Canada at War

Axis

• Germany• Italy• Japan

*Not exhaustive

Allies

• Great Britain ( +all commonwealth countries)• France• Canada• United States• Soviet Union

*not exhaustive

Canadian Mobilization

• Only 4500 troops at beginning of war• No one cheering in the streets• Still, Canada had many volunteers– September alone- 58 330

• After Depression, some Cdns attracted to $1.30 a day, plus $60 for a dependent spouse, and $30 per child per month

• Many still felt strong ties to Britain• Others yet felt a sense for new-found nationalism

Total War

• Total war is a war in which the participants engage in complete mobilization of full available resources and population.

• Example: bombing civilian areas.

Total War- Germany Attacks

• in April and May of 1940, Europe felt the full extent of the German military’s attack - “blitzkrieg” (lightening war)

• April - Denmark and Norway fell...• May - Netherlands and Belgium fell...• June - France surrenders on June 22

- “Vichy” government (German/French) established

The Blitz

• Strategic bombing of Britain by Germans• 7 September 1940-10 May 1941• London bombed for 76 consecutive nights• Over 23,000 civilians killed

1940- Dunkirk• May, German troops reached the English Channel and Allied

Forces were surrounded at the French port of Dunkirk– Allied troops had to escape before the Germans took the town– decided to try an evacuation at sea

• GB navy rounded up every boat they could capable of navigating the Channel - fishing boats, ferries, merchant ships…- Hitler decided to give the “victory” to the German airforce (Luftwaffe) over the army (Wehrmacht)....but the fog rolled in....no planes flew...

• evacuation began on May 26...while the Luftwaffe bombed the town

• by June 4, nearly 340,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated

1940

• In September 1940, Hitler launched “Operation Sea Lion”- Germans collected barges to ferry troops to England- Luftwaffe bombed London as well as military bases and radar stations and other cities (The Blitz)- used high explosives and incendiary bombs

=this became known as the “Battle of Britain”- Royal Air Force (RAF) was not destroyed (sophisticated radar systems)- Polish, Czech, French, Norwegians etc.... joined the RAF- after months of battle, the Germans were beaten back - GB won and

• 1941- Hitler suffered his first major defeat

1942

• by 1942, Hitler had turned his attention towards the Soviet Union

• - broke the Germano-Soviet Pact • German army surrendered early 1943

1942

• by 1942, the Allies were making plans to re-take Europe

- Canadian soldiers had been sitting in British training camps – wanted to see action- the Allies decided to plan an invasion of the European continent and “test” German defences with a series of raids across the Channel

- one raid was against the town of Dieppe…