World War Two
European
Theatre
How it Began
1. Invasion of Poland - 1939
September 1, 1939 – WWII began with German invasion of Poland
NAZIs used the “blitzkrieg” (“lightning warfare”) method
Airplanes led attack to knock out key enemy positions
Immediately followed by tank & motorized infantry attacks
Attacking forces swept past enemy, then close in behind, thereby trapping them
NAZIs swept through Poland, encountering little resistance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUjrnlMAtQ4
2. Declarations of War1) France & Britain
immediately declared war on Germany
2) Canada declared war one week later (September 10th) Parliament voted and decided
to join war NOT automatic like in WWI Leaders in Quebec supported
Canada’s entry into war based on PM King’s promise that conscription (compulsory military service) would never be required
Western Front 1939-1943
3. The “Phony War”October 1939 – April
1940 Bad weather and
indecision prevented Germany from attacking Western Europe after invasion of Poland
Called “Phony War” even though war was in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Finland
?
4. Continental Europe Falls May 1940-June, 1940
Germany took over Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Holland
Then German troops marched into France France surrendered June, 1940
German Occupation of France
German Domination of Europe
5. Evacuation of Dunkirk - 1940
British & French troops retreated to the French beaches of Dunkirk on the English Channel after fall of Belgium = became trapped
5. Evacuation of Dunkirk – cont’
Approx. 900 ships sailed from England and rescued 340,000 soldiers from Dunkirk
Evacuation significant because it: represented a moral
victory for the Allies Saved the best British
forces to fight later in the war
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKB-ZkWelb0
Battle of Britain
6. Battle of Britain - 1940 Hitler used air attacks on Britain to prepare for
an amphibious invasion (operating on land and water)
Aims: destroy Royal Navy that patrolled English Channel
and protected UK Destroy British fighter
planes and factories Destroy morale of
British people
6. Battle of Britain – cont’ British Royal Air Force (RAF) and German
Luftwaffe (air force) fought in airspace over Britain
Individual Canadians served in the RAF
German aircraft over London - 1940
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVBO61qg-kc&feature=related
6. Battle of Britain – cont’ Even though British outnumbered 1:3, had superior
fighter planes and large advantage through use of radar Using radio waves,
British could detect German bomber and fighter squadrons while they crossed the English Channel
Also: Enigma – German cipher Machine could decode German messages
6. Battle of Britain – cont’
anti-aircraft night fire above several fighter planes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SPxbjV4inw
6. Battle of Britain – cont’ – “The Blitz”
August 1940 – German bomber squadron got lost and accidentally bombed civilians in London
In retaliation – British PM Churchill bombed German capital city of Berlin
As a result – Hitler abandoned assault on RAF airfields and ordered daylight bombing raids on London – known as “the Blitz”
This shift cost Hitler the Battle of Britain – allowed RAF chance to train new pilots and rebuild
6. Battle of Britain – cont’ – “The Blitz”
6. Battle of Britain – cont’ –
August – September, 1940 – RAF able to re-group & win Battle of Britain
Significance: 1st time Hitler denied
conquest Protection of Britain
provided Allies with springboard from which to launch invasion of Europe later in war
Allied Reaction – Forming of “Bomber
Command” Many Canadian pilots part
of Royal Air Force (RAF) “Bomber Command”
Mission: it was to set up an important force ready for strategic bombing against Germany
15 Canadian squadrons (from RCAF) were formed within Bomber Command in Great Britain, with British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) graduates
the first one was No 405 Squadron in April 1941
European Theatre of Warhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsKDGM5KTBY
7. Battle of the Atlantic
1. Longest campaign of WWII
Fought for control of shipping lanes between North America and Britain
Germany’s goal: cut off all Allied supplies to Britain in hopes of starving Britain into submission
8. Battle of the Atlantic – cont’
2. German U-Boats British, Canadian, and
later, American navies committed to stopping German submarine terror
“wolfpacks” – German groups of submarines operating out of ports of occupied countries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtUw_JnmYQ0
Even active in Canadian waters – sank 21 ships in St Lawrence River
8. Battle of the Atlantic – cont’
3. Convoy System Allied merchant supply ships sailed surrounded
by destroyers for protection against U-Boats Royal Canadian Navy provided much of the
protection with small warships called corvettes
Corvette destroyer
8. Battle of the Atlantic – cont’
3. Convoy System – cont’ Eventually – Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
provided with long-range bombers that could cover convoys until their reached British airspace
Development of sonar also helped Allies
• Sonar – works much like radar works in air, but uses sound waves instead of radio waves. Sound bounces off subs, alerting Allies to their presence
