German Advances In the spring of 1940 Germany enters France. The Germans have already attacked Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The allies must retreat from the Nazis to the beaches of Dunkirk by June of 1940. Hitler breaks the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1942, and attacks the Soviet Union. Canadian soldiers were training for the war in Britain until 1942. Prior to this time only a few Canadian troops had entered battle. This changed as the Allies began to attack the Germans on their Western Front in order to take some of the pressure off the Soviet Union.
War Production Effort By 1942, Canadian economy is increasingly geared towards wartime production. Revival of the War Measures Act of 1914 gave the government tremendous control over the people and industries of Canada. Crown corporations produced essential war items Price controls and rationing were put in place for gasoline, coffee, tea, butter, jam, milk, sugar, meat etc. 1943: Strikes and lockouts replaced by compulsory arbitration. 1944: Federal government spending on the war effort added up to 40% of Canada s GDN (Gross Domestic Product)
Pearl Harbour United States remained neutral until 1941. However, they enacted the Lend-Lease Act that year which allowed them to give war materials to Britain, and Britain would pay for them later. Japan was an ally of Germany in the East and one of the Axis Powers. They decided to launch a surprise attack on December 7 th 1941 on the Pearl Harbour naval base in Hawaii. On December 8 th 1941 the United States declared war on Japan, and three days later Japan`s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the US.
Dieppe August 19 th 1942: Canadian, British and American troops attack the German fortifications on the French coast at Dieppe. Everything went wrong. They wanted to arrive while it was dark out, but the allied ships were delayed so they arrived at daylight. Bombers were also delayed. The Germans began firing at the ships right away. 5000 Canadians at Dieppe= 1400 killed and approximately 2000 taken prisoner! More Canadians died at Dieppe than in any other day of WWII.
Dieppe prepared Canadian troops for an invasion in 1944: D-Day
Italian Campaign 1943: Canadian, American and British enter Italy via Sicily. They had planned to overtake the country so that the Germans could not use it in the future as an escape route. They were initially met with little resistance as the moved North.
Italian Campaign Continued... When they reached Ortona on the Adriatic Sea the Germans fought back against the Allied forces. Allied forces drove the Germans back. During this battle they broke through the last German defensive line (Adolf Hitler Line) protecting Rome. They took Rome from the Germans and continued to move North where they broke through the last German defensive line in the country (the Gothic Line). Allied forces had successfully taken Italy!
Operation Overlord June 6 th, 1944: otherwise known as D- Day! Allied Forces planned to regain France by attacking the German fortified beaches of Normandy. Normandy landing: Juno, Gold, Omaha Utah & Sword.
Operation Overlord Continued Canadian troops landed on Juno beach. They were met with underwater obstacles, land mines, barbed wire, and heavy machine gun fire from the Germans. 15000 Canadian and 9000 British troops invaded 8km of Normandy beach. Despite the casualties the landing is considered a success.
Saving Private Ryan Intro: Video Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82rtzi5vt 7w
Canada s Involvement Post D-Day Canadian troops played a major role in overcoming the Germans and securing Caen France. This objective cost the lives of over 1000 Allied soldiers. Germans pushed out of Dieppe and Calais. Germans pushed out of Belgium and back across the Rhine River in the Netherlands. At the same time Soviet troops were closing in on the Germans from the Eastern Front. May 8 th 1945: The Nazi s surrender. The Japanese surrendered on September 2 nd after the US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima (Aug. 6 th 1945) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9 th 1945).
War at Sea RCN began the war with 13 ships and 3000 soldiers and ended the war with 370 ships and over 100 000 personnel. West coast of Canada: defence against the Japanese. East coast of Canada: submarine warfare.
Wolfpacks: German hunting submarines. Sunk slow moving supply ships to Britain. Sunk approximately 21 ships in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River. Sinking of the Caribou in 1942. Newfoundland becomes center of the Atlantic Force. Despite Germany s initial success in the war at sea, the British fleet provided destroyers to protect their convoys. Bomber planes also covered the supply routes.
RCAF began the war with a force of 4000; by the end of the war 250,000 Canadian men and women served. Canadians served in Britain's Air force, the RAF. Here they helped the Allies in the battle of Britain (summer 1940). War in the Air
End of the War Canadians experienced 42,042 casualties out of the 1,090,782 troops who served. 55,000,000 people died worldwide. 6 million Jews were murdered Canada participation in WWII set the stage for the country to play a key role in world affairs after the war. Economic trouble emerged once again worldwide. Canada was particularly affected in areas of trade, immigration, and international affairs.
Important Terms: Conscription Pacifist Dieppe Raid Pearl Harbour D-Day Rationing Crown Corporations Compulsory Arbitration GNP War Bond Plebiscite Internment Camps Conscientious Objector Refugees Restitution Patriotism Lend-Lease Act