WWII and Canada’s role
CANADA ENTERS THE WAR
 After 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 Axis
CANADA IN WAR
 Canadians 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 WAR
 There 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 FIGURES
 In 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, 1940
Invasion of Netherlands
German forces went into Belgium and into France
Germans almost reached Dunkirk, near the English Channel
Allied forces were surrounded and had to escape
They could only escape by the sea
May 26, 1940
Britain decide to organize all its boats, from ferries to fishing boats to go to the
beaches of Dunkirk, so they can save the Allied forces
Luftwaffe, German air force, bombed Dunkirk.
Escape from Dunkirk was hard, but Allies were able to escape
June 22, 1940
Because of Germany’s strong army, Germany soon captured France.
France surrendered.
Only Britain and the Commonwealth countries fought against Germany
Battle
of
Britain
July 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) 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 Sea
Royal Canadian Navy rushed into a massive building and training program
1940-1944: The Battle of the Atlantic
Canada’s help was needed
Food and military supplies
Allied ships to England were being sunk by German submarines
Convoy system
Warships escort and protect ships that carry important supplies
German still destroyed these ships
Corvettes
Escort convoys
Quick, small, and easily controlled
Unsteady
Built 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 effort
 WW2 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
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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
Act
 A 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 camps
 The Canadian government listened to the cries of British Columbia
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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.
The War continues in Europe
A shift is occurring
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
1942
 Allies gained strength when the US entered the conflict in Dec. 1941
 Allies began to win the Battle of the Atlantic
 Allies made important advances in Asia
1943
 Allies cleared North Africa of Axis forces and could turn their attention
to the invasion of Europe
WESTERN
 By 1942, the NazisHELP
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 1942
 To 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
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Germany withdrew eventually
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Allies advance through Italy was hard
June 4, 1944
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Reached Rome and gained control of it
Fall of Fascism in Italy
 On September 8 1943, the new Italian Government
surrendered to the Allies, reversed alliances and declared war
against Germany. The Germans reacted by occupying Rome