Transcript Battles of WWII - Greater Victoria School District

Battles of WWII
Nazi Victories
• Blitzkrieg had been
successful:
– Poland (Sept., 1939)
– Denmark, Norway
(April, 1940)
– Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg (May,
1940)
– France (June, 1940)
• Battle of France, Dunkirk: May 25-31,
1940
Dunkirk
German armed forces pressed the Allied
armies trapped in the north, from south and
east, into the English Channel. Meanwhile,
German infantry divisions reinforced the
southern flank of the German penetration.
•
Dunkirk Continued
• As men retreated, they moved North towards England.
However, they had no way to cross the channel, and the
Germans pursued close behind. If caught, the soldiers
would be forced to surrender, and England and the allies
would lose hundreds of thousands of troops.
• The officers of the German air force told Hitler they
could dispose of the allied army in three days, so Hitler
turned towards Paris with his land army, to complete the
conquest of France.
• As news reached Britain, a plan was formulated to
evacuate the British soldiers back to England.
• Hundreds of ships, including many pleasure craft, crossed
the channel to do their part and help the men of England.
• Miraculously, while the men were being evacuated from
May 25 to June 3, foggy weather inhibited the efforts of
the German Luftwaffe. The channel remained calm,
allowing for quick evacuation. By June 3rd, 338,226 men
were evacuated from Dunkirk.
Battle of Britain
August, 1940 to May, 1941
• Evacuation of British troops from France at
Dunkirk.
• Nazi aerial bombardment of
British factories, then cities.
• British invented radar
• RAF outnumbered between 2-6 to 1 but
killed Luftwaffe 3 to 1.
• U.S. Lend-Lease program helping with war
materiel.
Bomber Command Command
• In October of 1942, No.6 Group of Bomber Command
was created to be completely manned by Canadian
officers and men and at the end of the war it had grown
to thirteen squadrons
• The Canadian Squadrons were based at airfields in the
vicinity of Lincoln and York with the exception of three
squadrons which were temporarily posted to North
Africa to aid in the invasion of Sicily and Italy in 1943.
• The Canadian effort reached its peak in 1944 when
• . In total, No. 6 Group dropped 126,122 tons of bombs
and lost 814 aircraft.
• Eight thousand decorations for bravery were awarded
to No. 6 Group aircrew
The Eastern Front
• The eastern front of the war effort was as
important (if not more so) to the allied
victory as the western front.
• Russia and Germany’s campaigns against
one another marked the largest, costliest and
most ferocious fighting in the war
• Some of the most lethal battles in human
history occurred on the eastern front of
WWII
Battle of Stalingrad
Codename: Operation Barbarossa
– German blitzkrieg on Russia.
Battle raged around the Russian city of Stalingrad
from August ’42 to Feb. ’43
The Germans initially sieged and then captured the
city, and were later trapped there as the Red Army
surrounded the entire city.
After the battle ended, estimated casualties stood at
1.5 million + killed or wounded, making it the
costliest battle in human history
Pavlov’s House, the name given to a 4 storey building that
Sergeant Yakov Pavlov and a handful of men defended against heavy
German resistance for 2 months, regarded as an enduring symbol of
stubborn Russian resistance
Infamous Russian Sniper Vasily
Zaytsev, credited with 225 kills (a
conservative estimate) during the Battle
of Stalingrad, the second most effective
sniper in Russian history
The Siege of Leningrad
• Codename: Operation North Light
• German siege of the Russian city of Leningrad,
lasting from Sept. ’41 to Jan. ’44, making it the
longest siege of a city in human history
• Siege was finally broken by Operation Spark, a
full-scale offensive by the Red Army on the
Leningrad front.
• Casualty estimates range between 1.1 million
and 1.5 million, ranking it 2nd in history in
terms of casualties.
U.S. Enters the War
• U.S. boycotts Japan
• Japanese attack naval base
at Pearl Harbor, HI, Dec.
7, 1941.
• U.S. declares war on
Japan, Germany & Italy
declare war on U.S.
• U.S. and other allies
decided to defeat
Germany first, then defeat
Japan
Hong Kong
• December 1941, 2000
Canadian Soldiers are sent
to hold Hong Kong
against a force of 20,000
Japanese soldiers
• The Canadians put forth a
valiant effort, however
they are unable to hold
Hong Kong in the face of
overwhelming odds
• The Japanese forces
committed many atrocities
against the Canadian
soldiers that were captured
as well as those soldiers
and civilians taken as
Prisoners of War
• This is a photo of
Japanese soldiers
executing a Canadian
soldier
Dieppe
The Dieppe Raid was an Allied Operation run by mostly
Canadian infantry. 6000 troops were deployed to the
Northern Coast of France on August 19 1942. The Goal
was to capture a major port for a short time, to gather
information from prisoners. Another plan was to draw the
Lufftwaffe into a large-scale planned encounter.
Operation was a failure. 3628 ground troops died, and 119 planes
were lost. Dieppe had turned into a crushing defeat for Canadians.
• Battle of Dieppe
• Radio Broadcast on Canada’s heavy losses
“Soft Underbelly”
The Italian Campaign
• Canada invaded Sicily in
July, 1943
• Mussolini forced out of
office, latter shot and
hung.
• Italy then declares war
against Germany, Oct.
1944.
• Germans held Northern
Italy (Alps) until spring,
1945.
