During the Battle of the Atlantic, Germany was trying to destroy Allied convoys transporting supplies across the Atlantic. The side with the advantage kept on constantly switching from the Germans to the Allies, but in the end U-boats were withdrawn from the Atlantic, resulting in a victory. During this war, more than 100 convoy battles took place. In total, it resulted in the loss of more than 30,000 men and 3,000 ships just from the Merchant Navy. From the Germans, it resulted in the loss of more than 750 U-boats and 28,000 men. The victory in WWII would have been much harder without having the victory in the Atlantic. Britain was very dependent on the convoys from the Atlantic, so it was Canada’s main goal to protect them and get them across. With help from the Canadians, more than 25,000 merchant ships were able to make it form North America to Britain. These ships delivered about 165 million tons of cargo to Britain. At the beginning, Canadas navy was relatively small, having only 13 vessels and 3,500 men. But by 1942, Canada had played a major role in the battle and was responsible for a lot of the defense of North American waters. This resulted with Canadas navy increasing drastically, being the third largest navy of the Allies at one point. There were heavy casualties for Canadians, percentage wise, the casualties were higher than any other battle that Canadians participated in during WWII, with having 1 out of every 7 sailors wither killed or wounded. Halifax Memorial in Point Pleasant Park is a monument for all the Canadians who died at sea, on it are the names of 3,257 Canadians who died at sea. Fun Fact! A Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military award, was awarded to Flight Lieutenant David Hornell, from Mimico, Ontario, for his participation during the battle. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He came across a U-boat in June 1944, and even though his aircraft was hit, he still managed to destroy the U-boat and land his plane on the water. Once landed, he gave up his seat in the raft to a different crew member and Hornell died soon after the rescue.