5 Ws and HOW Canadians fought in WWII World war II (WWII) 5 Ws and HOW Canadians fought in WWII

WHO Allied Forces (many of them were allied for World War I – “Triple Entente”): Britain (and her commonwealth nations, such as Canada, Australia, etc.) France (until she was occupied by Germany) Soviet Union (USSR) Etc,. Axis Powers (many of them were allied for World War I as well – “Triple Alliance”) Nazi Germany Fascist Italy Imperial Japan Neutral Countries (didn’t fight in WWII) Most popularly known, Switzerland Sweden Spain Portugal Ireland And many more…

WHAT The allied forces and the axis powers fought the largest war in human history on numerous fronts for various reasons – namely the desire of axis powers to expand. Canada fought alongside it’s allies in various battles. The most popular ones were: Battle of Britain Battle for Caen (France) Battle of the Atlantic and Battle of the St. Lawrence Dieppe Raid Battle of Dunkirk (France) Falaise Pocket (France) Battle of Hong Kong Juno Beach (France – part of ‘D-Day’ or Invasion of Normandy) Battle of Ortona (part of the Invasion of Italy) The allied forces won World War II

WHERE Europe Pacific Atlantic South-East Asia China Middle East Mediterranean Northern Africa Video: World War II in Europe and the Pacific: Everyday

WHEN 1939 1945 (the end of the Great Depression) - (when the allies were victorious in Europe – “V.E. Day” May 8 and after the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan finally surrendered marking victory in the Pacific – “V.J. Day” August 14)

WHY We will explore the causes of WWII in depth. But the general reasons for why the world was forged in war for 6 long years was: DIRECT CAUSE: Germany carried out an unprovoked attack on Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler had refused to abort his invasion of Poland. Canada declared war on Germany soon after.  INDIRECT CAUSES: WWI and the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany Failure of the League of Nations to stop Hitler Militarism: Desire of Axis Powers to expand their territories (ex. Germany wanted Eastern Europe, Japan wanted China and South-East Asia) Nationalism: Germany wanted to unite the “Aryan Race” Alliances: general continuation of alliances for allied forces

HOW We will look at the “HOW” in more depth. But here is a concise list of how Canada contributed to WWII: In the air: Royal Canadian Air Force (Battle of Britain), Paratroopers (D-Day) In/On the ground: Trench Warfare (especially in France), Close-Quarters-Combat (especially in the Invasion of Italy) On the sea/coast: Battle of the Atlantic and Beach Landings Homefront: food, supplies, weapons, etc. – produced in Canada for the allied forces