Transcript Battles-WWIIx - OPSS

WWII – The Battles Begin
Between 1939 and 1941, Germany is able to take over
many European countries using a military tactic called
Blitzkrieg.
Blitzkrieg: “Lightning War”
Tanks, bomber planes, troops & artillery.
Tanks would “punch holes” in the lines of the defences
Bomber planes would fight from above
Troops and artilleries would follow quickly behind the
tanks
Aerial bombardment and ground troops prevented Allies
from re-supplying their own forces and would close in to
seal the holes in the front line.
Animation
Miracle at Dunkirk
After taking over many countries in Europe, Germany invades France
Britain sent in troops to help defend France
Both France and Britain were not prepared for the speed of the Blitzkrieg
The German army forced the allies back to the French city of Dunkirk
where they remained trapped.
During the delay of Germany planning their final attack, the British set
out a call for help
Nearly 900 ships came across the English Channel
Between May 27 and June 4 over 300,000 soldiers were evacuated to
England from Dunkirk. It was expected that only 10,000 would have
survived.
The Miracle at Dunkirk
The Battle of Britain
July 1940 – October 1940
Luftwaffe: German Air Force
RAF – British Royal Air Force
Hitler ordered an air attack on British ships in the English
Channel signaling the start of the Battle of Britain.
Hitler’s plan was to destroy Britain’s fighter planes, factories
and the morale of the people
At first Luftwaffe was extremely successful by knocking
out airfields and supply factories
(RAF) despite being badly outnumbered held it’s
ground.
After thousands of British civilians and fighter pilots
were killed the Luftwaffe backs down and the battle is
considered an Allied victory.
Canadian fighter planes helped the RAF
Note: Review your notes from the Battle of Britain
video!
Lost Evidence: Battle of Britain
Canadians at Hong Kong, 1941
Japan – Part of the Axis Powers
Leader: Emperor Hirohito
Japan wants to take over Asia for power and
natural resources
December 7, 1941 Japan launches surprise attack
on Pearl Harbor (American naval base in Hawaii).
Japanese had to eliminate the American Pacific
fleet to continue its own expansion without any
extra obstacles
U.S used the attack to declare war against the Axis Powers
A few hours after the attack of Pearl Harbor, Japanese invade Hong
Kong (a colony of Britain).
Britain and Canada had troops set up in Hong Kong for defence.
Compared to Japan’s huge artillery and airplanes, the British and
Canadian defenders was made up of a small number of troops,
nurses and civilians had little chance of victory.
Just over 2 weeks of ferocious fighting, the defenders surrendered on
Christmas day.
290 Canadians killed. Survivors were sent to prison camps and used
for slave labour in coal and iron mines.
Ate only rice, were beaten, tortured and killed.
The Battle of Dieppe
August 19, 1942
Canadian and British troops were sent to the French
coast at Dieppe to test the German forces.
They wanted to establish whether an attack from the sea
was possible.
Objective of attack: hold the town long enough to
destroy its harbour installations, gather crucial
information and then withdraw safely to Britain. This
raid was to test new techniques and equipment in
preparation for the eventual invasion of Europe
Maneuver was called “Operation Jubilee”
Over 6000 soldiers were set out towards Dieppe (5000
Canadian)
The Plan:
o
Surprise the Germans in the middle of the dark night
A Series of Unfortunate Events:
o
o
A chance encounter with a small German convoy warned the
Germans of a pending raid (the surprise element was gone)
The Canadians and British were able to fight off the convoy, but
this delayed their timing and they arrived at the beach at dawn
o
At Dieppe the Germans were ready with artillery on the cliffs.
They mowed down soldiers as they left the landing crafts
o
Tanks that were supposed to lead the way for the Canadians
stalled on the beach
Canadian Troops Training Exercise for Disembarking
at Dieppe
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps Rehearse
for Raid on Dieppe
Troops Prepare to Go Ashore at
the Battle of Dieppe
Damaged Tanks on the Beach at the Battle of
Dieppe
Beach and cliffs at Dieppe
Dieppe's pebble beach and cliff immediately following the
raid on August 19th, 1942. A scout car has been abandoned.
Corpses on the beach
next to two Churchill
tanks of the 14th
Armoured Regiment
(Calgary) stuck in
pebbles.
By afternoon, 900 Canadian troops were dead, over 1000
wounded and 1900 were taken by the Germans
Acceptable losses: a certain number of lives may reasonably be
lost in pursuit of long-term objectives. Therefore, Dieppe was
not a complete failure
Lessons learned at Dieppe proved to be very valuable at the
invasion of Normandy in 1944. Mistakes such as the ones in
Dieppe didn’t happen again.
Canadian prisoners escorted by German guards
marching through Dieppe, August 19th, 1942.
German Prisoner of War From Dieppe
What do you think about the notion of
“acceptable losses” ?
Canadian’s in the Air
Canada’s air force was small at the beginning of
the war, but by the end it was the fourth largest
in the world
Pilots were young – average age 23
Sent on missions to bomb industrial sites,
railways, highways and bridges of Axis Powers mostly at night.
However, many bombs went astray killing
civilians – mostly women and children
Question: Why were most civilians women and children?
In 1942 the Allies begin to bomb German cities to
destroy German spirits.
Over 100 000 German civilians died and cities
were almost totally destroyed.
However, the bombing did not destroy the German
will to fight
(much like the British will did not break during
the Battle of Britain)
Canadian Forces PL 907
Bridge destroyed by bombing in Cologne,
Germany
Bombed Buildings, Germany