Declaration and Initial Involvement Canada At War Declaration and Initial Involvement
Automatically at War? WWI = Yes (part of B.E.) Relationship with Britain has changed Statute of Westminster (1931) gave independence in foreign policy. Much debate in parliament Conscript issues from WWI Compromise – war materials and volunteer army. Declared war on September 10th, 1939
Early Canadian Contribution First troops sent in December 1939 Merchant Marine to transport personnel and war materials. (38 ships at start of war) Many ships were sunk by U-boats on their first trip across.
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan BCATP (December 1939) Canada’s Air Force would train Allied pilots and crews in Canada. Very few airfields at the start but built many quickly. Trained more than 131,000 air crew during the war.
National Resources Mobilization Act Canadians like the war production at home and small troop deployment. (reduce casualties, build economy) Major victories by Germany in 1940 changed that. Britain was left alone pretty much. NMRA was put in place May 1940 Full commitment to the war effort.
Battle of the Atlantic Navy and Merchant Marine Convoys to send essential supplies to Europe. German submarines were very effective in sinking many ships. By 1943, new technologies and weaponry had been developed that reduced the ships sunk. Figure 7.4
Hong Kong Canadians sent to reinforce the British troops in Hong Kong (Nov. 1941) Japan attacked Hong Kong December 7th. By Christmas, the Japanese had won. 290 Canadians killed, 1685 POW’s and more than 250 POW’s died in captivity.
Dieppe Another defeat at Dieppe in 1942 (port in France) 6000 allied soldiers took part including almost 5000 Canadians The raid was a disaster. Over 900 Canadians died and almost 2000 were taken ad POW’s. People began to doubt Canada’s preparedness.