Canada and the Second World War

The War in Europe

• •1 Sept. 1939, Hitler unleashed a massive air and land attack on Poland. Britain & France immediately declared war on Germany

• •unlike during WWI when Canada was bound by British decisions, Canada declared war on Germany
• •Many Cdns. Still felt strong ties to Br., others felt Ger. Aggression must be stopped
• •anti-German feeling reached a fever pitch when the passenger ship Athenia, > 500 Cdns sunk by Germ. U-boats (3 Sept., 1939)
• •10 Sept., 1939, P.M. King announced Can's entry into the war
• •only one M.P. - J.S. Woodsworth, leader of the CCF party - pacifist
• •Quebec leaders supported entry into war on King's promise thatcompulsory service or conscription 

• •Few Cdns. Displayed the excitement that had marked the beginning WWI
• •memories of Cdn sacrifices
• •expected WWII to be short but ended up more costly and longer than WWII

A New Kind of War

• •technological developments changed the nature of war - airplanes, & other techs expanded the battlefield to include all of the enemy's territory unlike WWI - trenches, no man's land, little movement of lines
• •now possible to attack a nation's defenses, industrial targets, civilian pop. thousands of km away in v. short time
• •bazookas, machine guns made killing quicker, more accurate in land battles - importance of foot soldiers decreases as technology becomes more sophisticated
• •use of fast-moving air, sea and land forces over wide-ranging areas required devt of sophisticated communications systems
• •Br. Late 30s 0 radar warning sys - paid off - helped Br & Cdn pilots win Battle of Br against Ger
• •cryptologists - secret codes - make & break - Enigma Machine
• •scientists developing new technologies at home 

 

Canadian Soldiers & the Beginning of the War

• •Sept. 1939 - Can ill-prepared to fight a war. - small numbers
• •from Oct. '39 - Apr. '40, all expected Ger to attack western Europe - bad weather & Ger indecision - uneasy activity - Germans
• •CZ & Poland occupied by Ger 0 Finland vs Soviet attacks Nov. '39 - Mar. '40
• •Apr. 40 war in Eur. Began in earnest - massive Germ. Blitzkrieg
• •Ger attacked Norway & Denmark in Apr, and Holland, Belgium & Luxembourg in May
• •Ger. Troops then marched into France
• •Br. & Fr. Troops retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk in June 20
• •miracle - fair weather, naval ships, flotilla of all Br. Vessels - pleasure yachts, fishing boats, river ferries, sightseeing boats - saved 350 000 soldiers from destruction
• •most of soldiers' eqt left on beaches - few wks later France surrendered
• •'41 Ger forces attacked Greece & Yugoslavia and made lg . Gains in N. Africa
• •attacks Baltic States
• •June 1942 - Hitler broke Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 - he sent more than 

• •only a few Cdn troops engaged in battle b4 1942
• •most Cdn soldiers stationed in Br - training & preparing
• •Soviets demand Allies open up a new front in the West to draw off some of the Ger troops attacking the S.U. - see p. 205 map

 

U.S. Enters The War

• •1939 also isolationist
• •allowed sale of arms to allies
• •1940 strengthen defenses
• •1941 Am. Troops occupied Iceland to prevent Ger occupation
• •Am. Feared Japanese expansion into Pacific 0 relations tense 1941
• •7 Dec. 1941 Japanese broke off relations w/ U.S. - surprise att ack on U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• •Jp had plans to take Am., Br & Dutch Colonies in the area
• •Am fleet badly damaged 
• •8 Dec. 1941 Am. Congress declared war on Japan, Can. Next then Allies also declared war on Jp
• •then Ger & It declared war on U.S.

 

Dieppe Raid 

• •
• •1942 Allied Command unwilling to respond to Soviet demands for a Western Front
• •no attack into Europe 0 only on Ger fortifications at Dieppe on the Fr. Coast
• •Cdn Second Division w/ Br & U.S. support troops launched an attack on the beaches at Dieppe
• •everything went wrong
• •orig. plan - attack under darkness but ships delayed - landing in daylight
• •bombers also delayed
• •Ger. Attack, more Cdn troops died in the few hours at Dieppe than on any other day of the war (1400 of the 5000 Cdns)
• •some claimed that the raid on Dieppe served no purpose
• •others said raid had served 2 strategic purposes

Italian Campaign

• •Early 1941, Ger & It troops invaded Egypt & N. Africa
• •by end of 1942, Allied troops had regained control in N. Af under command of American general Dwight Eisenhower (future President)
• •next: invasion of Italy July '43 Allied forces land in Sicily & begin long march through It.
• •Cdn forces faced little resistance until Ortona - there Ger. fought - bloody battle 'till Dec. '43
• •Ger. finally driven back - battle w/ Fr.-Cdn unit (Vanadoos)
• •Cdns broke through - last German defensive front b4 Rome - Cdns succeeded in breaking thru the line & continued north - smashed last line of defense in N. Italy in fall '44

 

