Canada enters World War II

How was Canada’s entry to WW II different than WW I?

• September 28-29, 1938: Munich Conference

• March 1939: Hitler took over Czechoslovakia

• August 23, 1939: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact Signed

• September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland– Britain and France deliver an ultimatum

• September 3, 1939: Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

• September 10, 1939: Canada joins the war

Canada Enters the War in Germany

• For the first time Canada had the ability to decide for themselves whether they would enter the war or not.

• King called a special session of parliament to “decide” Canada’s position in response to Britain’s declaration of war.

• King’s proclamation was easily passed through the House of Commons. George VI signed it on September 10, 1939 … Canada was officially at war with Germany one week after Britain.

• http://Canada declares war

• King promised a war of “limited liability”, which meant that Canada would be economic and productive rather than military.– “Not necessarily

conscription, but conscription if necessary. ”

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-1276-7239/politics_economy/mackenzie_king/

Canada signs up• Even with the horrors of WW I still fresh in

many minds, men enlisted. Some for the money($1.30/day), some because of their allegiance to Great Britain, some from a sense of duty, and some out of a new found sense of Canadian nationalism.

• Aboriginal men enlisted at a higher percentage than any other ethnic group in Canada.

British Commonwealth Air Training British Commonwealth Air Training PlanPlan

• The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was set up by the British Air Ministry, following an agreement signed by participating countries in December 1939.

• It provided 50,000 trained aircrew a year, for as long as it was necessary.

• The United Kingdom was not an ideal location for air training, due to the closeness of the front, so it was decided that Canada would be the primary location. This decision centered around the ample supplies of fuel, wide open spaces suitable for navigation, industrial facilities for the production of trainer aircraft, parts and supplies, the lack of any real threat from German of Japanese fighter planes.

• Over 167,000 students, including 50,000 pilots, trained in Canada under the program from May 1940 to March 1945.– 131,553 of the graduates were Canadians.

• At the peak of the plan’s operation, 94 schools were operating in 231 sites across Canada.

• Prime Minister King supported this plan as a way of keeping large numbers of Canadians at home and avoiding the need to raise large numbers of forces, which would have lead to conscription.

• Britain agreed to accept the cost of the plan to Canada as part of their war effort.

Total War• In order to plan and control the economy during

the war, the federal government created the Department of Munitions and Supply led by C.D. Howe

• Howe told industries what to produce and how to do it

• Vancouver produced war ships, Montreal planes and bombers and Ontario’s car plants made tanks

• When private companies could not make what was needed, Howe created crown corporations to do the job

Warship in Vancouver

A slow start• After the lightning quick invasion

of Poland in Sept 1939, Germany waited until April 1940 and attacked Denmark and Norway

Cartoon – The Phoney War or sitzkrieg. In the early stages of World War II very little happened. Who does this cartoon blame for this

inaction?

Within 3 weeks…• Germany took Denmark, Norway,

the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium….

• France was next in Hitler’s sights

Battle of DunkirkBattle of Dunkirk• German forces had advanced across Europe and

penned the British forces in a tiny area around the French port of Dunkirk.

• British forces found themselves stranded without shelter or supplies. So they launched Operation Dynamo to evacuate the troops.– Vice Admiral Ramsay organized as many ships (tug boats,

barges, lifeboats and navy destroyers) to evacuate the troops.

– 850 vessels took place in the evacuation, 235 boats were sunk.

• 68,000 troops were lost, but 1/3 of a million men were evacuated.

The Bathtub Navy to the rescue….Winston Churchill: “ Dunkirk was…a miracle of deliverance.”

The War Comes to Europe

France surrenders• By themselves, the French were no

match for the Germans

• France surrendered on June 22, 1940

The Commonwealth alone• Without France, Britain the Commonwealth

were alone against Hitler and the Nazi’s