1. Canada & The Allies Go To War

2. The Road to War
Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party (known as the Nazis) were elected in power in Germany 1933 using German anger over the Treaty of Versailles to become popular.
Shortly after the election, all other political parties were outlawed and Hitler became the dictator or only ruler.
They began to break the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. They began to annex, or reoccupy territory that had been taken away from them after WWI.

3. The Road to War Policy of Appeasement
The leaders of Britain, France and the United States who had written the treaty wanted to avoid war at all costs and argued that relaxing the terms of the treaty would prevent this, satisfy German demands and allow peace to prevail.
This became known as appeasement.
Giving Germany what it wanted did not work.
When Germany invaded Poland September 1, 1939 World War 2 began.

4. The Road to War
Two days after the invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939, Britain and France declared war against Germany.

5. Canada at War
During WW1 Canada had no choice but to enter the war. They were a part of the British Empire.
The Statute of Westminster in 1931 made Canada independent of Britain in foreign policy. Therefore, Canada could decide for itself whether to go to war or not.

6. Canada at War
Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King came up with a compromise– Canada would support Britain by providing war materials and a small volunteer army.
Canada did formally declare war on Germany on September 10, 1939 after a two day debate in Parliament.
A picture of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King

7. Phase 1: September 1939 to June 1940
This early phase of the war was known as the ‘ Phony War’ because little happened in Western Europe after Germany invaded Poland.
Countries began to join together and two groups were a result: The Allies and the Axis.

8. Phase 1: September 1939 to June 1940
The Allies
France
Britain
The Commonwealth
The Axis
Germany
Italy
Japan

9. Global Context: Fast Moving Invasion
The Maginot Line of fortifications was built to defend France against a German invasion.
The blitzkrieg, German for “lightning war”, was a tactic used by the Germans in which they used tanks, aircraft and infantry to quickly break through Allied defenses in several places of the defense line.

10. Maginot Line

11. The French and British set up armies in Belgium but they were defeated by the German Blitzkrieg.
The Maginot Line became ineffective as the Germans simply bypassed it.
France surrendered to Germany.

12. Fall of France

13. Evacuation of Dunkirk
The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week long Battle of France.

14. Preparing Canada For War
May 1939
British King and Queen visit Canada hoping to get support
Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, did not want to join another war:
Lost too many Canadian in WWI
Conscription divided the country
Just recovering from Depression

15. Canada’s Contribution
In December 1939, Canada sent a small volunteer army to join Britain
Canada had only 38 ocean going merchant ships in These were known as the merchant marine. The first ships were sunk by German submarines or u-boats almost immediately.

16. Canada’s Not Ready.. Not prepared for war
Small army, air force, and navy troops
Old equipment
Canadians were cheering on the streets when Canada decided to join WWI
This time somber feeling
Still there were many volunteers
Aboriginal people volunteered more than other groups join Canada

17. A Huge Threat Lurked In the Waters of the Atlantic..
During the war the U-boats sank about 2,779 ships for a total of 14.1 million tons GRT. This figure is roughly 70% of all allied shipping losses in all theatres of the war and to all hostile action. The most successful year was 1942 when over 6 million tons of shipping were sunk in the Atlantic

18. German U-Boat

19. POLITICAL CARTOON-SAMPLE
A political cartoon of the time shows Canada as a huge goal net and three small figures (all equal size) labelled “Army”, “Air force” and “Navy” trying to guard it. It is called the “National Nightmare” 1939 (start of war!). What do you think this represents? See image to the right a. Canada’s air force was much smaller than its other branches b. Canada’s armed forces were too small to defend Canada properly c. Canada’s coasts were defended by only one branch of the military d. Canada’s army was prepared for war and could defend its homeland.

20. Canada’s Contribution
In December 1939, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
( BCATP) opened.
Canada’s air force would train Allied pilots and air crew in Canada. By the end of the war, over 131,000 Allied pilots and air crew had been trained.

