Military history of Canada during World War II the Allied invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy, then fought through the long Italian Campaign. During the course of the Allied campaign in Italy, over 25,000 Canadian soldiers became casualties of war. The 1st Canadian Division and the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in Operation "Husky", 10 July 1943 and also Operation "Baytown", part of the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 September 1943. Canadian participation in the Sicily and Italy campaigns were made possible after the government decided to break up the First Canadian Army, sitting idle in Britain. Public pressure for
Operation Grenade the river on 23 February. By then, other Allied forces were also close to the Rhine. German forces west of the Rhine during operations Veritable, Blockbuster and Grenade lost 90,000 men, of which more than 50,000 became prisoners of war (POW). Allied casualties amounted to some 23,000 men. Footnotes Citations Operation Grenade During World War II, Operation Grenade was the crossing of the Roer river between Roermond and Düren by the U.S. Ninth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson, in February 1945, which marked the beginning of the Allied invasion of Germany. On 9 February, the U.S. Ninth