Download Canada in WW II - Salmon Arm Secondary

Canada in WW II
• Just 20 years after
WW I, “the war to end
all wars,” Canada
found itself embroiled
in yet another World
War.
Germany Attacks Poland
• The Second World
War began at dawn
on Sept 1, 1939 when
Germany sent one
million soldiers
supported by 1500
aircraft into Poland.
Nazi-Soviet Pact
• A prior pact on Aug
23, 1939 between
Germany and the
Soviet Union agreed
to split Poland.
• Poland disappeared
from the map.
• The first glimpse of
blitzkrieg tactics.
Canada Enters War
• Unlike WW I, Canada
did not automatically
enter when Britain
declared war(Sept 3,
1939).
• Canada declared war
on Sept 10, 1939.
Mackenzie-King
Canada’s Military
• Budget cuts during the
depression and an
unwillingness to admit
that Canada could be
involved in another
overseas war led to a
military which was
small, outdated and ill
equipped.
Volunteers outnumber
Demand
• The only weapons
were WW I vintage
rifles.
• The prevailing feeling
was grim determination
and resignation.
• Some volunteered to
escape unemployment,
others were patriotic.
Sitzkrieg: The Phony War
Sept 1939 - April 9, 1940
• The Germans behind
the West Wall opposite
the Maginot Line were
inactive, doing their
best not to provoke the
French.
Followed
the collapse
of Poland.
The Sitzkrieg ["sitting war" -- the opposite of the Blitzkrieg] or in French
drôle de guerre was a waiting period of neither war nor peace. The German
Wehrmacht had concentrated the bulk of its forces in Poland, and the
western border at the Rhine was completely unprotected throughout
September 1939. The Western Allies did not sieze this opportunity to attack
Germany during a moment of strategic weakness. The Germans behind the
West Wall opposite the Maginot Line were inactive, doing their best not to
provoke the French. During the eight months of the Sitzkrieg Germany
rapidly rearmed, adding a million new soldiers, vastly increasing its
ammunition stockpile, and trippling the number of medium and heavy
tanks. The German generals feared a new world war, knowing it could not
be won, and everything within their limited powers to discourage Hitler
from attacking the West. By late November 1939 the invasion of the Low
Countries had been postponed, and the Luftwaffe tested Allied defences by
sending small formations of aircraft on recconnaissance missions. The
British responded by scrambling flights from squadrons in France. As the
Sitzkrieg gained momentum, Germany announced a blockade of Britain
carried out primarily by German U-boats.
Source:http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/world_war_2.htm
Canada’s First Reaction
• King was reluctant to
get involved
• He hoped to hold
Canada’s commitment
to training pilots and
navigators for Britain,
and supplying
armaments and food
But in Dec,
1939 the 1st
Infantry
Division
is sent to
Britain.
Blitzkrieg
• April 9, 1940
Germany struck
Denmark and Norway
• May 10, 1940
Germany attacks
Holland, Luxembourg,
Belgium and France
• Belgium falls May 27
May 10,
1940
Winston
Churchill
becomes
Prime
Minister of
Britain
Dunkirk:
“Operation Dynamo”
• Between May 26 and
June 4, about 270,000
British and 70,000
French soldiers are
evacuated from Dunkirk.
• Paris surrenders ten
days later, on June 14,
1940.
The Defeat of Dunkirk
• It remains an
undisputed fact that
Dunkirk was a crushing
defeat for the British
army.
• The English lost over
68,000 casualties
during the nine day
ordeal.
The Myth of Dunkirk
• However, thanks to the incredible
evacuation, the British government and
military authorities saw the possibility to
turn this devastating loss into a moral
victory. With the willing and patriotic cooperation of the press and broadcasters,
a myth was created whose poetic
strength sustained the morale of the
nation at the time.
British Armoured Cars
After Dunkirk
Britain’s Largest Ally
• June 22, 1940 France
surrenders
• Canada is now
Britain’s largest ally
• Britain, alone, awaits
German Invasion
from across the
English Channel
Battle of Britain
Aug 13 - Sept 17, 1940
• 3,080 aircrew served
in RAF Fighter
Command during the
Battle of Britain. Of
these 520 were killed
• Squadrons included
many men from
Canada
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler
attacks
Russia
June 22,
1941
The Pacific Front
• Canada was far less
involved in the Pacific
than in the Atlantic.
• But Canada’s first
action was in the
defence of Hong
Kong.
War in the Pacific
• 1 975 Canadians
fought for 18 days
before, surrendering
on Dec 25, 1941
• 290 Canadians were
killed, another 260 die
later in POW camps
Prisoners of War
• Japan's early
successes in the Far
East resulted in the
capture of hundreds
of thousands of Allied
military and civilian
personnel.
Japan’s Contempt
• Treatment of the
captives was
generally extremely
harsh as Japanese
military philosophy
held that anyone
surrendering was
beneath contempt.
Pacific Prisoners
• Malnutrition, and
disease were
endured by the
prisoners who were
frequently forced to
undertake arduous
work.
• Over a quarter of
them died.
United States Entry
• Dec 7, 1941 Pearl
Harbour attacked
• Dec 8 Roosevelt
declares war on Japan.
• 3 days later Germany
and Italy declare war
on the United States.
The Jeep
A Universal
All-purpose
Vehicle
Battle of the Pacific
• In the Pacific
Ocean battles
raged over miles
of sea and were
fought primarily
between aircraft
carried on board
ship.