Sonar box on ship’s deck
8. Battle of the Atlantic – cont’
By 1943, wolfpacks less effective as they suffered heavy damages from depth charges dropped by escort ships and bombs from Allied planes
Depth Charges (explosives)
U-Boat attacked from the air
• helped Allies win Battle of the Atlantic
8. Battle of the Atlantic – cont’
Canadian Navy Initially – RCN consisted of 13
ships & 3,000 soldiers By end of WWII – 370 ships &
100,000 personnel Over 2,000 members of RCN
died in Battle of Atlantic Canadian Citizens –
Merchant Marines Also played large role by
manning freighters that transported materials to Europe
Faced great danger as their ships were only lightly armed and were easy prey for German U-Boats
Canadian Naval ship “Haida”
8. Dieppe - 1942 In early 1942 – war not going well for Allies Although time not right for full-scale Allied invasion on
Western Front, small-scale invasion planned to serve as rehearsal for real invasion of Europe
August, 1942 – 5,000 Canadian soldiers landed at Dieppe on coast of France
8. Dieppe – cont’ Objective – to take
the beach and town of Dieppe back from Germans
Upon arrival – soldiers mowed down on beach by German fire
8. Dieppe – cont’ By early
afternoon: 900 Canadians
dead or dying 1,000 wounded 1,900 taken prisoner More Canadian
troops died in these few hours than on any other day of the Second World War
Canadian Prisoners of War from Dieppehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcNI92b6E98&feature=related
8. Dieppe – cont’ Why Dieppe Went Wrong
1. Lost Element of Surprise Secrecy required for effective attack – but part
of the Allied flotilla of landing craft encountered an enemy convoy on the way and a noisy fight ensued - Germans were therefore prepared for attack
8. Dieppe – What went Wrong - cont’
2.No Aerial Bombardment At last minute, British decided to forgo a planned
aerial bombardment of the Dieppe fortifications, which would have weakened the Germans for the attack
8. Dieppe – cont’ Why Canadian
Troops at Dieppe? PM King looking for
a diversion from the Conscription Crisis of 1942
Canadian Troops considered to be expendable by other Allied powers
8. Dieppe – cont’
Taught Allies that heavy air and sea support would be required for any future invasions of France
Many believe lessons learned helped save lives on beaches of Normandy during D-Day invasion
Lessons Learned from Dieppe
North Africa
9. North Africa 1940 - 1942
Mussolini attacked Egypt Sept 1940 British forces resisted, led by General
Montgomery German forces – led by General Rommel –
supported Italians
Battle of El Alamein – October, 1942
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyoZQP5C-Q4
9. North Africa 1940 – 1942 – cont’
1st time Allies had defeated the forces of the fascist countries Prevented the Germans
from seizing the Suez Canal Denied Hitler important oil
resources of Middle East Soon after – USA joined war
– forced Germans into retreat & eventually defeated
Battle of El Alamein - Turning point
Eastern Front 1939-1945
10. Invasion of Soviet Union - 1941
Motives for invading the USSR:1) Lebensraum (living space) Part of Hitler’s racial program
that stated “inferior” races should be conquered and enslaved so that the “superior” Germans had more living space
Main target of this – Soviet Union because of its vast resources that Germany needed
2) Ideology Hitler wanted to destroy his
ideological rival - communism
10. Invasion of Soviet Union – cont’
1) Hitler broke the NAZI-Soviet Pact to invade USSR 3 million German troops
smashed into the USSR, catching them by surprise Moscow (capital city)
Operation Barbarossa - June 1941
10. Invasion of Soviet Union – cont’
As the Red Army (Soviets) retreated, they destroyed everything – livestock, supplies, and machinery – so NAZIs would have nothing to use
3) By Christmas, 1941 – Germans stopped outside Stalingrad
2) Stalin’s response: “scorched earth policy”
11. Eastern Front 1942-1945
Harsh winter of USSR – took its toll on German forces
Germans suffered huge losses
Soviets launched attack to prove could fight through winter
Spring – conflict continued along a 2,000 mile front
11. Eastern Front 1942-1945 – cont’
Sept. 1942-Jan 1943 Hitler’s goal – to attack
it because of its name & to get to the Caucasus oil fields
Soviets captured or killed entire German army in area
Huge boost to Allied morale
After – Germans suffered defeat after defeat on eastern front
Soviet forces moved closer to Berlin
Battle of Stalingrad - 2nd Turning Point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEh9jlNG0nQ&feature=related
The Big Three: The Communist, the Democrat and the Imperialist
Tehran Conference, Dec. 1943
Main Outcomes:• Opening of a Second Front
• Churchill: Southern Europe• Stalin & FDR: W. Europe
• Establishment of Polish borders • Stalin agrees to fight Japanese• Germany’s unconditional surrender
Key: The conference establishes real, if tenuous, diplomatic relations between the West and Communist Russia. Stalin remained skeptical of the West, though he
received Lend-Lease aid from the USA, for he suspected the Allies were content to let the Nazis and Soviets struggle to the death in the East. FDR and Churchill were
unhappy about doing business with Stalin, but he was the lesser of two evils.