21. A Losing Battle…
By June 22nd 1940, All of continental Europe had fallen to the Nazi War Machine.

22. Phase 2: June 1940 – July 1943 The Battle Wages On
Phase 2: June 1940 – July The Battle Wages On.. Soviets and Americans Join In
In June 1941, Germany invades the Soviet Union, turning it into Britain’s ally.
On December 7th, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The United States declares war on Japan and Germany.
These two events changed the course of the war.

23. The Attack Of Pearl Harbour
America Responds

24. The Americans Join
Japan was an Axis power but not involved in war in Europe
December 7, 1941 “A Day That Will Live In Infamy”
Japanese planes bombed naval base in Pearl harbour, Hawaii, Destroying half of US navy
US declared war on Japan
In Canada we become hysterical over the fact that the Japanese might attack us! PREJUDICE AGAINST JAPANESE CANADIANS
Germany and Italy declared war on the US since they were allies with Japan

25. July 10, 1940-Battle of Britain
“Operation Sea Lion”
Germany’s plan to attack Britain
Destroy Britain’s air power
Massive bombing of harbours and shipping facilities in Southern England
Bombing raids of airfields and aircraft factories
RAF retaliates and bombs Berlin
Bombing of civilian targets for almost 55 nights Scared and killed many people
Luftwaffe destroyed buildings and streets
Called the “Blitz”
Germany had more planes than Britain, but Germany could not win war against British
Radar System
Britain could know when German raids will be
Joined by many pilots from Commonwealth countries
Britain was successful in shooting German bombers
May 1941
Hitler decided to stop trying to invade Britain

26. Battle of the Atlantic
Convoys (groups) of merchant ships carried war materials to Britain and the Soviet Union.
German U-boats successfully sank several convoys until mid-1943 when more effective anti-submarine tactics and weapons dramatically increased the number of ships lost.

27. A convoy of merchant ships protected by airplanes en route to Cape Town, South Africa during World War II

28. Canada Fights
Battle of Dieppe The Dieppe Raid was an Allied assault on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France on 19 August 1942, during the Second World War. ... Less than 10 hours after the first landings, the last Allied troops had all been either killed, evacuated, or left behind to be captured by the Germans. A brutal defeat but many valuable lessons learned.

29. Battle of HONG KONG
The battle took place in Hong Kong in December of (The Same start Date as Pearl Harbour)
One of the first Canadian Combat mission of WW2 (The Canadian C-Force)
Of the 1975 soldiers defending the colony, 290 were killed and 1685 became POWs. Of the POWs, 260 died in captivity.
Japan won

30. Not All Bad..
In June 1942, U.S. Forces at the Battle of Midway destroyed much of Japan’s naval and air forces.
In October 1942, Allied forces pushed Germany out of El Alamein in North Africa.
In February 1943, the Soviet army defeated Germany near the city of Stalingrad, in the Soviet Union.

31. Phase 3: July 1943- June 1944 The Allies Push Back!
After the three great victories at Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad in , the balance of war shifted in favour of the Allies.
From 1943 onward, the Allies were on the offensive on all fronts (the line of contact between 2 enemy lines)

32. Island-hopping was used by the U. S
Island-hopping was used by the U.S. military to push back the Japanese in the Philippines.
The Soviet Union army pushed back the German army to Berlin in Germany.
Britain found out Germany’s naval code: ENIGMA– This allowed Allies to know German submarine movements
Better training of Royal Canadian Navy
Better equipment
Liberator bombers that can protect convoy’s route

33. Canada’s air force had expanded greatly in size and by 1943 there was an all-Canadian bomber group.
The bombing of industrial sections of German cities was carried out around the clock.
In the spring of 1944, Canadian soldiers also took part in the attack against the German army in the town of Cassino in Italy.

