Project ‘44 was founded to highlight the role of one such underappreciated country – Canada. Project ‘44 undertook an unprecedented project to map Canadian forces as they advanced across North-West Europe and Italy between 1944-45. This visual and data driven approach has provided incredible insights and opened new avenues of historical analysis. But this is just the first step, and its potential for expansion is huge.
Read MoreIn early 2021, our team was asked to help research the story of Sergeant Elwin Arbour of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI).
Elwin Glen Arbour was born in Tay, Ontario, near Lake Simcoe, on the 2nd of July 1915. His parents were Harry and Elizabeth Arbour. Only his father was alive at the time of his death. He was the seventh child out of ten. Elwin played many sports including boxing, baseball, skating, and skiing.
Arbour enlisted on the 19th of September 1939 with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Read MoreThis contribution to Project ‘44 explores the locations and target types attacked by 143 Wing RCAF Typhoons between D-Day (6th June) and the culmination of the Normandy Campaign in the final days of August 1944
Read MoreCanada’s Second World War in the Pacific Theatre began at Hong Kong on the 8th of December 1941 and continued until its dramatic and sudden conclusion in the summer of 1945. Canada’s involvement in the Pacific has been greatly overshadowed by the war in Europe. This situation does not mean that Canada made a minimal contribution to the fight against Japan.
Read MoreMoe made his long-awaited combat debut on August 8th 1944, in Operation Totalize – the largest operation yet undertaken by the Canadian Army in the European war. The Grenadier Guards' role was straightforward but far from simple.
Read MoreSamuel Moses “Moe” Hurwitz was born on January 28, 1919, just two months after the end of the First World War. He was the eighth child of thirteen born to Bella and Chaim (Hyman) Hurwitz, of Montreal. Moe’s parents were Jewish immigrants who had arrived in Canada at the beginning of the 20th century.
Read MoreHave you ever wanted to explore the battlefields of Second World War Europe from the comfort of your own home? Or maybe you wanted to find out where your relative was on a particular day. Now you can with Project ’44: The Road to Liberation. Project ’44 is a free online web map that covers the European Theatre of Operations from the DDay landings in June 1944 to Victory in Europe in May 1945.
Read MoreDefining Moments Canada/Moments Déterminants Canada, a heritage education organization, announced today its partnership with the Juno Beach Centre Association and The Canadian Research and Mapping Association (Project44.ca) to lead the 2020 national commemorative project to share the stories of Canadians’ contributions to the Liberation of Holland and Victory in Europe (V-E Day).
Read More“There is little to be thankful for in war[.] I was thankful for one thing, as a result of the battle for St. Lambert[.] I know that there is much to fear in war, but to me, the greatest fear was the possibility that I might not measure up to that which was asked of me. St. Lambert proved to me that I could measure up, and left me with the certain conviction that the war with Germany was in its final stages and that we would be equal to the task ahead of us – the final defeat of Germany.” - D.V Currie VC
Read MoreThe date was 11 August 1944. The Battle of Normandy was over two months old, and First Canadian Army had just concluded Operation Totalize, a massive armoured thrust across the Verrières Ridge and down the Caen-Falaise highway. Falaise, the next major communications centre south of Caen, remained in German hands.
Read MoreIn Normandy during the early morning hours of 9 August 1944, a battlegroup under of the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Donald Worthington (British Columbia Regiment (BCRs) and the Algonquin Regiment) set out in the dark to capture Point 195 north of Falaise. When daylight broke, Worthington confidently reported to 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade headquarters that he was on the objective and requested immediate support to defeat the determined German attempts to dislodge him. Unbeknownst to him, his battlegroup had lost its way in the dark and ended up on a piece of high ground near Hill 140, some six and half kilometres east of its intended destination.
Read MoreThe flash and thunder of over 1000 artillery pieces lit up the darkness at 0330 hours on July, 25th 1944 to usher in Operation Spring – the largest Canadian set-piece operation up to that point in the Second World War.
Read MoreOperation Atlantic, 18 to 21 July 1944. The debut of 2nd Canadian Infantry Division and II Canadian Corps headquarters in Normandy. Its purpose was to guard the western (right) flank of a British armoured assault (Operation Goodwood) to the east and south of Caen. Operations Goodwood and Atlantic were part of a series of costly battles designed to grind down the German armies in Normandy to facilitate a breakout.
Read MoreA dark overcast sky looms overhead; the low rumble of engines and waves filling the air between the nervous-silence that envelop the crews. Miles behind them, the massive invasion force slowly steams towards France. Onboard their Bangor-class minesweeper vessels, the men of the Royal Canadian Navy know their objective is but one of many critical tasks necessary for the success of Operation NEPTUNE. It is perhaps the most critical task, yet it remains one of the unheralded acts of bravery and naval discipline in the Second World War.
Read MoreOperation Dick Tracy took place towards the end of World War Two (1944 – 45). Foreseeing an imminent collapse of Nazi Germany, Allied commanders seized large quantities of cartographic materials and aerial photographs. It was quickly realized by the Allied Forces that the Luftwaffe had much more advanced aerial photogrammetry techniques. Faced with the possibility of losing such information to the rapidly advancing Soviets on the Eastern front, Operation Dick Tracy was of paramount importance, considering the geopolitical divisions of an eventual post-war Europe.
Read MoreDuring the Second World War 1939-1945, overseas surveying and mapping consisted of topographic survey, map reproduction and mensuration of aerial photography. Unlike in the First World War were the British Royal Engineers provided much of the geographic support for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), during the Second World War the Royal Canadian Engineers would provide geographic support for the Canadian Army.
Read MorePhantom’s role was to provide early information on the progress of the battle, and on other matters of immediate importance, primarily for the higher command holding reserves capable of influencing military operations also for other commands directly concerned in the conduct of the ongoing operations. Phantom had no duties in the field other than the collection, passage and dissemination of information. In the battle information was obtained by liaison, intercept (J) or personal reconnaissance.
Read MoreWe would like to welcome the many new subscribers to Project ’44 and remind you that you can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to have up to date sit-reps on the project.
For those of you who are just joining us, Project ’44 began over a year ago with a mission of mapping out the First Canadian Army on its Battle through Normandy.
Read MoreAt 2045 hours on 7 July 1944 nine Hawker Typhoon IBs flown by Canadians in 439 “Sabre-Tooth Tiger” Squadron RCAF took off from B5 airfield near Le Fresne-Camilly. It was a short seven kilometres to their target, the village of Buron, which had been a feature of 3rd Canadian Infantry Division’s frontline for a month.
Read MoreHow well do you know the Battle of Normandy? If you read about places like Authie, Buron, or St. Lambert-sur-Dives, would you know where they were without a map? Would you know what operations took place in those towns or which Canadian units fought there?
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