The Soft Underbelly
Time line
• Battles:
• - Landing in Sicily, July9-12
- Grammichele, July 15
- Piazza Arminera, July 16-17
- Valguarnera, July 15-20
- Assoro, July 20-22
- Leonforte, July 21-22
- Agira, July 24-28
- Adrano, July 29- Aug. 7
- Catenanuova, July 29-30
- Regalbuto, July 29-Aug. 3
- Centuripe, July 31- Aug. 3
- Troina Valley, Aug. 2-6
- Pursuit to Messina, Aug. 2-17
The Italian Campaign Continued
• The new Italian government surrendered on
September 3, 1943, the Germans
immediately seized control and thus it was
German troops that the Allies faced in their
advance up the Italian peninsula.
The Italian Campaign Continued
• The eighth British Army (including the 1st
Canadian Division, and the 1st Canadian Army
Tank Brigade) would lead the way across the
Strait of Messina to the toe of Italy and then
advance towards Naples The assault across the
Strait of Messina began on September 3, 1943.
The Canadians, directed on Reggio Calabria, met
little resistance since the Germans had withdrawn.
The Canadians captured Reggio Calabria and
advanced across the Aspromonte Mountains to
Catanzaro.
The Italian Campaign Continued
• In spite of rain, poor mountain roads and German
rearguard actions, the Canadians had moved 120
kilometres inland from Reggio by September 10.
Meanwhile, the Fifth U.S. Army met stiff German
resistance as it assaulted the beaches of Salerno.
To assist American troops in the breakout from the
bridgehead, a Canadian brigade was diverted from
the main Canadian line of advance to seize
Potenza, Potenza was taken on September 20.
The Italian Campaign Continued
• the Canadians found themselves pushing into the
central mountain range. Now the enemy resisted
with full force. On October 1 at Motta, the
Canadians fought their first battle with Germans in
Italy, and a series of brief, but bloody actions
followed. On October 14, the Canadians took
Campobasso. The next day they took Vinchiaturo
and the advance continued across the Biferno
River.
The Italian Campaign Continued
• The British and Canadians succeeded in driving the
Germans from the Sangro but were faced with the
same task further north. Here, along the line of the
Moro River, some of the bitterest fighting of the war
took place. The Germans counter-attacked repeatedly
and often the fighting was hand-to-hand as the
Canadians edged forward to Ortona on the coast.
• The mediaeval town of Ortona, was situated on a
ledge overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Its steep streets
limited the use of tanks and artillery and thus made
this an infantryman's struggle. During several days of
vicious street fighting, the Canadians smashed their
way through walls and buildings - "mouseholing" as
they called it. This was Christmas 1943. Meanwhile, a
subsidiary attack had been launched to the northwest
and the Germans, in danger of being cut off, withdrew
from Ortona. The city officially fell on December 28.
The Italian Campaign Continued
• By now the Canadian Army in Italy had
reached its peak theatre strength of nearly
76,000. Total casualties in the Corps had
climbed to 9,934 in all ranks, of which
2,119 had been fatal.
• Interview with Canadian Veterans of the
Italian Campaign
D-Day
• June 6, 1944 - Allies
invade Northern Occupied
France at Normandy coast.
• Rommel defending the
beaches
• Allies establish a
beachhead within 24 hours
The Canadian objective is
Juno Beach.
• The Liberation of Holland will
always be one of the most
important moments in the
history of World War II for
Canadian Soldiers. As a result
of their efforts, the German
invasion of the Netherlands was
reversed and the Dutch people
were freed once more.
Canadian troops had been
fighting in France, Italy,
Belgium, and in Germany since
the D-Day landing. These
troops were moved to the
Netherlands to push the German
troops occupying the northeast
back to the sea and to drive
German troops in the west back
into Germany.
• The Liberation campaign was
fought on several fronts
including:
Liberation of the
Netherlands
Liberation of the Netherlands
Continued
• The Battle of the Scheldt which, when successful, would
open up the supply lines from Normady through the port of
Antwerp and into the Netherlands. November 28th saw the
first shipment convoys passed through the channel lead by
the Canadian-built freighter Fort Cataraqui. There were
over 12,000 casualties in the First Canadian Army and
6,367 of these were Canadian born soldiers.
•
Liberation of the Netherlands
Continued
• The Rhineland Campaign followed the
Battle of the Scheldt and had a front
over 200 miles long. The campaign
took approximately 3 months and
featured divisions of Canadian, British,
and American soldiers.
Liberation of the Netherlands
Continued
• Fighting had to be called to a halt and negotiations
were held to permit relief supplies to be sent into
parts of the Netherlands which had been starved
over the course of a winter known as the "Hunger
Winter". Canadian pilots dropped food packages
from the air to the intense relief and joy of the
Dutch people and as the Canadian troops liberated
town after town, they were faced by the heartbreaking images of starving and beaten people
crying and applauding in gratitude for their rescue.
• Liberation of Holland celebration footage
Japan
• Dec., 1941, U.S. territories
of Philippines, Guam and
Wake Is. taken.
• U.S. strategy - “island
hopping”
– to take the less-defended
islands
– surround the more heavily
defended ones
Coral Sea
• Japanese Code broken which gave the U.S.
knowledge of where Japan was to strike.
• Battle of the Coral Sea - Japanese invasion
of Australia stopped May, 1942.
Midway
• Japanese attempted to take Midway Island,
failed
• Battle of Midway (June, 1942)
• Entirely fought in air by aircraft carriers.
• Turning point of Pacific war:
– Japan lost more ships, now American and
Japanese navy equal.
– Farthest Japan got in Pacific
Island Hopping to Victory
• Guadalcanal, Leyte
Gulf, Iwo Jima,
Okinawa among famous
battles.
• Japan resorted to
defending themselves
with kamikaze pilots
•As got closer to Japan,
more U.S. casualties.
•Atomic bomb
–Hiroshima (Aug. 6,
1945)
–Nagasaki (Aug. 9)
•VJ Day - September 2,
1945