Battle Of Vimy Ridge, The On To Ottawa Trek And D-Day Invasion

The 20th century was a great year for Canada. Canada had great achievements during that century which made its name recognized. Canada’s most significant achievements are the Battle of Vimy Ridge, The On to Ottawa Trek and the D-Day invasion. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a great achievement that recognized Canada into its path of independence. This invasion was the first ever Canadian victory consisting of all Canada’s 4 divisions, each division containing 10,000 to 15,000 troops (“Army Units and Sizes” N.P.). This was the first time all of Canada’s 4 divisions were fighting together. Prior to this, Britain and France were unsuccessful in taking control of a German stronghold on Vimy Ridge which leads to Canada being their only hope, Canadians.

In 1935, relief camp workers decided to strike in British Columbia to get higher wages and better conditions. Relief camp workers organized a huge “On to Ottawa Trek” to get recognized by the government. Trekkers, the people who were on freight trains, arrived in Regina with a group of over 2000 men. Only 8 people were allowed to go to Ottawa to fight for their dreams. This failed because the government, that was controlled by R.B Bennett thought the people were thieves and liars, which led to the Regina riot. This brung the society together because those involved in the on to Ottawa Trek were not only fighting for themselves but for the rights of others. With over 1500 people, including 300 trekkers, people fought for their rights (Hoogeveen 258). The Great Depression was the main cause for people losing jobs and money. Citizens needed an event to stimulate the end of the Great depression. The On to Ottawa made that possible because it made citizens aware of the conditions in relief camps. Also when the Regina riot was over, a new Prime Minister and unemployment insurance were changed (On to Ottawa: Aftermath N.P.). With this said, it shows that this was the main cause that ended the great depression. Not only the on to Ottawa Trek help end events, the D-Day invasion was a cause for winning World War

It was planned that the allied troops will “fake” a massive attack which will make Germans think that a final battle was happening at a port of France called Calais. Canada was the only division that penetrated farther than any other allied force. With over 14, 000 remaining soldiers on Juno Beach with 340 killed Canadians, 574 wounded and 47 captured, the Canadians bravely fought and for success (Hoogeveen 300). Surprisingly, casualties were minimal which showed that Canadian soldiers were the most effective in taking over the beach of Normandy with more soldiers invading the beach. This was also the battle which gave them the most of the recognition. Canadians participate in a lot of events but they do not always receive the recognition they need. In the end, this showed that Canadians showed pride and determination in the battle of D-day. As a final point, without Canada, World War 2 would not have ended because Canada was the only division to make it up to Juno Beach. Juno beach was the furthest away from Normandy which made it a very difficult challenge for allies to reach it up to that point with heavy artillery such as machine guns and barbed wire made it even more of a challenge. Canada being the main cause of D-day being such a