Mackenzie King & Conscription in Canada

PM Mackenzie-King and Conscription

• Initially, PM Mackenzie King promised that conscription would not be used.
• The need for conscription was recognized later in the war.

Role of Canadian Military

• PM Mackenzie King wanted the Canadian military to serve as suppliers.
• The military would focus on building ships, bombs, and airplanes.

Plebiscite Explained

• A plebiscite is a political vote on a specific issue.
• In Canada's case, it was a vote on whether to implement conscription.

French-Canadians

• French Canadians initially volunteered to fight.
• However, they stopped volunteering later in the war

Conscription Vote of 1942

• Conscription was put to a vote in April 1942.
• Quebec held rallies against conscription and strongly opposed it.
• The vote resulted in favor of conscription, and it was ultimately used.

King and Conscription

• King did not implement conscription until November 1944 after Normandy.
• The National Resources Mobilization Act was introduced and passed.
• Many drafted individuals often bought their way out of fighting.
• 2,500 out of 12,000 drafted men actually went to war.

British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP)

• BCATP helped the British war effort by training pilots.
• Pilots were trained from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain.
• 131,000 pilots and crew trained in Canada during WW2.
• Had more people and better labor than the Germans.

Lend-Lease Act of 1941

• Allowed the U.S. to provide supplies to the Allies while remaining neutral.
• U.S. businesses profited from this arrangement by "helping your neighbor first" and getting paid for it later.

CD Howe's Role

• CD Howe was put in charge of the Canadian economy,.
• He transformed it into a wartime economy within months.

Women's Roles in the War

• Women worked in factories to build rubber, airplanes, ammunition, and food packages.
• They also took on roles such as knitting clothing and volunteering in hospitals.
• Canada became the grocery store for the allies because of this
• Women were paid 7% more in factories than as domestic servants

Pearl Harbor and Canadian Response

• The Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.
• The U.S. declared war on Japan, and Canada followed suit.
• The West Coast had a large population of Japanese Canadian citizens.
• Racism towards Japanese Canadians increased after Pearl Harbor.
• Young, single Japanese Canadian males were taken to prison camps in Ontario and Alberta.
• They were forced into labor and had to sell their homes and businesses.
• Families lost everything and were eventually allowed back home.
• Rights were not restored until 1949.
• Many found their houses had been sold.

Slackers

• Slackers were people who didn't go to Europe to fight/ weren't helping with war efforts.

"Dead Zone" or "Black Zone"

• This was the area in the Atlantic where North American military supply ships were unprotected from German U-boats.
• Canada and the U.S. were the biggest suppliers.

Nazi Naval Strategy

• The Nazis knew they couldn't compete with the Royal Navy, so they aimed to starve Britain into suing for peace
• Pocket Battleships were small, faster, lighter, fuel-efficient, and heavily weaponed ships used to combat Britain's naval supremacy.

Unterseeboot (U-boats)

• U-boats were more effective than pocket battleships and used to cut off GBR from NORAM.
• U-boats were silent, small, deadly, and easy to make, featuring two diesel engines and several banks of batteries.
• They had the ability to go underwater to attack, but with a short battery life.
• Approximately 1000 U-boats were made and sunk about 3000 ships.

Life as a Submariner

• Submariners would most likely die, and their living conditions and life aboard
• Conditions were crowded, smelly, with limited and non-nutritious food, and constant fear of depth charges.

"Wolfpack" Tactics

• Wolfpacks used strategic plans and radio communication to destroy enemy ships.
• However, the Allies could track their radios.

Enigma

• Enigma was coded transmission used by the Germans to communicate.
• The Royal Navy captured one on May 9 1941 and cracked the code, allowing them to understand German communications.

Protecting Atlantic Shipping Routes

• The Canadian Navy was tasked with protecting the Atlantic shipping lines until they got closer to Great Britain, where the British Navy took over.

Corvettes

• Corvettes were cheap and easy to make.
• They were effective at countering and destroying U-boats with fast, high-capacity, and accurate guns.
• They were prone to filling with water in the front and back.
• Weather could stop these corvettes from preforming well

Life Aboard Corvettes

• Duty involved eating, sleeping, and working in wet and cold conditions.

