Chapter 5
WWII
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Conscription
On the Home Front
Women on the Home Front
The Baby Boomers
After WWII, there was a large increase in marriages combined with the postwar economic prosperity and peacetime stability. This had caused largest birth rate in Canadian history and these postwar children are known as baby boomers.
Due to the outbreak of war, many men were in the armed force and women had secured their jobs. Over one million women worked in manufacturing; they also took parts in shipyards and airplane factories and some drove trucks and buses. Despite the harsh working conditions, female workers were never paid the same wages as the male workers.
When the WWII ended, most female workers were forced to quit their jobs but the work they had done challenged conventional attitudes toward women.
Overview and Canada's contribution WWII
In Europe, there was the rise of facist dictatorships under Benito Mussolini in Italy, Adolf Hitler in Germany, and Francisco Franco in Spain. Germany annexed Austria in 1938 and then Czechoslovakia in 1939. The League of Nations proposed The Munich Agreemet of 1938 which was an appeasement policy toward Hitler. However on September 1, 1939, Germany launched a blitzkrieg, or a lightening attack against Poland; this was against the promise made in the agreement. Britain and France declares war against Germany on September 3, 1939 and Canada officially declares war against Germany on September 10. Since it was after experiencing WW1, the mood of Canada was sombre comparing to that of before the WW1.
War in the Atlantic
War in the Air
1942
War in the Pacific
All of Europe was under German or Italian control by 1942.
Navy's main purpose was to defend Canada's coastal waters at first. However in 1940, the number of U-boat attacks on the merchant ships between Canada and Britain had increased; Germany's purpose was to overcome Britain by cutting the lifelines to Canada. By May 1941, German submarines had sank around 6 million tons of supplies. In response, the Royal Canadian Navy had rushed its corvettes into service to strenghen the protection of the convoys.
In 1941, US navy joined Canada in the Battle of the Atlantic. By 1943, Royal Canadian Air Forces bomber provided support for the convoys of the North Atlantic. Canadian forces played a major role of ensuring the safety of thousands of ships and millions of tonnes of cargo.
By 1945 the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the fourth largest air force in the world. During the five years, more than 164,000 Canadians had participated the battle.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
RCAF had trained more than 131,500 pilots, navigators, and other aviation personnel between 1939 to 1945.
The Battle of Britain
Hundreds of Canadian pilots served in Britain's Royal Air Force during the summer of 1940 when there was German Luftwaffe's blitz bombing of British cities.
Dieppe
The Allies decided to launch a limited invasion of France by sea at the small French port of Dieppe. Although the area was heavily fortified by Germans, Allied commandars believed that a sudden attack would be effective. However the raid ended up with a failure resulting deaths of 900 Canadian soldiers and another 1900 being captured as prisoners of war(5000 Canadian soldiers took parts in the invasion).
D-Day
The Allies launched Operation Overload on June 6, 1944. More than 5000 ships carried 107000 British, American, and Canadian troops heading for beaches of Normandy in northern France. Canadian troops gained more ground than any other Allies in the first day of the battle known as D-Day. The Allies captured every beach that day and this had became the turning point of WWII in Europe.
The Battle of Hong Kong
1900 Canadian soldiers participated the three weeks battle between Japan in 1941.
In the next 11 months, the Allied forces marched across Europe forcing the German army to retreat. Hitler committed suicide in April 1945 as the Soviet troops entered Berlin. On May 7, 1945 Germany surrended and the war in Europe was over.
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and three days later the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered WWII on August 14, 1945 and WWII was over.
The United States joins WWII after the Japan's surprise attack on American warchips in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii on December 7, 1941.
Controversies of the second world war
-National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) required all single men over 18 to righter for compulsory military service.
-In 1942, King broke his promise “Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription.”. For this issue, French Canadians voted 73 percent No while English Canadians voted 80 percent Yes.
-Canada promised that they would not repeat the conscription crisis of By 1942, people were afraid that Britain would fall to the Nazis, reinforcements were desperately needed.
French Canadians opposing conscription
-The conscription crisis in 1917 had divided the nation which is unforgettable.
-In army, only few officers were French Canadians, all training was in English.
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The end
- in late 1944, 13000 zombies were sent overseas. Only 2500 men reached the battlefields.
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The internment of Japanese Canadians
-In 1942, 22000 Japanese Canadians were send to labour camps or internment camps
-The evacuation was explained as security precaution. The action of Japan during WWII makes Canadians convinced that Japan will invas North America.
The end
-In 1988, the Canadian government finally issued an apology and agreed to pay 21000 in compensation.