34. The Fight For Europe! The Invasion of Italy
British PM, Winston Churchill, said that the best way to get to Europe from Germany was through the “soft Underbelly” of Europe—Italy and Sicily
Invasion of Italy and Sicily
Thought it would be easy
Lasted almost two years and cost many lives
Therefore, not so easy

35. Phase 4: June 1944 – September 1945
This was the final phase of the war
It began with the Allied invasion of Europe.

36. The Push To Europe
The plan to invade Europe was named Operation Overlord.
The landings in Normandy, France are called the D-day landings.
The German army had to fight the Allies on two fronts.
D-Day Marked the Largest Naval Invasion in History

37. Who was involved in D-Day?
United States
VS.
Britain
Germany
Canada

38. Pictures of Allied bombing damage at
Before the Invasion
In the days leading up to the main invasion, Allied planes bombed the Atlantic Wall defenses all along the coast of France
Pictures of Allied bombing damage at
Pointe du Hoc, France

39. Tricking the Nazis
The Allied deception strategy for D-Day was one of the most successful ever conceived. The Germans overestimated the strength of Allied forces in Britain, particularly in the south-east, and believed as late as July 1944 that a larger second invasion would land in the area around Calais.

40. Before the Invasion
The night before the invasion, Allied troops parachuted behind enemy lines in France
They tried to destroy railroad lines and disrupt communication
General Eisenhower speaking to airborne troops on the evening before the invasion

41. US troops in a Higgins landing craft approaching the coast of Normandy
What Happened?
On June 6, 1944 more than 150,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel
They attacked the German military along a 60 mile stretch of the coast in Normandy, France.
US troops in a Higgins landing craft approaching the coast of Normandy

42. What Happened?
British, American, and Canadian troops sailed from different ports in Great Britain and attacked the Germans together on five different beaches in Normandy, France

43. What Happened?
Soldiers faced intense opposition from the Germans when they landed

44. What Happened?
Many men were killed or injured before they even reached the beaches
US troops take shelter behind German “hedgehogs.” The obstacles were designed to prevent Allied landing craft from getting too close to the shores of France.

45. Canada’s Contribution
The planning of the D-Day landings was meticulous.
Sending troops to invade a defended coastline is one of the most difficult and dangerous military operations, as the raid on Dieppe had demonstrated.
The Canadian and British objective was the capture of the city of Cain, a road and rail centre.

46. D Day
Preparing D-Day

47. Canada’s Contribution
As the Allied armies increased in size in France, ports needed to be opened to allow access to supplies such as fuel and munitions.
The First Canadian army was assigned the task of clearing coastal areas and opening the ports.
The key port was Antwerp, Belgium-a major port in Europe.

48. Canada’s Contribution
Once Antwerp was captured, the First Canadian army was given the task of liberating the Netherlands.

49. The End Near. The Soviet army in the east.
The British, Canadian and U.S. armies in the west.
The German army eventually collapsed.
Though no easy, and not without resistance, Germany eventually surrendered, Hitler committed Suicide.

50. Canada’s Contribution
Over 6000 Canadian soldiers were wounded.
Today, the people of the Netherlands remember and honour the Canadian soldiers who freed them.
When the war ended on May 8th, 1945, Canadian soldiers remained on duty in northern Germany to participate in the return to peace.
Over 1 million Canadian men and women had contributed to WW2.

51. German Surrender on May 8th, 1945

52. War in the Pacific
After the war ends with Germany, the United States turn their attention towards Japan in the Pacific.
In May 1945, over Canadian soldiers volunteered to join the Pacific war.
However, before they had a chance to take part, it ended abruptly in September in 1945.

53. War In Pacific

54. War in the Pacific
Scientists in the United States started ‘The Manhattan Project’. This project introduced the world to the atomic bomb which had devastating explosive power.
On August 6th, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima.
Japan did not surrender.
Bomb Video

55. War in the Pacific
On August 9th, three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
Both cities were devastated. About
to died immediately. Approximately the same number died later from radiation exposure.
On September 2nd, 1945, Japan surrendered.

56. World War II in 7 Minutes
World War II In 7 Minutes