1936 - 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.
September 1940 - October 1941. The Battle of the Atlantic begins. Men of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles leave for a fateful mission in Hong Kong.
December 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.
July - 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.
October 1942 - July 1943. The inherent strength of the Allies begins to be felt. Canadian munitions factories operate at peak capacity. The R.C.A.F. joins in air strikes against Germany.
July 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.
December 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.
June - 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.
June - 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.
September 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.
April-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.
August 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.