Battle of the Pacific
• Victories in the
battles of the
Coral Sea in
May 7-8,1942
and Midway in
June 4-7, 1942
gave the United
States the
initiative.
Coral Sea and Midway
Battle of the Pacific
• Canada was to have
sent 60 ships and
13 500 men to the
Pacific in the final
stage of the war but,
• In fact only one ship,
the cruiser Uganda
took active part.
V-1 Rocket
Dieppe
• On Aug 19, 1942
6 000 troops (5 000
Canadians) sailed for
Dieppe
• The plan called for
attacks at 5 points
along a 10 mile front.
Dieppe
• The landing craft of
the eastern sector
unexpectedly
encounter a small
German convoy.
• Surprise is lost, most
of the unit never
reach the shore.
Dieppe
• At Puys, a narrow
beach with lofty cliffs,
success depended on
surprise and
darkness.
• Neither were
achieved, 220 were
killed -- the rest taken
prisoner.
Dieppe
• The Western front
fared better, but in the
end had to retreat or
surrender.
• While lessons were
learned,Canada’s
costs were high: 907
dead, 2 946 POWs,
3 367 casualties.
WW II Tanks
Tanks became an
import strategic
weapon of WWII.
Battle of the Atlantic
• For six long years the
Canadian Navy was
one of the principal
contenders
• Beginning with 13
ships, and 3000 men,
it ended with 373
ships and 90 000
men
Battle of the Atlantic
Sicily & Italy
• Despite losses in
Dieppe, Canadian
High Command
insisted that
Canadians be
involved in the
invasions of Sicily
July 10-31 and Italy
in 1943.
Churchill’s “Soft
Underbelly”
• More than 90 000
Canadians served in
the campaign in Italy.
• A quarter of them,
22 500, were killed or
wounded.
• The “soft underbelly”
of the south was not
an easy battleground.
Preparation for D-Day
Casablanca Conference
January 1943
June 6, 1944 D Day
• The largest invasion
in history.
• 18 500 Canadian
casualties, one-third
of these killed.
• Canada faced a
crisis King had tried
to avoid: a lack of
trained men.
Operation Overlord
Overlord Leaders
General Eisenhower
Supreme Commander
Air Chief
Marshal Tetters
Admiral Ramsay
General Montgomery
General Bradley
General Patton
V-2 Rocket
Liberation of
Netherlands
• But once again few
conscripts saw battle
• April1, 1945 united
Canadian army
began fight to free
Holland
• 6 000 Canadian
casualties, few are
conscripts
Conscription
• “Not necessarily
Conscription but
Conscription if
necessary.” King
• Minister of Defence
Ralston recommends
sending NRMA
(Zombies) overseas
in 1944
King Fires Ralston
• King fires Ralston in
Nov 1944, replacing
him with McNaughton
ex-commander of
Canadian Army
• McNaughton tries to
get NRMA to
volunteer
King Sends Zombies
• Few respond
• Nov 22 1944 King
meets parliament and
tables Order in
Council sending
Zombies overseas
• Parliament agrees by
a vote of 143 to 70
Riots & Mutiny
• In Montreal riots were
the response
• In Terrace BC NRMA
men took over the
camp and refused to
budge
• In the end about
13 500 conscripts
went overseas
V-E Day
• May 6, 1945
Germany
surrenders
• 333 days
since D-Day
11 336 Canadians had been killed in
Northern Europe in these 11 months
The Ultimate Weapon
• Victory in Japan is
achieved by the
ultimate weapon
August 6, 1945 8:15 a.m.
A B-29 bomber--the Enola
Gay--released a 9,700-pound
uranium bomb, nicknamed
Little Boy, over the city of
Hiroshima in southern Japan.
Hiroshima was an important
military and communications
center with a population of
300,000.
1 Bomb
140,000 casualties
Little Boy detonated 1,900
feet above the city,
killing 70,000 people and
wounding another 70,000.
The bomb devastated
everything within five
square miles.
Little Boy
• The buildings in the Japanese city of
Hiroshima, once the most modern in
the country, are now in ruins or totally
obliterated after the atomic bomb
August 9, Nagasaki
• Another B-29 bomber-Bock's Car--headed to
bomb Kokura Arsenal;
however, the pilot
switched to his
secondary target,
• Nagasaki, because of
the weather over
Kokura.
Fat Man
• A 10,000-pound
plutonium bomb
dropped over the
slopes of Nagasaki,
• killed 40,000,
• injured 60,000, and
destroyed three square
miles of the city.
VJ DAY
• On Aug 15, 1945 VJ
Day ends the second
world war
• The most costly
conflict the world has
ever seen
Canada’s Effort
• At the end of the war
Canada had the 3rd
largest navy and the
4th largest air force in
the world. Its army
consisted of 6
divisions (60 000
men).
Canada’s Contribution
• For a nation of only
11 million people it
was a considerable
contribution
• Economically Canada
had contibuted a total
of $10 billion in war
productiion
Canada’s Contribution
• Over 1 million
Canadians served in
the armed forces
• The war cost Canada
a total of $20 billion
and killed 41 700
Canadians.
Information Source
• Veteran’s Affairs,
Valour Remembered
• Video and Audio
Clips from World War
II Encyclopaedia: The
European Theatre
• Videotape: Canada
& World War Two
[SVT 93048]