Battles Part 2, the Pacific, Dieppe Used with thanks to Ms. Pannell Unit 3 WWII – CHC2D Battles Part 2, the Pacific, Dieppe Used with thanks to Ms. Pannell

Battle of Hong Kong Britain wanted to reinforce its colony, Hong Kong – fear of a Japanese attack Canada loaned 2 battalions: 1,975 personal). They were under trained Canada believed there would be plenty of time to get its troops in Hong Kong battle ready. Canadians arriving in Hong Kong November 1941

Dec 7, 1941 Mass Japanese offensive Japanese attacked U.S.A. – Pearl Harbor, Malaya, the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island and Hong Kong USA joins the war Canadians see combat for the first time in WW2

Hong Kong December 8-25, 1941 A quick and decisive victory for the Japanese. The Canadian rookies were no match for the battle ready and hardened Japanese Canadians surrendered on Christmas day, 1941 – “Black Christmas”

Battle of Hong Kong aftermath 3 years, 8 months of Japanese Imperial rule in Hong Kong Japanese army terrorized local populations (murder, rape, looting) 1,689 Canadians became POWs. It's thought that 1,405 survived the camps in Hong Kong and Japan. They would be liberated in August 1945 when the Japanese surrender

Dieppe – Summer 1942 Dieppe

The War to Date: 1942 Hitler and Mussolini controlled Europe Japan attacked US and Britain (Canada) in the Pacific

Dieppe Raid - August 1942 Dieppe was a coastal French city that was being held by the Germans. Significance: A Canadian operation Our first attempted landing on W. Europe since Dunkirk 900 Cdn. soldiers were killed, 2000 taken prisoner Learned many lessons that would be put to use on D-Day

Dieppe continued Why did the Allies choose to raid Dieppe? Public opinion-- the Commonwealth was enraged at the falling of Hong Kong Soviet Union—providing relief for Russia Soldiers—restless from no activity Tested German coastal defenses and might help to plan a full-scale invasion.

The Invasion

Dieppe Invasion 1942, Aug. 9, 5,000 Canadians landed at Dieppe to take the town Allied ships got off course and were spotted by Germans while crossing the English Channel. The Canadians failed to surprise the Germans and many soldiers died. raid was late, Germans were ready, many killed before the beach town was fortified with artillery, barbed wire, land mines & tanks

Why Dieppe Failed Intelligence—didn’t realize how strong the German defenses were Geography—the Allies attacked a fortified beach without bombing it first Bad planning---the Allies left too late and the Germans spotted them

Lessons learned Much stronger military forces needed to break through the lines. higher number of forces must be held in reserve for second attack Aerial and naval bombardment needed before attack These lessons were used in the planning of the D-Day invasion