Early Clashes of World War II

The Miracle at DunkirkThe Battle BritainThe Battle of the AtlanticThe Raid on Dieppe

1

The Miracle at Dunkirk• May/June 1940• Nazi’s invade

and take control of France pushing Allied soldiers back to the coast

• 338,000 troops saved

• Privately owned British ships sailed across to help in any way they could. = “little ships”

• Pushed out of Europehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/la

unch_ani_fall_france_campaign.shtml

2

The Battle of Britain“Never was so much owed by so many to so few”

• Fought primarily by the Royal Air Force (RAF) • Canadian pilots did join the RAF, and had

helped to win this crucial battle• Over 43000 people had died in these air

attacks but Britain remained unconquered• Occurred over the summer months of 1940• The development of British RADAR was

instrumental in the success of the Allies• British planes often out numbered but still

won!

3

An Early RAF Spitfire – All Allied planes had the bulls eye symbol

4

Part of an RAF squadron – patrolling the skies, ready to fight!

5

Pilots wait near their dispearsed aircraft at a coastal station

Defiant crews wait for the next scramble

6

Battle for Control of the Atlantic

• Axis controlled much of Europe by 1941 (including coastal areas along English Channel and North Sea)

• Britain becomes an isolated target for Nazis• Nazi bases in occupied territories of France,

Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway• Convoy system to protect merchant shipping• Merchant Marine • First 3 years of the war, Allied ships were

being sunk faster than they could be built• “Black Pit” – beyond aircraft protection (aka

“The Greenland Gap”)

7

8

Analysis Questions:

1. What was the greatest disadvantage faced by Allied ships in the Battle of the Atlantic?

2. What year turned the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic? 9

Canada & the Battle of the Atlantic

• Beginning of WWII: Canada had only 6 warships and 5 minesweepers to protect coastlines, with a Naval personnel of only 2000

• Britain looks to Canada as the source of food, raw materials and weapons of war

• By war’s end RCN includes 373 warships and 93000 men and women personnel

• The Corvette – 120 built in Canada, best against U-Boat attack – each had the name of a Canadian city

• 1941 – Radar systems invented and installed

10

HMCS Halifax

HMCS Weyburn

HMCS Oakville

The WWII Corvette Class

Warship

11

The Dieppe Raid

• Russia (Stalin) encouraged Britain and U.S. to invade Western Europe to create a second front and divide German forces.

• Western leaders decided that they weren’t ready for a full scale attack, so they opted for a “hit-and-run” raid to test German defences

• Many Canadian troops were involved• August 19, 1942, a convoy of 237 ships

reached Dieppe

12

13

The Dieppe Raid

• Over 5000 of the 6000 Allied troops that landed at Dieppe were Canadian

• Canadians bore the brunt of the casualties at Dieppe,

• 907 killed• 2,460 wounded• 1,874 taken prisoner by the Germans.• Of the 2,210 who returned to Britain,

only 236 were unhurt - and 200 of these were men who had not been landed

14

Troops who took part in the raid on Dieppe, France, 19 Aug 1942.

15

The concrete barriers, wire fencing, and other obstacles on the beach show how well the Germans fortified the Dieppe beach.

16

Canadian tanks got bogged down on the pebbled beaches at Dieppe and very few ever made their objective of getting up the cliffs and into the town.

17

An Assault Landing Craft grounded on the Dieppe beach.

German soldiers round up Allied prisoners after the Dieppe Raid.

18

Canadian and Allied soldiers take care of their own after being taken prisoner during

the Dieppe Raid.19

This Was My Brother(For Lt-Col. Howard McTavish, killed in action at Dieppe)

This was my brotherAt DieppeQuietly a heroWho gave his life like a gift,Withholding nothing.

His youth, his love,His enjoyment of being alive,His future, like a book

With half the pages still uncut –

This was my brotherAt Dieppe,The one who built me a doll houseWhen I was seven, Complete to the last small picture

frame,Nothing forgotten.

He was awfully good at fixing things,At stepping into the breach when he

was needed.

That’s what he did at Dieppe;He was needed.And even Death must have been a

little shamedBy his eagerness.

By Mona McTavish Gould

20