Canada at War
Encyclopedia
Canada at War is a Canadian
World War II
documentary television series which aired on CBC Television
in 1962.
documentary series began in 1958, using numerous film sources such as British films available in Canada, captured German footage, newsreels and footage taken by Canadians within Canada and in various nations. The series was narrated by Budd Knapp based on writing by associate producer Donald Brittain
.
Television in Canada
Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
documentary television series which aired on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in 1962.
Premise
Production of this National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
documentary series began in 1958, using numerous film sources such as British films available in Canada, captured German footage, newsreels and footage taken by Canadians within Canada and in various nations. The series was narrated by Budd Knapp based on writing by associate producer Donald Brittain
Donald Brittain
Donald Brittain, O.C. was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada.Fields of Sacrifice is considered Brittain's first major film as director....
.
Scheduling
This half-hour series was broadcast Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) from 4 April to 27 June 1962. It was rebroadcast in the same day and time from 13 July to 26 October 1963, and again on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. from 24 May to 30 August 1970.Episodes
- "Dusk" (1936-March 1940) features the early developments of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
from Germany's war preparations to Canada's decision to join the Allies - "Blitzkrieg" (April to November 1940) Nazi expansion, Italy's decision to engage in war, the London BlitzThe BlitzThe Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
and Canadian developments such as conscription - "Year of Siege" (September 1940 to October 1941) covers the Battle of the Atlantic, Operation BarbarossaOperation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
and Canadian troops The Winnipeg GrenadiersThe Winnipeg GrenadiersThe Winnipeg Grenadiers was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army formed on 1st April 1908 under General Order No. 20. Initially it was raised with Headquarters at Morden, Manitoba and companies at: ‘A’ Company at Morden, ‘B’ Company at Morden, ‘C’ Company at Manitou, ‘D’ Company at Carmen,‘E’...
and the Royal RiflesRoyal Rifles of CanadaThe Royal Rifles of Canada was a rifle regiment in the Canadian Army and fought alongside the Winnipeg Grenadiers in the Battle of Hong Kong during World War II....
leaving for Hong Kong - "Days of Infamy" (December 1941 to June 1942) follows the Pearl Harbor attackAttack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
and the beginning of America's war effort - "Ebbtide" (July to September 1942) featured the failed Dieppe RaidDieppe RaidThe Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
and the zenith of Nazi power - "Turn of the Tide" (October 1942 to July 1943) covers Allied successes of the Second Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
and the Guadalcanal CampaignGuadalcanal campaignThe Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II... - Road to Ortona (July 1943 to January 1944) covers Allied entry into Italy and Canada's role in the Battle of OrtonaBattle of OrtonaThe Battle of Ortona was a small, yet extremely fierce, battle fought between a battalion of German Fallschirmjäger from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian forces from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes...
- "New Directions" (December 1943 to June 1944) deals with the wartime foreign policy initiatives of William Lyon Mackenzie KingWilliam Lyon Mackenzie KingWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
with the Commonwealth and with Canadian assistance with supplies to Russia - "The Norman Summer" (June to September 1944) covers the Normandy landings and eventual Liberation of ParisLiberation of ParisThe Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
; Canadian forces also return to Dieppe - "Cinderella on the Left" (late 1944) covers German efforts at the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the BulgeThe Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
and their losses of rocket facilities - "Crisis on the Hill" (September 1944 to March 1945) features further Allied successes along the Siegfried LineSiegfried LineThe original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
and in the invasion of Italy. Meawhile, Canadians protest the conscription policy. - "V Was For Victory" (April to August 1945) covers the final stages of World War II with the defeat of Germany and Japan, the discovery of concentration camps and the American nuclear attacks on Japan
- "The Clouded Dawn" covers the post-war period and the beginning of the Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Subjects in this final episode include the Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
and the defection of Soviet cipher clerk Igor GouzenkoIgor GouzenkoIgor Sergeyevich Gouzenko was a cipher clerk for the Soviet Embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. He defected on September 5, 1945, with 109 documents on Soviet espionage activities in the West...
to Canada