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World War II Essay Together, Canada and the United States, on behalf of the Allies, made military contributions in the Second World War, albeit with varying results. Canada had declared war on the Axis Powers only a week after Great Britain and France had made their declarations. The war continued on, and Axis victory was being averted by sheer Allied bravery, even though Britain was near to collapse and France and the rest of Europe had long fallen. Allied victory seemed impossible, until the United States entered the war in December 1941. It was a turnaround and a triumph of American material and logistics superiority. Canadian contributions were not as decisive, yet helped provide stability and note-worthy support to America’s swift and decisive military actions, which helped to bring the war to a predictable end. The Canadian effort was more intrinsic, in nature, and was not very impactful; however Canada’s support to Great Britain proved to be crucial for the latter after the loss of their ally, France and before the Soviet alliance. The participation of Canada, in the Second World War was the largest combined national effort in their short independent history. Canada entered the war willingly, since it realised that Nazi success in Europe could definitely threaten the existence of Western civilization. During the â€Å"Phony War†, from 1940 to 1941, the Royal Canadian Navy helped protect convoys of troops and supplies to Britain. Canada was also the biggest British training ground, with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan based there. Its military was active in the war from early on – mainly in the Italian Invasion, Northern Europe and North Atlantic. Full-fledged Canadian involvement in war came with the Battle of Dieppe, which was, in reality, a failure for the Allies, but it gave them a first-view of German defences on the French coast, later to be very useful for future operations on D-Day. Canada was also involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily, in 1943 and the D-Day landings, at Juno Beach, in June 1944, both of which proved to be successes. Canada made some minor contributions in the Pacific Theatre including the Battle of Hong Kong, in order to help Britain to defend their royal colony from Japan, which, however, was a failure. Canadian involvement in the Second World War was largely self-gratifying, in a way, as it began to develop a huge war industry of aircraft, military vehicles and cargo carriers’ production, most of which went to Britain, which kept its factories working, which spurred them to keep alive their interest in elping to win the war. The major contribution by the Canadians was the usage of the Corvettes that acted as escorts for supply ships on the way to Britain. Without these supplies, D-Day would never have happened. These military skirmishes and actions kept the war alive, but did not initiate any significant results on their own; however they were a pivotal support force. America’s late entry into the war was made up with its efficient and strategic fighting in battles, which ended the Second World War. Most of American military contributions in Europe were in collaboration with troops from other Allied nations, such as the Italian Campaign, D-Day landings (under American General D. Eisenhower) and the Battle of the Bulge. Starting from the West, Allied forces moved further eastwards, with the United States leading from the front, while Soviet forces attacked westwards, trapping Berlin. Hitler committed suicide, Nazi Germany was in disarray, and the war in Europe was won. It was a victory for American troops, and an overall Allied victory; with this, it seemed to be the â€Å"beginning of the end† for the Third Reich’s rule. On the other hand, the Pacific Theatre was won practically single-handedly by the United States. The entry of the United States into the war was literally forced by Japanese actions, in attacking the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, resulting in the loss of a good portion of the US Navy. Ostensibly, US interests were physically attacked, for the first time in the war, by Japan, and this provoked the United States to enter the war, even though America, straight out of Depression, did not want to get involved in the war directly, but stay on the periphery. The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway followed, and prevented Japanese attack on Oceania. It was at Guadalcanal that America first took the offensive, resulting in a victory. The long-drawn Battle of Okinawa was the final push towards one of the greatest events of World War Two – the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to subsequent Japanese surrender, and the end of the Second World War. Most American battles were over a shorter span of time, but their strategies were effectual and precise and their military prowess helped to end the war. The American military contributions essentially led to an Allied victory and helped to finish a lingering and indecisive war conclusively. The United States and Canada witnessed no actual war on home soil, but together with Britain, USSR and other Allies, they played a decisive role in securing a victory against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Before the entered the war, both Canada and the United States possessed small militaries, but war mobilization and export of war materials transformed both these countries into mighty military powers by the end of the war, in their own respects. Canadian relations with the US became notably closer during the war. Both USA and Canada were reticent to enter the war, but once they did, their contributions were profound. The contributions of both the nations, albeit in slightly different aspects, helped to sustain and accelerate, and eventually end what became known as the most devastating war of all time.