The Second World War: Total War Returns

Framing the Question

•          The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 created a fragile peace.

•          Ideological forces were once again awakened in Europe under the banner of fascism – a form of dictatorship that blended totalitarianism with militant nationalism.

•          Soon Canadians would join Allied soldiers in the bloodied battlefields to fight against the bane of fascism.

•          The Second World War claimed the lives of over 50 million men, women, and children, including 6 million Jews.

•          During WWII, we witnessed the use of the most lethal weapon of mass destruction ever invented, the atomic bomb.

Who was the Prime Minister of Canada during World War II?

n 

n   Eight years later (1939), when Canada declared war on Germany, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King expressed Canada’s perspective: “We take this stand on our own, not in any colonial attitude of mind.”

War Returns – page 56

n  The League of Nations tried to stop Hitler from expanding Germany’s territory by adopting a policy of appeasement. The nation members wanted to negotiate a stop to Hitler’s activities in Europe.

n  Appeasement – The policy of agreeing to the demands of another in order to avoid conflict or hostility.

n  The predecessor of the United Nations. Formed immediately after WW I it started with 42 member countries of which 26 were non-European. It eventually grew to 56 nations.

Total War - page 59

•          Germany’s military quickly spread across Europe.

•          By June 1940, France had fallen and Italy had entered the war on the German side.

•           By 1941 the fighting had extended beyond Europe to North Africa and China. By the following year, the war had expanded to include most nations of the world. The use of aviation extended the battlefield: a country could now attack its enemy thousands of kilometres away, bombing not only military sites but industrial and civilian targets as well.

•          New weapons of mass destruction required skilled workers to manufacture them and highly trained military personnel to operate them.

•          Total war placed a heavy burden on the human and physical resources of the combatants.

•          Large amounts of capital (money), labour, food, and raw materials such as fuel were needed to sustain the war effort.

•          It would be the civilian population that would experience the greatest devastation, as the millions of ordinary citizens killed and wounded would far exceed the losses of military personnel.

Munich Agreement of 1938

n  Hitler promised not to make further demands of territory in Europe.

n  Hitler broke that promise as Germany launched a blitzkrieg, or lightning attack against Poland.

n  Two days later Britain and France declared war against Germany.

n  A week later, on September 10th, Canada formally declared war against Germany.

People of Canada’s reaction when Canada declared war on Germany in September, 1939

n  The mood in Canada in 1939 was a sombre one. There were no slogans heralding the glories of war.

n  Canadians knew the realities of war on faraway shores and its devastating impact on life at home.

Canada’s military contributions

Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service – WRCNS (WRENS)

n  During the Second World War the wireless radio station was staffed by the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service - WRENS.

n  They supported the navy in such roles as wireless operators, coders, and drivers.

n  There were no women in the navy when war was declared in 1939, but by 1945 more than 7000 women had joined the WRENS.

At Sea

n  The German U-Boats (submarines) were one of the great dangers to Britain in the early days of the war.

n  They threatened to cut off all supplies from North America.

n  Canada had few worthy ships in 1939 and rushed a number of small anti-submarine vessels, called Corvettes, into service.

n  Canadians alone sank 27 German subs and the lifeline to Britain was kept open.

War in the Atlantic pages 59-60

•          In 1939, Canada’s navy consisted of six destroyers, five minesweepers, two training ships, and 3500 personnel.

•          By the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the fourth largest in the world, with 373 warships and over 100 000 personnel. The British navy supplied more destroyers to help the Canadian navy. By 1941, the U.S. navy joined Canada in the Battle of the Atlantic. By 1943 Royal Canadian Air Force bombers provided support for the convoys for the entire breadth of the North Atlantic. In these capacities, Canadian forces played a major role in ensuring the safety of thousands of ships and millions of tonnes of cargo.

The Merchant Marine   page 60

n  The Merchant marine transported supplies to Europe.

n  One in ten lost their lives, a figure five times greater than the fatality rate for any navy personnel.

n  Many of those who survived attacks from the German U-Boats were captured as prisoners of war (POWs).

In the Air

n  When the war began, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) consisted of 40 modern combat planes and 5000 personnel.

n  By 1945 the RCAF was the fourth largest air force in the world: in five years, more than 164 000 Canadians including 16 000 women, had seen active service in battle.

