Hong Kong Dec 8-25, 1941 Took place in the pacific theater Canadians support the British colony - feared Japanese attack Canada loaned 2 Undertrained battalions (1,975 personal) Canada believed there would be plenty of time to get its troops in Hong Kong battle ready. First time Canadians see battle in WWII

A quick and decisive victory for the Japanese. The Canadian rookies were no match for the Japanese Canadians surrendered on Christmas day, 1941 – “Black Christmas”

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. 1,405 survived the camps in Hong Kong and Japan. Liberated in August 1945 when the Japanese surrender

Dieppe August 19, 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 Canadian soldiers were killed, 2000 taken prisoner Learned many lessons that would be put to use on D-Day

Intelligence—didn’t realize how strong the German defenses were Geography—the Allies attacked a fortified beach without bombing it first (artillery, barbed wire, Land mines & tanks) Bad planning---the Allies left too late and the Germans spotted them

Dieppe- Lessons 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

91,000 fought: 30,000 were killed or wounded Italian Campaign 1943-44 Operations Overlord 91,000 fought: 30,000 were killed or wounded 25,264 Canadians – 5900 killed

Italian Campaign Allies met Nazi German soldiers, not Italian Fought mostly in the streets of towns using old abandoned buildings Ortona – Canadian battle. House to house fights (1 month) By June 1944 (D-day) Allied armies entered Rome Soldiers called ‘D-Day Dodgers’

D-Day-June 6th 1944 Over 100,000 soldiers (Brit / US / CAN) – over 15,000 Canadians Fed the Germans false intelligence (Thought attack would be at Calais – 200km south) Nazis didn’t know how large our invasion was or where it was coming from Built landing harbours in Britain for faster landing – not limited by existing German ports -Nazis didn’t expect us to arrive in Normandy -Used empty tents and movie set props to trick German pilots into believing the invasion troops were collecting Dover -Built landing harbours in Britain that could be assembled in Normandy to allow for easier landing -Nazis were unable to delay the Allied attack by destroying or fortifying already existing harbours

D-Day-The Battle Normandy beach - land mines, barbed wire, heavy artillery batteries and machine-gun nests. Allies bomb coastal defences in the months leading up to the attack Crossed the English Channel Juno Beach (Canada); Gold Beach (United Kingdom); Sword Beach (United Kingdom and France); and Utah Beach and Omaha Beach (United States). Naval attack of ports, paratroopers landed before dawn on June 6th to engage the enemy

The European Campaign: The Liberation of Holland and Belgium 1944-45 Began by US and British troops in Sept 1944 Failure of an airborne assault on Arnhem prevented the liberation of Holland for a time Canadians cleared Antwerp by November Mid-march more Canadian troops arrive to replace British in Italy

When hostilities ceased the Canadians were responsible for the liberation of western Holland Drove Germans out Dutch has suffered harsh winter and little food and fuel Canadians were welcomed Enthusiastically by the Dutch ‘Canadian Summer’- created lasting bond between Canadians and Dutch