A Critical Moment Of The War

 This is a German self-propelled assault gun, commonly called a Stug III, used during the Italian campaign against Canadian forces.

Alongside Allied forces, Canadian soldiers kept driving up the Italian peninsula, beating the Germans back. By early 1945, the Canadians were moved to join with their countrymen now in France, to drive into Germany.

One of the legacies of the Italian campaign was the storied First Special Service Force, which history remembers as The Devil's Brigade. It consisted of a joint force of American and Canadian soldiers, the forerunners of special operations units in both countries. They were formed in 1942, served with distinction and developed a fierce reputation in Italy, and continued their service in France before being disbanded due to heavy losses at the end of 1944. 

This was their uniform, as well as some of the weapons they used. The sort of soldiers you did not want coming after you.

D-Day was months in the planning, from reconnaissance on shore and working with Resistance groups in occupied Europe, to Allied air forces crippling the Luftwaffe. Those same air units would provide aerial support on June 6th, 1944, when five beaches in Normandy became the place where Allied soldiers stormed ashore and began the liberation of France.

Canadian spies had been among the intelligence officers already working inside occupied Europe well before D-Day to gather information. This display case features artifacts from that side of things.

The Allies sent naval assets to support the landings in Normandy. These are models of Canadian naval ships that took part.

The entrance features a quote from the supreme commander himself. Eisenhower's post orders to the men about to begin the biggest amphibious landing in history referred to what they were doing as the Great Crusade. A fitting term.

A video of a landing craft on D-Day introduces us to the story of the battle.

That first day changed the world. While Americans stormed the beaches at Omaha and Utah, and the British took Sword and Gold beaches, the Canadians landed at Juno Beach. The tide of the war in the west had turned.