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

n   From 1939-1945, the RCAF trained airmen from all corners of the Commonwealth at more than 200 sites across Canada.

n  It was a huge undertaking, involving enormous construction crews, who built the airfields and training centres and thousands of air force personnel.

n  By the end of the war, the BCATP had trained more than 131 500 pilots, navigators, and other aviation personnel – almost half the total air crew supplied by Britain and the Commonwealth.

The Battle of Britain    page 60

n  Hundreds of Canadian pilots serving in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) provided crucial air support during the Battle of Britain.

n  The German Luftwaffe blitz bombed many British cities during the summer of 1940.

n  Using an advanced radar system, the RAF fighter planes were able to shoot down German aircraft and retain control of British air space.

n  The Battle of Britain was a crucial victory in which Canadians played an important role.

The Miracle of Dunkirk

n  In 1940, with alarming speed, Hitler’s forces overtook northern Europe.

n  The only French harbour yet to fall was a little outpost called Dunkirk where almost 400 000 Allied troops were trapped by the English Channel on one side and the German army on the other.

n  While Hitler debated his strategy, the British launched an amazing sea rescue.

n  Between May 26 and June 4, 1940, more than 850 vessels – including fishing boats, and pleasure crafts operated by civilians – crossed the Channel rescuing 340 000 soldiers.

n  The “Miracle of Dunkirk” turned a major retreat into a victory of sorts that bolstered the spirits of the British people.

Dunkirk - No one knows how it really succeeded, or if it should have succeeded at all. Organized by the British Admiralty, thousands of small boats, pleasure craft and lifeboats went across the Channel to bring back 340,000 weary men of the (British Expeditionary Force) B.E.F from France.

•          During the early part of the war, Britain was going through what was known as "The Phoney War". But it was not until a fleet of boats and ships began to arrive at Dover from Dunkirk with thousands of battle torn and weary troops that had been defeated on the northern European mainland, that the war really struck home. This photograph shows some of those troops arriving at Dover in May 1940.

The Dunkirk Rescue, May 1940

•          In the closing days of May 1940, just months into World War II, Britain teetered on the edge of military disaster. The German army had advanced across Europe and penned the British forces into a tiny area around the French port of Dunkirk. Hitler’s tanks were just 10 miles away and the capture or death of the 400,000 troops seemed imminent. Yet by 4 June, over 338,000 men had been evacuated to England in one of the greatest rescues of all time.

May 13, 1940: (Archived 2/6/99) - Churchill makes his first speech as Prime Minister with this address to the House of Commons. As audio and film recordings of sessions of the Commons were forbidden, this speech, along with other House of Commons speeches on this page, were re-enacted by Churchill years later to commit them to audio documentation.

U.S. declares war on Japan

•          Declaration of War on Japan speech – Addressing the  Joint session of Congress. Washington D.C. on December 8, 1941

A year of crisis    page 62

n  By 1942 most of Europe was under German or Italian control.

n  On the Western Front, German forces were positioned along the English Channel.

n  On the Eastern Front, German troops were penetrating deep into the Soviet Union.

n  Although the United States had entered the war, American troops had yet to see duty in Europe.

In 1942, Germany dominated most of Europe. Greater Germany had been enlarged at the expense of its neighbours. Austria and Luxembourg were completely incorporated. Territories from Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Belgium, and the Baltic states were seized by Greater Germany. German military forces occupied Norway, Denmark, Belgium, northern France, Serbia, parts of northern Greece, and vast tracts of territory in eastern Europe. Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia, and Vichy France were all either allied to Germany or subject to heavy German influence. Between 1942 and 1944, German military forces extended the area under their occupation to southern France, central and northern Italy, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Dieppe - pages 62-63

n  Allied military strategists knew the time was ripe for a full-scale invasion of Western Europe.

n  Instead they decided to launch a limited invasion of France by sea at the small French port of Dieppe.

n  Even though this port was well fortified by the Germans, Allied commanders believed that a surprise attack would catch the Germans off guard.

n   Canadian troops, who had been awaiting the call to arms in Britain, led the attack.

n  The attack was a disaster.

n  Dieppe was perched atop high cliffs that overlooked the beach.

n  The Allied troops landed in broad daylight without the aid of aircraft cover.

n  Enemy fire rained down on the soldiers.

n  After only nine hours of fighting, 900 of the Canadian soldiers were dead.

n  Another 1900 were captured as POW’s.

n  Many of the injured drowned as the tides washed ashore.

n  It was a bitter lesson in combat war strategy – but it was also a lesson that would later help make an Allied victory possible.