RCAF in the Battle of the Atlantic

• The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was based in Gander, Newfoundland.
• They often couldn't reach the middle of the Atlantic.
• the RCAF picked up survivors.

Change in the Battle of the Atlantic

• The Battle of the Atlantic changed in the last 2 years of the war because the U.S. entered the war.
• Germans were put on the defense and were running out of resources.

Kriegsmarine

• Kriegsmarine means German Navy

Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain

• War was declared September 1st 1939 but no one fought between September and April 1940 because they didn't fight when it was cold.
• Nazi Germany invaded Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, then turned South after defeating the East.
• The British, French, and Belgian armies were quickly defeated due to weapon shortages caused by the Great Depression.
• Nazi Germany used Blitzkrieg tactics, and the Allies were unprepared.
• Allied forces retreated to Dunkirk to try to evacuate to England but were faced with issues of providing resources due to the sea.
• Operation Dynamo occurred May-June: Approximately 300 thousand allied troops made it back to England by taking all of their fishing boats, trawlers and anything that could transport.
• Thousands of people were on the beach waiting to be rescued while Dunkirk was bombed.
• The British Air Force did nothing because then nothing would be their to cover GB because they were scarred of German air forces.
• If the Germans captured Dunkirk Great Britain and France could have been eliminated from war
• America would have had to fight in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Africa with nearly no Allie’s
• Also, the war would have ended much sooner if Hilter used his Panzers at Dunkirk rather than stopping

Battle of Britain

• The Battle of Britain lasted from July to October 1940 and used Operation Sealion
• The Ger aircraft made structures made important factories and communications.
• Germany didn't think of Canadas mass production of Aircrafts.

RAF

• A new invention, radar, warned the RAF, coordinated an attack, and would hold off Germans for 8 minutes to loose fuel.
• The defensive Stance of British was easier to defend than attack
• RAF, RCAF- Canadian air force was superior to the Luftwaffe due to the more pilots and planes.
• The RAF trained all kinds of pilots from the US, Canada, Aus, NZL and they also had Women flying these planes.
• Winston Churchill was a master speaker, manipulator, and used Propaganda.
• Royal Navy- Docked at and was bigger, better and has everything.

Treaty of Versailles

• It prevented GER from having a military more than 100k, limited armaments and training.
• As a result, GER army was 10x less than the France or GB military's.

Spanish Civil War

• The Spanish civil war was used as a dress rehearsal for the Germans by using the German tactics which practiced for WW2.

Blitzkriegs 3 Keys

• Identify weak points
• Break through
• Cause disruption in the rear
• Germany did not have enough supplies to win, and they were outnumbered in weapons, supplies, and soldiers

Churchill's Strategy

• Churchill was so important to bring because with him the could bring in mass amounts of tanks, bombs, and all sorts of weapons which would eventually wear down Germanys slow production against its production rate.
• Radio is the most important weapon in Blitzkrieg

German Military

• The German military, Wehrmacht, needed fast attack, victory and control and air and ground could talk with radio.
• During T of V prevents GER from having a military more than 100k, limited armaments and training.
• Germans Trained upward- All soldiers decided they would train their job and the superior job to them incase they die.
• Small decisions on the field were were decided by the Soldiers
• Luffwaffa (Air Force) and Wehrmacht (Military) got practice in the Spanish Civil war.

Keys To Victory

• Fast
• Don't Slow Down
• The planes would shadow the tanks. Make quick decision.
• People could Make decisions quickly with Rapid communication.

Thunder Bay In The War Effort

• Thunder Bay where was the Canadian built fighter planes for the British were located

Elsie MacGill

• Elsie MacGill was the factory's chief engineer and First female engineer and aircraft designer in the world/ Queen of Hurricanes
• She was able to deliver 40 fighter jets in almost half the time do to the technique she created, so she was a trailblazer/ one of the most significant Canadians in the war
• She had Polio

Canada's Material Contributions

• Supplied to the Allied war effort with 50,000 tanks, 16000 planes and an abundance of vehicles weapons and ammo

Women's Contributions

• Women were doing everything form build planes to cooking and one of the main reasons we could manufacture so fast.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The longest battle of the war, lasting 2074 days

Nazi Weapons In The Atlantic

• Main weapon used by Germans was U-boats.

