1. 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

2. 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”

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 91,000 fought: 30,000 were killed or wounded
Italian Campaign
Operations Overlord
91,000 fought: 30,000 were killed or wounded
25,264 Canadians – 5900 killed

8. 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’

9. 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

10. 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

11. The European Campaign:
The Liberation of Holland and Belgium
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

12. 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