D-Day --- Canadian troops landing on Normandy beaches during the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944. - Storming the Beaches   pages 63-64

n  On June 6, 1944, the Allies launched Operation Overlord, the largest full-scale military invasion in history.

n  The invasion consisted of 5000 ships carrying 107 000 British, American, and Canadian troops ready to storm the beaches of Normandy in Northern France.

n  Canadian troops landed at Juno Beach and by the end of the first day of fighting, known as D-Day, they had gained more ground than any other Allied division.

n  The Allied forces managed to capture every beach that day.

n  The liberation of Europe had begun.

n  Over the next 11 months, the Allied forces steadily marched across Europe, forcing the German army to retreat.

n  In the spring of 1945, Canadian forces moved north and east to liberate the Netherlands.

n  By April 1945, the German army was crumbling.

n  As the Soviet troops entered Berlin, Hitler committed suicide.

n  On May 7th, 1945 – VE Day, for Victory in Europe – Germany surrendered. The war in Europe was over.

n  VE-Day celebrations in Ontario in May 1945 to celebrate the end of the war in Europe.

War in the Pacific    page 64
The Battle of Hong Kong

n  Canadian troops also participated in one of the most infamous battles in the pacific, in defense of the British holding of the island of Hong Kong.

n  After the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces secured much of Southeast Asia. When Hong Kong was threatened, Canada was asked to send troops to defend the island.

n  A force of 1900 soldiers was sent to Hong Kong to take up positions around the city even though most military experts agreed the island would be difficult to defend.

n  The untrained and inexperience Canadian soldiers were outnumbered. After a fierce three-week battle, Hong Kong surrendered to Japan on Christmas day, 1941.

n  More than 500 Canadian soldiers died in the battle or in prison camps afterward.

Ending the War in the Pacific

n  While the war was over in Europe, the Japanese continued to fight. After Hong Kong, Canadian forces did not see any other combat action in the Pacific. On August 6, 1945, the United States put a rapid end to the war by dropping the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Almost 200 000 people perished or were maimed. In the decade to follow, another 500 000 people would die from the effects of radiation. On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered and the Second World War was finally over.

Social Changes during the war

Diversity in the Armed Forces ~ what were women able to do during the war?

n  Some gender- and ethnicity-based barriers to enlistment in the Canadian service were removed during the Second World War. Women were actively recruited in all branches of the Armed Forces. By the end of the war over 45 000 women had enlisted. Women were still not allowed to serve in direct combat. At first they were recruited as secretaries, nurses, cooks, and drivers. They eventually took on non-traditional jobs such as parachute riggers, mechanics, wireless operators, and photographers. Whatever their jobs, women were always paid less than male soldiers.

How did Canada’s diverse cultural groups become evolve in the war effort?

Aboriginals:

n  Under the Indian Act of 1876, Aboriginal people were not Canadian citizens but were wards of the state.

n  To enlist in the military, they had to have permission of the Department of Indian Affairs. They also had to give up their status as registered Indians, a tremendous sacrifice.

n  Still over 3000 Aboriginal soldiers fought in the Canadian army in major battles, such as Dieppe and the invasion of Normandy.

French Canadians:

n  French Canadians made up about 19 % of the Canadian military.

n  They participated in some of the key battles of the war, including the Normandy campaign and the D-Day landing.

African-Canadians

n  Many African Canadians were accepted in the military and this time they were not segregated.

On the Home Front

n  After the Great Depression, wartime production had made Canada prosper again. Between 1939 and 1945 Canada’s Gross National Product doubled. To control run away inflation that sometimes accompanies a war, Canada introduced wage and price controls, rationing, and increased taxation. The government established economic policies that enabled it to finance the war without resorting to the massive foreign borrowing that had financed the first war.

Women on the Home Front

n  Life for women changed in Canada during the war. More women filled jobs in traditionally male-dominated occupations. 1 million women worked in manufacturing. Women worked in war industry. Minority women were able to secure more jobs in the workforce. As the women lost their jobs, the government removed incentives such as tax breaks and child-care facilities. Marriages increased after the war. There was a baby boom after the war from 1945-1959. This was the largest birth in Canada’s history.

Canadian War Brides

n  The term "war bride" refers to the estimated 48,000 young women who met and married Canadian servicemen during the Second World War. These war brides were mostly from Britain, but a few thousand were also from other areas of Europe: the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Germany.

Controversies during the war

n  Conscription – not necessarily conscription though...

n  The Internment of Japanese Canadians

n  The War Measures Act

n  Canada and the Holocaust