WWII: The Blitz and Battle of the Atlantic

10 Questions

What percentage of Canada's population served in the military during the Second World War?

About 10%

Which event marked the beginning of Canada's involvement in the Second World War?

The German attack on Poland

What was the state of Canada's military at the outbreak of the Second World War?

Ill-equipped with a small army

Where did Canadian pilots first engage in direct combat with enemy planes during the Second World War?

In the Battle of Britain

What was a significant consequence of Canada's involvement in the Second World War?

Canada's emergence with a new-found clout and respect on the world stage

What was the primary target of German U-boats during the war?

Merchant ships carrying supplies to Britain

What was the significance of the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941?

It was the first major land battle between Canadian and Japanese forces

What was the purpose of the Dieppe raid in August 1942?

To test the German defenses on the French coast

What was the outcome of the Italian campaign in 1943-1944?

The Allies were able to push the German forces back to the medieval town of Ortona

What was the significance of the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence?

It was the first time German U-boats breached Canadian waters

Study Notes

The Battle of Britain and the Blitz

The Germans, repelled in the Battle of Britain, turned to night bombing of London and other cities in a period known as the Blitz, which lasted until May 1941.
During the Blitz, the British buckled but did not break.

The War at Sea

Canada fought against German U-boats attacking convoy ships.
German U-boats even breached Canadian waters, sinking 23 ships in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Over 3,000 Canadian sailors and merchant seamen died in fighting on the Atlantic Ocean during the war years.

The Growth of the Canadian Navy

The Canadian navy, which had just six destroyers and a few smaller ships when the war began, became one of the world's largest military fleets by 1945.

The Pacific Theatre of War

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor drew the Allied forces into a Pacific theatre of war.
Canadian forces saw direct combat with the Japanese almost immediately at the Battle of Hong Kong, which began on December 8, 1941.

The Battle of Hong Kong

The Canadian forces in Hong Kong were all volunteers and far from battle-ready, having arrived just three weeks earlier.
The colony surrendered on Christmas Day, and the surviving Canadian, British, and Indian soldiers became prisoners of war.
The Japanese sent 1,685 captured Canadian soldiers to four prisoner-of-war camps.
By the time Hong Kong was liberated in 1945, more than 550 of them had died.

The Raid on Dieppe

The raid on Dieppe in August 1942 was the Allies' first major combined operation of army, navy, and air forces.
It was seen as a test run for the eventual invasion of France, but became one of the darkest chapters in Canadian military history.
Almost 5,000 soldiers and officers from the 2nd Canadian Division joined the fight.
An estimated 907 Canadians were killed, and 1,946 became prisoners of war.

The Italian Campaign

The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 was, at the time, the largest amphibious invasion in history.
The island fell quickly to the Allies, creating a base for an invasion of the Italian mainland.
After weeks of brutal fighting, the Canadians pushed German forces back to the medieval town of Ortona.

The Second World War

The Second World War began in the summer of 1939 when clouds of war were on the horizon, and Canada would again be called into the fight.
By the time the war ended six years later, more than 1.1 million Canadians and Newfoundlanders would serve in the military.
The human toll would be immense: 45,000 Canadian soldiers would die, and another 54,000 would be wounded.
Their sacrifices would help Canada emerge from the war years with a new-found clout and respect on the world stage.