WWII and Canada’s role

CANADA ENTERS THE WARAfter Hitler had begun the Blitzkreig policy of

attack on Poland, Britain and France entered the war and Canada came in 9 days later;

Following closely after the German U-boats had sunk the passenger ship Athenia carrying 500 Canadians;

Parliament voted unanimously in favour of declaring war;

Quebeckers voted in favour after being promied that conscription would not be enacted;

The Allies The AxisThe Axis

CANADA IN WARCanadians did not look forward to the

war as they had in 1914, but because of the problems of the Depression there were many who were willing to enlist;

Because of technological advances of WWI, there would be no fighting in the trenches;

Airplanes, faster tanks, better machine guns, improved sea vehicles, mobile artillery, long-range bombers;

All increased the size of the battlefield and the danger that faced the soldiers;

CANADA IN WARThere were also important technological

advances in communication devices:Radios,Radar warning systems,Encoded messages – cryptology

This war would also be more expensive and last longer than the previous war;

FACTS AND FIGURESIn September 1939 the Canadian Armed

Forces recruited 4000 regular troops, 60 000 part-time militia soldiers, 3000 regular sailors, 4000 pilots and Air Force members;

Recruitment began quickly and first troops reached Britain in December 1939;

Phony War from October 1939 to April 1940 the bad weather and German indecision enabled the Western troops to be better trained than in the previous war;

Early Battles: Evacuation of Dunkirk

May 10, 1940Invasion of NetherlandsGerman forces went into Belgium and into FranceGermans almost reached Dunkirk, near the English ChannelAllied forces were surrounded and had to escapeThey could only escape by the sea May 26, 1940Britain decide to organize all its boats, from ferries to fishing boats to go to the beaches of Dunkirk, so they can save the Allied forcesLuftwaffe, German air force, bombed Dunkirk.Escape from Dunkirk was hard, but Allies were able to escapeJune 22, 1940Because of Germany’s strong army, Germany soon captured France.France surrendered.Only Britain and the Commonwealth countries fought against Germany

Battle of BritainJuly 10, 1940 “Operation Sea Lion”•Germany’s plan to attack Britain•Destroy Britain’s air power•Massive bombing of harbours and shipping facilities in Southern England•Bombing raids of airfields and aircraft factories•Bombing of civilian targets for almost 55 nights scared and killed many people while destroying buildings and streets•Germany had more planes than Britain, but Germany could not win war against British. Largely due to the strong radar system that was developed by the British.•Joined by many pilots from Commonwealth countries•Britain was successful in shooting German bombers and stopping any further advancement of the Nazi’s.

May 1941•Hitler decided to stop trying to invade Britain

New Planes:The Spitfire The Hurricane

Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)

increased in numbers and became more important

Participated in bombing raids in Germany, North Africa, Northwest Europe, and Southeast Asia

Participated in night bombing in Germany

Canadians at SeaRoyal Canadian Navy rushed into a massive building and training program

1940-1944: The Battle of the AtlanticCanada’s help was neededFood and military suppliesAllied ships to England were being sunk by German submarinesConvoy systemWarships escort and protect ships that carry important suppliesGerman still destroyed these ships

CorvettesEscort convoysQuick, small, and easily controlledUnsteadyBuilt by Canadians

The War at Home

Review On September 10th 1939 Canada officially entered the

second world war. Canada vowed to help the Allies ( Britain, France and the Soviet Union) defeat Germany and the growing NAZI regime.

At the start of the war Prime Minister Mackenzie King outlined what Canada’s role would entail. -the defense of Canada-The production of food and goods for the Allies-Development of the RCAF and RCN-Production of weapons for the Allies-The development of merchant ships used to in convoys to ship goods to Europe

Review cont’While overseas the Canadian soldiers played an

integral role within the Allies. Canadians were effectively used in the Battle of

Britain, the Miracle at Dunkirk, Dieppe and many more.

ECONOMY In 1939, Canada was not ready for war.

Over 500,000 unemployed workers. Hundreds of thousand Canadians were

hired for new war industries Factories that once produced cars,

appliances and other goods, were converted to war production

By 1942, 2.5 billion was being spent on Canada’s war industry.

Between 1940 – 1942 Canada’s total industrial production increased by 47%.

The government needed to raise money for the war effort, they introduced Victory Bonds.

Government would repay loan with interest.

Women at the war effortWW2 again required many Canadian men to enlist and travel to

fight in Europe. This transition allowed women the opporunity to find work and

prove their value to the Canadian people. Women were required to again work in many male dominated

fields. By the end of the war many women had enlisted in the army and

were sent overseas. Just under 10, 000 women were sent to help the Allies.

Propaganda

Conscription In 1942 Canada was faced with the issue of conscription yet again.

Mackenzie King promised to avoid this at all cost. However the need for soldiers was intensifying and the demands needed to be met.

Prime Minister King had to be careful with his descission. This could greatly divide the nation and intensify already hostile French- English relations.

King held a vote to see where the nation stood on the government telling the people they had to go to war. 65% voted to let the government decide. In Quebec 76% voted against the government.

King used a slogan to help ease the tensions “ Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription”

In 1944 King had to implement a small version of conscription and 16,000 soldiers were recruited. Only 2500 actually fought in the war.

National Resources Mobilization ActA law that authorized limited conscription

of Canadian Men. These men were to be trained to defend in case Canada was attacked and invaded.