Anglo and French-Canada Views

• They first supported the Fascist but then realized that the fascist were not the good guys and turned their point of view around

Canada's Readiness

• Canada was not ready to join the war due to the great depression and still weak military.

Declaration of War by Canada

• Canada declared September 10th 1939 and the First time they declared war as an independent nation.

Allied Troops Trapped in Dunkirk

• They were trapped for about 2 – 6 weeks and Escaped by sea with 300 000 Soldiers

1930's Environment

• The US economic disaster spreads the rest of the world with 30% unemployed globally which leads to Fear anxiety post great war and the the Great Depression
• Also, Fascist dictators are rising in power i.e Benito Mussolini – Adolf Hitler McKenzie King returns 1935 in Canada away from global conflicts
• Japan and Italy invade China and Ethiopia respectively
• Civil war In Spain with Fascist leaders Leauge of NAtions failed to stop wars due to lack of $ and US Support
• US gives $ to to pay WWI reparations
• Hyper inflation and destruction of Economy
• Blames All other especially minorities

Hitlers Rise in Power

• Hitler gave people something to fear and something to blame for all your troubles which uses fear as a rally point
• Hitlers seats would go up Every election year due to the Great Depression
• Became leader in 1933
• Hitler begins censorship and bans unions and strikes.
• He Stops elections and reversed the treaty of Versailles with an concept that Germans are the superior race and all others should work for Germans.

The cult of Personality

• Included people worshiping their leaders with love, people generally wanted leaders similar to Nazis (trump wanted generals like that

Nazi Olympics

• No one could afford to host the Olympics so German took it
• Jesse Owens an African American runner showed that Germans were not the best race

SS St. Louis

• Jews trying to eacape
• Got blocked from USA, Canada, Panama, Cuba, Argentina, and was forced to return to Germany
• Half died
• Antisemitism was normal at the time

Appeasement Timeline

• 1935 Italy invades Ethiopia
• 1936 Germany takes back the Rhineland region- area bordering France and Germany. (Forbidden based on T of V ) because Leauge of NAtions wasnt strong enough
• 1938 annexes Austria
• 1939 All of Czechoslovakia and Poland are taken by Germany and WW2 BEGINS

Munich Agreement

• The greements of GBR & FRA along with Italy and US in an agreement over Germany at a low price.
• Hitler takes the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia 1 day after the conference bbecause of the fear of Hitler being too powerful.

The Jewish Story

• They were traders and Merchants, who hitler was eventually planned to Annihilate
• Nazi was enabled through the GD- and more

Nuremburg Laws

• Were passed in 1935- Eliminated Jews due to stereotypes and jews are eventually removed from positions:
• supervisors
• government
• finance
• medicine
• education
• military - public admin
• Were Forced jews to sell properties, business and lands, sterilized, wear the Star of David.

Jewish Ghettos & The Halocaust

• Often Walled, small, disease ridden- 6 Million Died

Wartime Agreement and CDN views

• Agreements - The Ogdensburg Agreement - The Hyde Park Agreement, there as a public appology given
• Cdns contrubted through enlisting & donatign Materials with Wartime economy shifting to military production
• Limited with rationioning and women took on job's tradiational done by men At start Mackinze wanted no conscritption however there were many french-canadians

Japanese Canadian Internment

• 22000 lived on WC before the war
• Jobs properities and seised
• relocated to rural areas with the sale of props funds the camp
• Government gave $ to jpn in 21000

War Branches

• RAF- GB air force
• RCAF- CDN air force

Churchill and the Battle Of The Atlantic

• Churchill was P.M, Atlantic longest battle RCN v V-boat
• East battle betwenn Ger v Sov Union
• Rehersal and preparation leading up to D-Day

Italien and Canadien Alliances

• Italien campaign &Battle of Ortono helped Alilies capture Italy that allowed for attack points
• Italy gave up
• this is largely forgotten since it happened so fast