Battlefields

August 26th, 1944, General de Gaulle has just returned to Paris. For the inhabitants of the capital, this is deliverance after four years of occupation. In ten days of combat, 1,000 resistant fell; 582 Parisians died; General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division lost 141 men; the US forces also lost many men. Equally, 3,200 German soldiers also perished. Discover what actually happened in Paris.

Dieppe 1942, the mention of this name and date is enough to recall the sinister memory of an allied raid composed essentially of Canadian troops. On August 19, after 9 hours of fighting, 1,197 Allied soldiers, including 913 Canadians, were killed. 48 French civilians also died. At the height of the fighting, the attackers lost four men per second. The Dieppe raid turned into a massacre!

The Alps Front, June 1940. A handful of French soldiers are about to face a flood of 300,000 Italians. Everywhere in France, you see defeat. The Government fled to Bordeaux on June 14th. While France is breaking down, General Olry and his men remain stationed on the Alps. During ten days of fierce battle, the Italians will lose more than 6,000 men without seizing an inch of French territory.

It is in the heart of the Ardennes massif that will take place one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. A few days before Christmas, 500,000 Germans are preparing to stampede on the allied forces stationed in the sector. In the early hours of the assault on December 16th, 1944, the American forces are taken by surprise. Discover what actually happened in Ardennes in the winter 1944.

Monday, April 16th, 1917, 6:00 AM, spring is slow to come in the North of France, a cold rain drowns the Chemin des Dames. It will soon snow all over the Aisne Department. However, all the Poilus who attack that day are sure: this time it will be the end of the war. The offensive decided by the new commander-in-chief, General Nivelle, must take everything on its passage.

June 6, 1944, at dawn, 156,000 men are preparing to disembark with five objectives of the Normandy coast. This is Operation Overlord. Among them, combatants which we often forget about their active participation in the liberation of Europe. These are the 15,000 Canadians of the 3rd Infantry Division. They must arrive on a beach five miles wide, code name: Juno.