D-day - Invasion of Normandy

• •6 June '44 "Operation Overlord - great Allied invasion of German-held Europe began
• •Plan: use naval & aerial bombardment to knock out Ger tanks, gun batteries & air bases - then landing along 80 km of Normandy Beach
• •U.S. forces assaulted the west end of the beach - Br. & Cdn. Landed east
• •plan not a complete success - Ger. gun positions were not knocked out, Allied forces on beach unprotected
• •high losses but largely considered a success - gave the Allies foothold in Eur. & began long campaign to push back Ger. armies

 

D-day to The Liberation of The Netherlands

• •after D-day, Cdn troops, led by General G.D.H. Crerar - distinguished them selves - long hard fighting against some of Hitler's crack divisions
• •Caen France - Cdn. 3^rd Div. - 1000 soldiers killed
• •continued to Falaise - inland
• •north thru winter of 44-45 to clear German resistance out of ports - Dieppe & Calais
• •Cdn. - major role - Scheldt estuary - important entrance to Europe from enemy forces
• •by Mar.'45 Cdn. forces moved thru Belgium & pushed Ger troops in Neth. Back across Rhine R.
• •Allied victory - May 45
• •Cdn. command accepted serenader of Nazi forces in Neth - pictures in museum

 

Canadian Involvement Around the World

• •Hong Kong
• •At sea
• •in the air
• •At home
• •Br. Commonwealth Air Training Plan
• •helped liberate Eur
• •Dieppe Raid 42
• •Normandy Invasion ' 44
• •Hong Kong '41
• •RCAF in Pacific
• •RCAF in Egypt
• •invasion of Italy
• •Aleutian Is.
• •navy
• •merchant ships

 

Defense of Hong Kong

• •Br. Island colony
• •7 Dec '41 Jp entered - attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• •Jp attacked a number of other strategic sites throughout the Pacific including Malaya, the Philippines, Guam, & Hong Kong

 
• •Br. Had decided that H.K. was too vulnerable to be defended if Jp entered the war
• •late 41 Br command decided strong force might deter Jp from attacking
• •Br. & Indian forces in H.K. - Can asked to send supporting troops
• •Cdns. barely trained but went
• •all of the Allied troops there greatly outnumbered - high losses
• •ran out of amo & supplies - forced to surrender Dec. 22
• •Cdn. P.O.W.s lived in terrible conds
• •over 1/4 of Cdns. sent to H.K. never returned

 

The War at Sea

• •Can. Committed to war at sea began w/ 13 ships & 3 000 sailors
• •subs - N. Atl & W. Coast
• •war in Atl. In shipping lanes
• •Ger attempted to cut off all supplies to Br from Can. & U.S. hoping to starve the Brits
• •Br & Cdn. navies committed to ending the Ger sub threat

 
• •Ger "wolfpacks" - hunted in teams - v. successful - attacked Atl.
• •targeted slow moving merchant ships - carried essential supplies to Br.

 
• •U-boats active within Cdn. waters & St. Lawrence R. & Gulf of St. L.
• •sank 21 ships
• •'42 enemy sub sank Caribou - N.S.-Nfld passenger ferry 136 dead
• •by spring of 1941 U.S. entered war - Ger U-boats gained control of Atl - sinking merchant ships faster than they could be built
• •answer to U-boat attacks - merchant ship convoys
• •Ger continue to have victories at sea
• •Br. Provided more destroyers to protect convoys
• •Cdn. took over command of N. Atl - Rear-Admiral L.W. Murray took over training of escort crews, refitted corvettes, more ships added, RCAF provided with long range-bombers could cover convoys 'til they reached Br. Airspace
• •by 44-45 wolfpacks far less effective
• •heavy damage from depth charges
• •role of RCN in keeping Atl shipping lanes open very important
• •few ships to West Coast

 

War in the Air

• •RCAF started small 4000 in '39 - grew quickly - 250 000 by end of war
• •men & women
• •Cdn. pilots - Ger, Mid. East, Far East, coast of Can and Norway
• •some Cdns. served in Br. Air force RAF during Battle of Britain in summer '40 successful in fighting off Gers.
• •British Commonwealth Training Plan (see p. 217) - pilots from around the world (Commonwealth) able to train at excellent facilities in Can. - safe from combat zones - highly successful
• •Allies angered by Ger bombing of Br. Cities - Battle of Br. & frequent bombing raids
• •Allies bombed German cities relentlessly day & night
• •officially primary targets military but bombing also inflicted terrible civilian damage >1 000 000 ger killed or wounded
• •morale effected on both sides
• •old bombers - great losses of crews
• •better survival when targets shifted to France
• •bombed factories, troop placements, airfields, fighter squadrons
• •Cdn. bomber group accurate & low casualty rate
• •Ferry Command - Br, Can & U.S. co-op 10 000 planes from N. Am to Br
• •Nfld key role - Gander &Y Goose bay - jumping off points b4 dangerous trans-At non-stop flight
• •very successful but 500 died
• •deliveries & convoy, merchant ship space saved 

 

Women at War 

• •What are some of the roles women played during WWII?
• •What were the women's branches of the military?
• •What important role did women play on the Home Front?
• •What happened to their role after the war?
• •How were attitudes changed permanently after the war?
• •Who was Muriel Brownlee?