mackenzie King is booed at Aldershot. Men of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles leave for a fateful mission in Hong Kong.
  • Days of Infamy
    E4
    Days of InfamyDecember 1941 - June 1942. The war is now global and pressures on Canada mount. Canadians adjust to food rationing, salvage drives. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is inaugurated in Canada.
  • Ebbtide
    E5
    EbbtideJuly - September 1942. A time of defeat and disaster. Hitler is at the apex of his power. A Canadian division probes at Dieppe and is repulsed with heavy casualties. Canadian factories take over production of the Lancaster bomber.
  • Turn of the Tide
    E6
    Turn of the TideOctober 1942 - July 1943. The inherent strength of the Allies begins to be felt. Canadian munitions factories operate at peak capacity. U.S. Marines land on Guadalcanal and the Solomons. Montgomery's 8th Army strikes Rommel at Alamein; the R.C.A.F. joins in air strikes against Germany.
  • Road to Ortona
    E7
    Road to OrtonaJuly 1943 - January l944. The objective at last--Fortress Europe. The Canadian 1st Division, flanked by the British and Americans, pushes into Italy. Ortona, is taken by Canadians in fierce and costly street fighting.
  • New Directions
    E8
    New DirectionsDecember 1943 - June 1944. Canada, war-seasoned, girds for the final assault. In the Arctic, Canadian ships sail the Murmansk run with supplies for beleaguered Russia. The Italian campaign intensifies.
  • The Norman Summer
    E9
    The Norman SummerJune - September 1944. D-Day, June 6, 1944. In early morning hours, infantry carriers, including one hundred and ten ships of the Royal Canadian Navy, cross to the coast of France while Allied air forces pound enemy positions from the air.
  • Cinderella on the Left
    E10
    Cinderella on the LeftJune - December 1944. V-1 rockets, and later V-2s, rain death and destruction on Britain; their launching sites are mopped up by Canadians advancing on Pas de Calais. The Third Division spearheads the attack on the Scheldt estuary.
  • Crisis on the Hill
    E11
    Crisis on the HillSeptember 1944 - March 1945. On the eve of victory Canada faces an internal crisis: an acute shortage of men for overseas service precipitates the conscription issue, threatens national unity and the King government.
  • V Was for Victory
    E12
    V Was for VictoryApril-August 1945. Hitler had said: 'Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos.' By 1945, Germany is beaten. Occupying armies uncover the staggering atrocities of Belsen, Auschwitz, and Buchenwald.
  • The Clouded Dawn
    E13
    The Clouded DawnAugust 1945 - 1946. Japan surrenders. World War II is over, but the scars are deep. Canadian prisoners are released from Japanese war camps. In Canada, as elsewhere, the monumental task of rehabilitation begins.

 

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