The Tide Turns The End of WW2

The Dieppe Raid Canada Leads the Way

Origins Allies were not yet prepared for a full invasion of Europe Dieppe Raid was a way to test new techniques and equipment The raid would serve as a reconnaissance mission and a precursor to the Normandy invasion The town of Dieppe was an important port town

Why Canada? Most Canadian troops had not yet fought in Europe as much of the war for Canada was being fought in Africa Canadian troops were highly esteemed British General Bernard Montgomery selects the 2 nd Canadian Division

The Plan Intended to gauge the possibility of a sea landing attack, to gather intelligence, and to draw the Luftwaffe out Paratroopers would flank the beach while the main forces would seize the town from the main beach. Tanks would provide ground support After poor weather and scaled down RAF involvement, the raid was cancelled on July 7 th 1942

The Plan Continued General Mountbatten began reorganizing the raid for July 11 th under the codename “Operation Jubilee” Mountbatten went ahead with the raid despite a lack of approval from the Joint Chiefs of staff This created a disjointed plan and a lack of involvement from intelligence agencies

The Plan

The Reality Canadian ships were to have disembarked before dawn but delays kept them in port until early daylight On the way to the raid, a Canadian ship met a German convoy and a battle ensued –Lost element of surprise Troops were gunned down easily by German machine gunners

The Reality Poor communications led commanders to believe that the first wave of troops made it to shore in good shape They sent reinforcements who also became trapped Tanks could not advance on the pebble beach because of a lack of traction

The Aftermath The raid was a disaster In total, 907 Canadian troops died in the nine-hour battle, while 586 were wounded and 1874 were taken prisoner Some historians argue that the raid was a failure but it taught Allied forces what not to do next time

Dieppe Today

D-day to VJ Day D-Day Italian Campaign Liberation of the Netherlands The Final Solution - Holocaust Propaganda Nuclear Bombs

D-Day: The Normandy Invasion June 6, 1944 “Operation Overlord” Opening of a Western Front to support Russian attack in the East Canadians attacked Juno Beach remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops

Defences

Italian Campaign An Allied victory in Northern Africa allowed them to launch an attack on Italy from the south. First assault onto Mainland Europe Canadians played a large role Canadian Army in Italy had reached its peak theatre strength of nearly 76,000.

Italy surrenders September 1943 – Armistice with Italy. Mussolini killed and hung up for public display. Canadian troops advanced through Italy until they were sent to join the fighting in France

Liberating the Netherlands Earlier Allied attempts to liberate Holland had failed. Canada continued the fight, eventually forcing Germany to call a truce on April 28, Canadians were hailed as heroes and were treated to parades.

Persecution Continues Einstazgruppen - Their task to kill the Jews on the spot - Jews, but not only Jews; communists, Gypsies, political leaders, and the intelligentsia were also killed.

Concentration/Extermination Camps Of the approximately 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, more than half were systematically exterminated in the highly rationalized gas chamber/crematorium system of the Nazi Death Camps between 1942 and Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, Chelmno, Sobibor, Belzek and Majdanek.

Birkenau

Auschwitz

VE Day Facing certain defeat, Germany surrendered to the Allies on May 7, The war in Europe was over and the Allies declared May 8 as Victory in Europe Day (VE Day)

Hitler’s Last Days Dead April 30, 1945

VE Day May 8, 1945

Turning to Japan Russia set to get involved in Pacific US has secret weapon (atomic bomb) - Allies did not know Drop the bomb or invade Japan? - Estimated 250,000 – 1,000,000 American Casualties

Turning to Japan Two atomic bombs “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Pgs –Two cities that were purposely sparred previous bombings to ensure “clearly nuclear damage”

The Bombs

Turning to Japan Realizing that they could not withstand the power of the atomic bomb, Japan surrendered on August 14, After six long years and the loss of millions of lives, WW2 was over.

Japanese Surrender 1945

VJ Celebration in NY

VJ DAY

Liberation of the Netherlands 1945 Canada liberates the Netherlands Starving Dutch people rejoice and welcome Canadians Tough fight for Canada –6300 killed