Transcript WW2 Battles2

Unit 3 WWII – CHC2P
Battles Part 2, the Pacific, Dieppe
Ms. Pannell
Battle of
Hong Kong
 Britain wanted to
reinforce its colony, Hong
Kong – fear of a
Japanese attack
 Canada loaned 2
battalions: 1,975
personal). They were
under trained
 Canada believed there
would be plenty of time
to get its troops in Hong
Kong battle ready.
Canadians arriving in Hong Kong
November 1941
Dec 7, 1941
Mass Japanese offensive
 Japanese attacked U.S.A.
– Pearl Harbor, Malaya,
the Philippines, Guam,
Wake Island and Hong
Kong
 USA joins the war
 Canadians see combat
for the first time in WW2
Hong Kong
 December 8-25, 1941
 A quick and decisive
victory for the
Japanese. The
Canadian rookies were
no match for the battle
ready and hardened
Japanese
 Canadians surrendered
on Christmas day,
1941 – “Black
Christmas”
Battle of Hong Kong aftermath
 3 years, 8 months of
Japanese Imperial rule in
Hong Kong
 Japanese army terrorized
local populations (murder,
rape, looting)
 1,689 Canadians became
POWs. It's thought that
1,405 survived the camps
in Hong Kong and Japan.
They would be liberated in
August 1945 when the
Japanese surrender
Dieppe – Summer 1942
The War to Date: 1942
 Hitler and Mussolini controlled Europe
 Japan attacked US and Britain
(Canada) in the Pacific
Dieppe Raid - August 1942
 Dieppe was a coastal French
city that was being held by the
Germans.
Significance:
1. A Canadian operation
2. Our first attempted landing on
W. Europe since Dunkirk
3. 900 Cdn. soldiers were killed,
2000 taken prisoner
4. Learned many lessons that
would be put to use on D-Day
Dieppe continued
Why did the Allies choose to raid Dieppe?
1. Public opinion-- the Commonwealth was
enraged at the falling of Hong Kong
2. Soviet Union—providing relief for Russia
3. Soldiers—restless from no activity
4. Tested German coastal defenses and might
help to plan a full-scale invasion.
The Invasion
Dieppe Invasion
 1942, Aug. 9, 5,000 Canadians landed at Dieppe to
take the town
 Allied ships got off course and were spotted by
Germans while crossing the English Channel.
 The Canadians failed to surprise the Germans and
many soldiers died.
 raid was late, Germans were ready, many killed
before the beach
 town was fortified with artillery, barbed wire, land
mines & tanks
Why Dieppe
Failed
 Intelligence—didn’t
realize how strong the
German defenses were
 Geography—the Allies
attacked a fortified
beach without
bombing it first
 Bad planning---the
Allies left too late and
the Germans spotted
them
Lessons learned
 Much stronger military forces needed to
break through the lines.
 higher number of forces must be held in
reserve for second attack
 Aerial and naval bombardment needed
before attack
 These lessons were used in the planning of
the D-Day invasion