What Churchill Said When He Saw Canadian Troops Marching Through London For The First Time

After the remarkable and terribly destructive evacuation at Dunkirk in June 1940, Great Britain reached the lowest point of its difficulties. Although the British Army had managed to cross the Channel, it had been obliged to abandon almost all of its heavy equipment, such as 75,000 vehicles, 2,400 artillery pieces, and large stores of ammunition. There were fewer than 20 tanks left which were still operational on the home island and since Hitler was gathering his forces for Operation Sea Lion, the danger of invasion was both real and immediate. Between London and defeat there was one important formation: the 1st Canadian Infantry Division commanded by Major-General Andrew McNaughton. More than 7,400 fully equipped and trained Canadian soldiers arrived in December 1939 and served as the island's main mobile strike reserve. Since they were based near Oxford and had direct rail links to all the important landing beaches along the southern coast, they supplied the firepower, transport, and morale which Britain desperately needed. Starting from the morale-boosting march through London on July 4, 1940, and including the work carried out on anti-aircraft batteries during the Blitz as well as the fortification of 50 miles of coastline, this video examines the way in which Canada's early commitment contributed to stabilising Britain's defence and provided the foundation for Allied victory. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - June 1940: Britain's Crisis After Dunkirk 03:32 - The Strategic Reserve: 1st Canadian Infantry Division 07:45 - General McNaughton and the Defense of the South Coast 12:29 - July 4, 1940: The Canadian Parade Through London 16:26 - Countering Operation Sea Lion 21:00 - Canadian Units in the Blitz 26:23 - From Coastal Defense to the Liberation of Europe 30:24 - "Some Chicken, Some Neck": Churchill's Address to Canada 32:45 - The Enduring Legacy of Allied Solidarity HISTORICAL SOURCES AND FURTHER READING 1. C.P. Stacey's book, Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific (Volume I), can be obtained from the DND Directorate of History and Heritage. 2. Winston S. Churchill's The Second World War, Volume II: Their Finest Hour, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1949. 3. John Swettenham (1968). McNaughton (Volume 2: 1939-1943). Ryerson Press. 4. Canadian War Museum (CWM) – The Canadian Army in the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1943: https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/canadian-military-history-timeline/second-world-war/ Canada and the Second World War: Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war ABOUT CANADIANS AT WAR The book Canaders at War is committed to recording and keeping safe the history of Canadian military operations, their strategic contributions, and the service personnel throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Subscribe to help with the documentation of independent Canadian military history. Take part in the discussion by commenting on the following: To what extent did the presence of the 1st Canadian Division prevent the Germans from carrying out their invasion plans in the summer of 1940? Please share your opinions below. #CanadianMilitary #WWII #Churchill #BattleOfBritain #MilitaryHistory #CanadianArmy #OperationSeaLion #HistoryDocumentary