Beginning the Second World War

• Germany annexed Austria and then took over Czechoslovakia.

• Fascist Italian Leader, Benito Mussolini allied with Hitler, to help establish his new Roman Empire

• Hitler had non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, freeing their way to invade and split Poland.

• September 3, 1939 after the invasion of Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany

• One week later, on September 10, 1939, Canada declared war • Invoked the War Measures Act, though it was initially slow to

mobilize resources. Eventually enacted the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA)

War Measures Act & National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA)

• Like the War Measures Act, NRMA gave the government the power to allocate resources for the war effort. – Response to the overwhelming German forces and rapid

takeover of Belgium and France– Enacted on June, 1940

• The government could shuffle individuals into different lines of work, allocate property for certain activities. – Eventually would be used for conscription purposes,

although the government pushed for no conscription.

Enlistment• Canadian population 11.5 million (1941) • Initial forces totaled 4,500 regular soldiers; 50,000 reservists– 20 modern day war planes; 6 destroyers (smallest battle

vessel) • 1.1 million and women joined the forces.

– 100,000 conscripted through NRMA (13,000 would be sent overseas)

– Most men would serve in the army– 250,000 to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)– 100,000 to join the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)

Winnipeg Grenadiers at Minto Armouries (Winnipeg), 1941

“If Day” in Winnipeg• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8scLEt70yIE• February 19, 1942, the Federal government stages “If

Day,” a hostile invasion of German soldiers in Winnipeg, to attempt to persuade Canadian citizens (in Winnipeg and once filmed, across the country) to buy War Bonds.

• Would include a battle with Canadian Solider, internment of political figures (Winnipeg’s mayor), Nazi rule, and a parade through the city.

• Proved to be successful – Winnipeg raised $3 million in the first day. – Target was to raise $45 million ($620 million in 2011); $24

million for Winnipeg– Raised $60 million instead

• 3,500 soldiers to be apart of the simulation

Start of WWII - Blitzkrieg• As WWI had been limited by mobility against firepower,

Hitler believed WWII would be a war about aggressive mobility in what he called Blitzkrieg, “Lightening War.”

• Attacking force would be spearheaded by a fast armored division, which would overwhelm and split the opposing force.

• The Maginot Line in France, which was a heavily fortified position developed by the French army in response to the rearmament of Germany, would soon be taken over through outflanking.

• Like the Schlieffen Plan in the First World War, German strategy would be take Belgium and sweep through France, beginning May 10, 1940.

• French and English troops were caught so off guard, nearly 350,000 troops would have to be evacuated across the English channel to Britain

• By June 14, 1940, German Forces occupied undefended Paris and consequently seized a majority of France.

• The “Battle” of France was so astonishing to Military commanders in Britain and France, as they had never seen such a large concentration of armored tanks and modern aircraft. – German Forces deployed would include:

• 2,349 tanks• 7,378 artillery • Nearly 4,000 total aircraft (bombers, fighters, transport, gliders) • Total of 3 million men ready for the offensive

• French and British tactics were to have armor spread out, making them vulnerable.

• Strategy of the allied forces were not to use armor as the primary fighting force, but more for a supportive role.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8gMBZCM--Q

Battle of Britain• After France was under Axis control, Hitler turned his

eye to Britain. • Defensively, Britain had an advantage of being on an island,

meaning a landing invasion would be extremely difficult, and paratrooping soldiers in would be equally risky.

• The tactic was to launch a massive air assault in the summer & autumn of 1940, commonly known as the Battle of Britain

• The main targets for Germany were costal shipping ports, Royal Air Force (RAF) airbases and important infrastructure (roads).

• Germany would pummel Britain, destroying many targets. RAF forces had a difficult time getting to the targets to defend, and lost many aircraft when they arrived.

• Introduction of the top secret Radar technology would drastically changed the fate of the battle

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)

• While radar would slowly allow the RAF to gain some footing, the allied forces would require an Air force that could match the German Luftwaffe

• Commonwealth countries, backed largely by Canada, would agree to the BCATP, where pilots and aircrews would be trained for the war effort.– Canada was an ideal location for training to occur, far enough

away from Britain and range of Germany, while close to the American aircraft industry.

– Would employ more than 100,000 ground crews at 231 sites and would train more than 130,000 pilots, navigators, flight engineers and other specialists. • Represented half of the total air crew supplied for the allied forces.

DIEPPE RAID:Operation Jubilee – August 19, 1942

DIEPPE RAID – WHAT?• August 19th, 1942 • 4,963 men and officers from the 2nd Canadian

Division, 1,005 British commandos, 50 US rangers and 15 Frenchmen attempted an attack/invasion of German occupied France.• A fleet of 237 ships and landing barges,

including 6 destroyers, brought them near the seashore. In the air,

• Air Force bombers and fighters took part in the operation.

DIEPPE RAID – WHY?• 1) Soviet leader Josef Stalin urged Britain and the USA to

open a “second front” to relieve Soviet troops.• 2) To test gaining a foothold on the continent so Allied

ground forces could move into German occupied Europe.• 3) British Chief of Combined Operations, Rear Admiral Louis

Mountbatten, was agitating for a practical trial beach landing, against real opposition, for his troops.

• 4) Why Canadian soldiers? Pressure to get them some combat experience:

• Had been stationed in Great Britain for two years without having ever engaged the enemy in a major operation.

• In Canada, public opinion was starting to question this inactivity

ResultThe attack was a colossal failure. Canadian casualties: 3,367: including 1,946 taken prisoner and

907 Canadians killed The Germans remained in position and the mission was

eventually criticized for its poor planning and execution.

Problems1. Very little pre-invasion bombing

• Germans were at full strength2. The attack was delayed due to weather conditions, even though

the troops had already been briefed.• It’s believed that double agents had informed the Germans of

Allies’ interest in the Dieppe port3. The attack was to occur just before dawn but the first convoy was

half-an hour late.• Incoming ships were no longer covered by the darkness of

night.4. Landing ships met a small German convoy on the way to the beach.

• Element of surprised eliminated: Germans were ready to fire upon the incoming ships.

5. Communication issue led to reinforcements being sent in, thinking the original troops were making headway, which added to the slaughter

Problems6.Tanks were getting stuck in the rocks of the beach.

• The soldiers were sitting ducks

7. General withdrawal order was given at 11am:

• 3367 men were left on the beach to die or be taken prisoner

Lessons learned• The Dieppe fiasco demonstrated that it was

imperative to improve communications at all levels: on the battlefield, between the HQs of each unit, between air, naval and ground forces.

• The idea of capturing a well-defended seaport to use as a bridgehead was dropped after August 19th, 1942.

Lessons • In addition, the raid on Dieppe showed

how important it was:–To use prior air bombings to destroy

enemy defenses as much as possible; –To support assault troops with artillery

fire from ships and landing crafts;–To improve techniques and equipment –To remove obstacles to men and tanks;

True sacrifice

• The true meaning of the sacrifices made at Dieppe was made obvious two years after this ill-fated date, when on D-Day the Allies gained a foothold in Europe to free the continent from Nazi aggression.

• CBC: Return to Dieppe (June,1992)