Italian Campaign
Italian Campaign
By mid-1943 – Germans had been defeated in North Africa and were in retreat on Eastern Front
Allied plan: to take island of Sicily, then Italy itself
Crucial step in liberation of Europe
Italian Campaign – cont’
Designed to: take pressure off Soviet
Allies and divert Germans from North-
west Europe where attack on Normandy (re-invasion of Europe) was planned
Canadians among Allied forces who used amphibious attack
Captured Sicily in one month
1. Landing on Sicily – July, 1943
Italian Campaign – cont’
Sicily Invasion – cont’
Italian Campaign – cont’
Allied troops invaded peninsula of Italy
Canadian forces stopped by Germans at Ortona – vicious fighting occurred throughout December, 1943
Fought & won street by street, house by house
2) Taking Italy – Ortona - 1943
Italian Campaign – cont’
Ortona – cont’
Italian Campaign – cont’
Ortona – cont’
Italian Campaign – cont’
Ortona – cont’
Italian Campaign – cont’
Canadian troops succeeded in breaking through last line of German defences before Rome
Continued to free northern Italy in fall of 1944
Germans finally driven back by French-Canadian unit – the Vandoos
Italian Campaign – cont’
Italy – some of toughest fighting in war
April 1945 – Mussolini captured by Italian civilians
Mussolini and mistress were hung and “displayed” for several days in the streets of Milan
Normandy Landing & End of War
“Operation Overlord” (D-Day)
Allied invasion of German-held Europe
Planned to use naval and aerial bombardment to knock out German defences
Over 1 year of preparation – most complex operation ever attempted
Learned from mistakes at Dieppe
1) Normandy Landing – June 6, 1944
Normandy Landing cont’
100 ships 36 bomber squadrons
from Royal Canadian Air Force
Canadians assigned 1 of 5 beachfront targets
code- named JUNO – 8km of coastline
Largest Canadian military operation of WWII
14,000 Canadian soldiers
Normandy Landing cont’ Within 1 week – over 300,000 Allied
soldiers on shores of Normandy After 1 month – 1 million soldiers &
200,000 Allied military vehicles
Created foothold in Europe from which Allies could push back the Germans
Normandy Landing cont’ 5,000 Canadians
killed at Normandy 200,000 Allied
casualties German losses:
200,000 killed, wounded or missing
200,000 taken prisoner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgKo46X8CI
2. Liberation of Holland - 1945
Canadian troops distinguished themselves in a year of long, hard fighting with other Allies, pushing the Germans out of France & Western Europe
May 5th, 1945 – Canadians drove NAZIS out of Holland
Allowed Allies to continue towards Germany
2. Liberation of Holland – cont’
End of European War
American & Soviet forces met in Germany, south of Berlin
Soviets – wanted to demolish the city
4. April 30, 1945 – Hitler committed suicide
5. May 8th, 1945 – V-E Day (Victory in Europe) – German troops surrendered
3. Berlin – April 1945
V-E Day - 1945
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