coffinweb

Text Box: World War Two: On the Battlefields

War in the Atlantic and the Growth of Canada’s Navy
By 1945: Canada's navy was the 4th largest in the world.
The navy concentrated on coastal patrol in the early days (many PEI soldiers).
Germany’s Plan: use U-Boats to cut off supply lines between NA and Europe.
Canada’s Response: corvettes (fast protective ships used to escort convoys)
1941: US entered the war and helped Canada.
1943: RCAF bombers also provided support.

The Corvette
A fast Canadian warship that carried depth charges used to sink u-boats. It first used a sound-detection system known as ASDIC. In 1941, corvettes started using RADAR.
Conditions were cramped and uncomfortable and there was a constant fear of u-boat torpedo strikes. In 1942, over 400 Allied ships were sunk; only 7 u-boats were.

Merchant Marine: Unsung Heroes
Worked to transport goods to Europe (not regular force). Thousands of Canadian soldiers served, knowing that 1 in 10 died while crossing the Atlantic. Some were captured as POWs. The Merchant Marine were part of the Home (Coastal) Patrol. They are unsung because their contributions are largely unrecognized in the history books and in the official war record.

Canada’s War in the Air
The RCAF was terribly unprepared: we had 210 aircraft in 1939 (36 good) and only 5000 air force personnel. We did have a bright spot, however: the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), which trained pilots for the RAF in Canada. The BCATP trained many pilots, navigators, radio operators, gunners. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan trained over 130,000 airmen for duty overseas.

The RCAF in Combat
The Lancaster night bomber inflicted much damage since its flight time meant it could bomb all of Germany. The Lancaster participated in the controversial saturation bombing of factories/civilian homes/hospitals, etc. By 1945, the RCAF had more than 164,000 personnel (16,000 women) and was the 4th-largest air force in the world.

The Battle of Britain
Canadian pilots served with the RAF against Germany’s LUFTWAFFE when it bombed British cities in 1940. The over-matched RAF used advanced radar and, eventually, defeated the Luftwaffe.

The Battle of Dunkirk: 1940
In 1940, Hitler’s forces overtook northern Europe. 400,000 Allied troops were trapped in the French coastal town of Dunkirk (English Channel on one side – German army on the other). While Hitler planned, the British launched a sea rescue. On May 26 – June 4, many types of vessels crossed the channel (many of them civilian) and rescued 340,000 soldiers. It turned a major retreat into a victory and bolstered the spirits of the British people.
1941
June 1941: Germany reneged on its NON-AGRESSION PACT with the Soviet Union and invaded. This brought both the USA and the USSR to the Allies.
December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese (US President Franklin D Roosevelt claimed it was a day that 'will live in infamy'.)

1942: A Year of Crisis
All of Europe was under German/Italian control. On the Western Front, German forces were positioned along the English Channel. On the Eastern Front, German troops penetrated deep into the Soviet Union.
No US troops were yet active in Europe.

Dieppe Raid: 1942
The worst battle for Canadian soldiers in World War Two. It was launched from London on ‘Fortress Europe’, a French area that the Allies thought would be easily taken. It became known as the Disaster at Dieppe.
It wasn’t yet time for a major Allied invasion in France, so instead, a small invasion was planned at Dieppe, although the Germans were well dug in. The Allies believed they had the element of surprise and urged the brave Canadians to lead the attack. Troops were easy targets and, in 9 hours, 900/5000 Canadian soldiers were dead. 1900 were POWs. The raid was a dismal failure. Dieppe was well-fortified and built on a high hill. The beaches were also very rocky and hard to run/walk on. It was poorly planned, poorly prepared, and lacking of adequate air and naval support. However, out of the Dieppe disaster comes eventual success at D-Day.

June 6, 1944: Day of Deliverance
Mission Nicknames: Day of Deliverance/Operation Overlord/D-Day
It was the largest full-scale military invasion in history, staged on the beaches of Normandy, France:
5000 ships/107,000 Allied troops
British, American, and Canadian soldiers
Canadians landed at Juno Beach
By the end of day one, they gained the most ground
By the end of the day, the beach was captured and the liberation of Europe had begun.

Fighting in Europe
For the next 11 months, the Allies marched across Europe, forcing the German army into retreat. In the spring of 1945, Canadian troops were given the task of liberating the Netherlands, then joining the US, British, and Soviet troops in taking Berlin.

‘Kith or Kin’ (Hitler’s Decree): You shall fight to the death in defence of the motherland. If you surrender or desert, your family shall be killed.

April 1945: As Soviet troops entered Berlin, Hitler committed suicide.
May 7, 1945: VE (Victory in Europe) Day was declared as Germany surrendered. The war in Europe was over. The war in the Pacific with Japan was another story.

War in the Pacific
Hong Kong: Some Canadian soldiers assisted the British in attempting to hold Hong Kong from the Japanese. The Island was difficult to defend and, after 3 weeks, Hong Kong surrendered to Japan in 1941.
Over 500 Canadian soldiers died in the battle or prison camps. Among those held in Hong Kong was a relative of the MacAdams in Morell: George Palmer.

Ending the War in the Pacific
Japan didn’t stop when the war in Europe ended. Canadian forces were not involved in the Pacific after Hong Kong. Prime Minister MacKenzie King told soldiers that they did not have to go to the 'Pacific Theatre' to fight. Many brave Canadians did so, although very few saw action before the Japanese surrender.

Atomic Bomb Drops
August 6, 1945: Hiroshima
August 9, 1945: Nagasaki

200,000 dead + 500,000 dead from radiation poisoning.

August 14: the Japanese surrender aboard the aircraft carrier USS Missouri. With the signing of this surrender, World War Two was over.

Text Box: