Battles of WWII

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Battles of WWII
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Nazi Victories

• Blitzkrieg had been successful
• Poland (Sept., 1939)
• Denmark, Norway (April, 1940)
• Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg (May, 1940)
• France (June, 1940)

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Dunkirk

• Battle of France, Dunkirk May 25-31,
  1940 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. 

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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.

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Battle of BritainAugust, 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.

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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

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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 Germanys 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

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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

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Pavlovs 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
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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.

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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

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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
• .

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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.
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• Battle of Dieppe
• Radio Broadcast on Canadas heavy losses

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Soft UnderbellyThe 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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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• Interview with Canadian Veterans of the Italian
  Campaign

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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.

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• 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
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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.

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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.

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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 heart-breaking images of
  starving and beaten people crying and applauding
  in gratitude for their rescue.  

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• Liberation of Holland celebration footage

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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

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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.

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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

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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