The government amends the National Resources Mobilization Act to permit overseas conscription, if an emergency occurred.

“Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary”.

1944, conscription took place, but only for men who were already trained.

Japanese Canadians Since the late 1850’s the West Coast had been divided by deep

racial problems. There was an especially high Anti-Asian sentiment in the West.

Japanese were segregated: the white population in B.C. would not interact with the Japanese, jobs were denied to Japanese, and they were looked upon with suspicion.

The Japanese community was seen with suspicion. They thought the Asians were trying to take over B.C. This fear of Asians in B.C. was known as “Yellow Peril”. This fear prompted anti-Asian sentiments through discrimination, verbal abuse, and even mob violence.

The population growth in the Japanese communities was far higher than the white communities. This was seen as a threat because as the community kept growing, the more land they inhabited and the more businesses and networks they would open.

The Japanese community took over the fishing industry in British Columbia. They were better fishermen and the other communities could not compete with them. This was seen as a take-over ploy.

Japan’s conquests in Asia sparked fear that British Columbia would be next, due to the large Japanese community living on the coast. They believed that all Japanese living in B.C. had the potential to be spies and were communicating with Japan.

With the attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, fear and Anti-Asian sentiments intensified.

In the weeks following Pearl Harbour some Japanese in Vancouver were victimized by scattered acts of violence and vandalism. These activities intensified as time went on.

The white population in B.C. pressured the government to get rid of the Japanese living on the coast. Rumours of Japanese spies and communication with Japan mounted, violence against the Japanese in B.C. worsened, and protest by the population grew day by day.

There was fear by the B.C. government of open rioting and violence due to the growing fears of a Japanese take-over.

The B.C. government pleaded with the Federal Government to step in and stop the racial and violent problems in the province.

Interment campsThe Canadian government listened to the cries of British

Columbia and they established Interment Camps.Japanese Canadians were sent to isolated camps in the

interior of B.C. Men were sent to one camp and women and children to another.

The government would sell off the peoples belongings and never compensated the imprisoned Canadians.

There was not a single documented case of any Japanese Canadian spy.

In 1988 the Canadian government admitted their wrong doing and attempted to pay back the surviving Japanese Canadians.

A shift is occurring

The War continues in Europe

Operation Barbarossa Germany lost the Battle of Britain• “Operation Barbarossa” Invasion of Russia• Germany and the Soviet agreed before in 1939 that they would not invade

each other, but Hitler did not keep his promise!• Hitler needed to control Russia because he wanted a greater Germany, a big

German Empire• Russians were surprised and unprepared fro this attack.• German troops were successful in surrounding Russian troops• BUT Germany troops were not prepared for the long and bitterly cold Soviet

winter

1942• Germany launched another attack to gain control of Russia’s oil fields in the

south• German troops were able to reach one of Russia’s main cities, Stalingrad, but

the winter made them suffer• Germany surrendered in 1943

1943• Soviet army was able to take the territory Germany gained from their

invasions

19421942Allies gained strength when the US entered the conflict in Dec. 1941Allies began to win the Battle of the AtlanticAllies made important advances in Asia

19431943Allies cleared North Africa of Axis forces and could turn their attention to the invasion of Europe

WESTERN HELPBy 1942, the Nazis were invading Russia (Operation Barbarossa) and attempting to engage the Russians while occupying more land adjacent to Germany;

Stalin’s forces were being stretched as the Nazis were technically fighting on “one front” as the Western Allies had yet to engage the Nazis in France or Belgium;

Stalin was anxious to have the Allies attack the French coast to draw some of Hitler’s forces into action away from Russia;

DIEPPE 1942To respond to Stalin’s request, Allies arranged

an attack of Dieppe on French coast to hit some of the German forces;

Units were mainly from Canadian Second Division with support from American and British Troops, as a response to pressure within the Canadian army and at home to have the Canadians engage in active battle;

There were many problems with the plans of this attack and the Canadian troops would suffer great losses;

OPERATION “JUBILEE”Everything went wrong from the start:

Attacked in daylight instead of at night;Bombers for cover were delayed;German artillery emplacements began firing

immediately;Those reaching land were soon forced back;Of 4000 landing, 1400 killed or wounded, 2000

taken prisoner;More Canadians died at Dieppe than on any

other day of the war;

DIEPPE 1942

The benefits of the attack were considered afterward:Satisfied the Soviet request for diversion and

Western front attack;Canadians gained valuable experience for

the attack to come in 1944;

Operation Slapstick: The Allied Invasion of Italy 1943

The Invasion of Italy British PM, Winston Churchill, said that the best way to get to Europe from Germany

was through the “soft Underbelly” of Europe—Italy and Sicily Invasion of Italy and Sicily Thought it would be easy Lasted almost tow years and cost many lives Therefore, not so easy

July 10, 1943 Canadians participated in Allies’ invasion of Sicily Allies were successful

September 1943 Moved to mainland Italy Rugged terrain, muddy conditions, and cold rainy weather (similar to WWI) Slow battles

Example: Battle over one town, Ortona Canadians fought for a long time Germany withdrew eventually Allies advance through Italy was hard

June 4, 1944 Reached Rome and gained control of it Continued in Italy until the spring of 1945

Fall of Fascism in ItalyOn September 8 1943, the new Italian

Government surrendered to the Allies, reversed alliances and declared war against Germany. The Germans reacted by occupying Rome