• Despite the war weariness Canadians felt

following WWI 60 000 volunteered to serve

• However, Canada was NOT prepared to go to

war
 Key Terms
• Maginot Line
• Fortified line of defense along German/French border
• Blitzkrieg
• Lightning war
• Wehrmacht
• German armed forces
• Luftwaffe
• German air-force
 Military Engagements in WWII
• Think in terms of Sky, Land, and Sea
 Sky: Battle of Britain
• In July 1940 once Germany had captured
France, attention turned to Britain and Hitler
launched “Operation Sea Lion”
– Being an island, the Blitzkrieg that had worked
had to be amended and the RAF had to be wiped
out before crossing the English Channel
 Sky: American and British aims
• After London was bombed, the Allies bombed
Berlin and later other German industrial
centres
• British accuracy was poor and bombing raids
took on new tactics
– Carpet bombing
– Hamburg
– Dresden
 Lebensraum
• Lebensraum – one of Hitler’s key aims
– Living space in which Hitler believed it was the
right and duty of the German master race to be
the world’s greatest empire
– German domination of central and eastern Europe
at the expense of Slavic peoples
• Primary target was ‘Russia and her vassal border states’
 Land: USSR
• In 1941 Germany sought to take USSR
(Operation Barbarossa)
– (seize Leningrad, advance to Moscow and south
occupy the Ukraine)
– Hitler’s generals were silent when shown the plan
but they did not voice doubts
– The Germans were not successful
 Land: Dieppe
• In 1942 the Allies planned to breach German
defenses in France at Dieppe
– Churchill wanted a morale boosting victory
– After years of training in Britain, some Canadian
politicians and generals were anxious for Canadian
troops to experience battle
 Land: Italy
• In 1943 the Allies sought to push Italy back
and relieve pressure from the Eastern Front
– “Soft underbelly” of Europe proved to be harder
than anticipated
– 4 June 1944 Allies seized control over Rome
 Land: D-Day
• On June 6, 1944 the Allies tried again to gain a
foothold on the continent in order to launch
further offensives
– Whereas Dieppe had been practiced twice, the
Normandy invasions were repeatedly practiced
and all details worked out
– What is this analogous to with respect to WWI?
 Sea: Battle of the Atlantic
• German U-boats very successful at sinking
supply ships crossing the Atlantic
• Wolf packs of U-boats patrolled the Atlantic

• Without the supplies the Allies could not have

been successful
• Britain relied on Canada and the US for food and
munitions
• Allies used a convoy system as they did during WWI
 Changes
• May 1942 Allies cracked the German naval
code and they could track submarines more
easily
– Also, there was better training for personnel,
increase in equipment sophistication and there
were more ships were manufactured than were
sunk
 Prep/background reading
• 133-139
• 142-148
• Read and create a battle chart noting the
areas, dates, victors, purpose and any
analogous aspects to WWI
 Select one of the following:

• Military engagements they will be tasked with

(though they can go beyond)
• Hong Kong
• Dieppe
• The Bomber Offensive*not Canada focused but
important to include for morality of firebombing
• Italian campaigns
• D-Day and Normandy campaign
• Liberation of Netherlands
 Task
• Go to
https://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions
/newspapers/operations/operations_e.shtml
• Read through the contemporary articles and
contrast the information presented to
contemporary Canadians to the information
we are given after the fact.