Narrated by Budd Knapp Country of origin Canada No. of seasons 1 First episode date 4 April 1962 Number of seasons 1 Written by Donald Brittain | Composer(s) Kenneth Campbell Original language(s) English No. of episodes 13 Final episode date 27 June 1962 Number of episodes 13 Genre Documentary film | |
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Similar The War, The World at War, Apocalypse: The Second, Victory at Sea, The Unknown War | ||
Canada at War is a Canadian World War II documentary television series which aired on CBC Television in 1962.
Contents
Premise
Production of this National Film Board of Canada documentary series began in 1958, using numerous film sources such as British films available in Canada, captured German footage, newsreels and footage taken by Canadians within Canada and in various nations. The series was narrated by Budd Knapp based on writing by associate producer Donald Brittain. The composer for the series was Canadian composer Kenneth Campbell.
Scheduling
This half-hour series was broadcast Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) from 4 April to 27 June 1962. It was rebroadcast in the same day and time from 13 July to 26 October 1963, and again on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. from 24 May to 30 August 1970.
Episodes
- "Dusk" (1936-March 1940) features the early developments of World War II from Germany's war preparations to Canada's decision to join the Allies
- "Blitzkrieg" (April to November 1940) Nazi expansion, Italy's decision to engage in war, the London Blitz and Canadian developments such as conscription
- "Year of Siege" (September 1940 to October 1941) covers the Battle of the Atlantic, Operation Barbarossa and Canadian troops The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles leaving for Hong Kong
- "Days of Infamy" (December 1941 to June 1942) follows the Pearl Harbor attack and the beginning of America's war effort
- "Ebbtide" (July to September 1942) featured the failed Dieppe Raid and the zenith of Nazi power
- "Turn of the Tide" (October 1942 to July 1943) covers Allied successes of the Second Battle of El Alamein and the Guadalcanal Campaign
- Road to Ortona (July 1943 to January 1944) covers Allied entry into Italy and Canada's role in the Battle of Ortona
- "New Directions" (December 1943 to June 1944) deals with the wartime foreign policy initiatives of William Lyon Mackenzie King with the Commonwealth and with Canadian assistance with supplies to Russia
- "The Norman Summer" (June to September 1944) covers the Normandy landings and eventual Liberation of Paris; Canadian forces also return to Dieppe
- "Cinderella on the Left" (late 1944) covers German efforts at the Battle of the Bulge and their losses of rocket facilities
- "Crisis on the Hill" (September 1944 to March 1945) features further Allied successes along the Siegfried Line and in the invasion of Italy; meanwhile, Canadians protest the conscription policy
- "V Was For Victory" (April to August 1945) covers the final stages of World War II with the defeat of Germany and Japan, the discovery of concentration camps and the American nuclear attacks on Japan
- "The Clouded Dawn" covers the post-war period and the beginning of the Cold War; subjects in this final episode include the Nuremberg Trials and the defection of Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko to Canada