EVENTS OF WWII

Dieppe and Hong Kong

The Battle of Dieppe Aug. 1942, 5000 Canadian

soldiers were picked up from England for a raid on the French port of Dieppe. They had trained for 3 years.

The Canadians, with 1000 Br. and some Americans, were to attack Dieppe.

The raid was intended to pull German forces away from the Russian front and to test Ger. defences.

Dieppe BeachesGerman forces were German forces were planted on the cliffs planted on the cliffs above the Dieppe above the Dieppe beaches. beaches.

They started shooting They started shooting as the Canadians as the Canadians charged down the charged down the landing ramps.landing ramps.

Results of Dieppe Out of 5000, almost 1000

died, more than 500 were wounded, 2000 were captured and became POWs

Soldiers never had a chance to fight

Dieppe was a costly learning experience

Future attacks against the Germans would have to be MASSIVE and WELL ORGANIZED

The few who made it to the beach were killed there; only a few made it to the town.

Officer and soldiers examining a Churchill tank stuck on the beach in front of the boardwalk after the battle, its left track broken. Wounded men lying on the ground are about to be evacuated.

Canadian prisoners escorted by German guards marching through Dieppe, August 19th, 1942.

The Battle of Hong Kong

On Dec. 8, 1941, Japan launched its attack on Hong Kong.

Their air force destroyed docks, military barracks, airplanes etc.

Churchill had asked Canada to send troops to help

HONG KONG

Every Canadian soldier in HK was killed or taken prisoner.

The battle was considered a "death trap”

Dec. 19, 1941- Japanese soldiers attacked. Canadians were outnumbered 10 to 1.

HONG KONG-Why did they Fail? More than 50 000 Japanese

soldiers were stationed 50 km from Hong Kong

The Japanese were well-equipped and experienced

Plans for the Japanese attack had been drafted 1 yr. earlier-code name was Hana-Saku —"flowers in bloom”

Canadian troops were insufficiently trained - 30% of them had not even fired a gun

Can & Br. troops did not total more than 14 000, including nurses and civilian volunteers.

RESULTS

By Christmas 1941, Hong Kong surrendered after only 17 days.

286 Canadians died and another 266 would die in Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) camps.

Question 2

Has your stance changed? What are some of the potential implications for Canada?

JAPANESE POW`S Canadian prisoners were brutalized and starved. They stayed in crowded

barracks and were used as slave labour, building landing strips and shipyards, etc.

A single serving of plain rice 3 times a day. Many fell ill from exhaustion, malnutrition, pneumonia, or cholera.

Red Cross medicine was sent to the camps but was stolen and sold on the black market.

Death rates in Japanese P.O.W. camps were 6 times higher than in German camps.