Get ready for the quiz

1. Get ready for the quiz Based on last day’s lesson (Dieppe, Italian Campaign, Invasion of Sicily)

2. Quiz 1. What was the year of the Dieppe attack? 2. What was the operation name for the Dieppe attack? 3. How many Canadians were killed? 4. Where was Canada’s largest battle in the Italian Campaign? • What style of warfare was used in this battle?

3. Quiz 1. What was the year of the Dieppe attack? 1942 2. What was the operation name for the Dieppe attack? Operation Jubilee 3. How many Canadians were killed? ~1,000 4. Where was Canada’s largest battle in the Italian Campaign? Ortona • What style of warfare was used in this battle? Urban Warfare

4. D-Day, the Battle of Normandy, and the liberation of Holland Victory in Europe D-Day, Juno Beach, Invasion of Normandy

5. Objectives • assess Canada’s role in World War II and the war’s impact on Canada • describe Canada’s military participation in the allied war effort (e.g., Dieppe, D-Day, Liberation of the Netherlands)

6. D-Day (Operation Overlord) background • June 6, 1944 – less than 48 hours after the fall of Rome, the Allied powers invaded Northern Europe. Code named, Operation Overlord. • The Allies were ready to liberate France and Germany. However, Hitler anticipated this attack and took precautions to make the landing a difficult task • The Allies planned to use naval and aerial bombardment (a lesson from Dieppe?) to take out German defenses Canadian troops landing at Juno beach, D-Day, 6 June 1944

7. D-Day (Operation Overlord) Forces • More than 5,000 ships crossed the English Channel and more than 100,000 men stormed ashore on the beaches of Normandy. • Among them, 14,500 Canadians • The only three flags flying that day for the Allied powers were Great Britain, The United States, and (glorious) Canada • This was the largest military operation of WWII. • From the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) we had 36 bombers

8. D-Day (Operation Overlord) • On June 6 1944, they attacked • Five landing beaches were designated on the Normandy coast. • Utah US • Omaha US • Gold British • Juno Canadian • Sword British • D-Day (Operation Overlord) took place in Normandy, on the beaches of Juno

9. Map Zoomed In

11. D-Day – Juno Beach • Canadian forces were assigned the code-named beach, Juno. • The beach had 8 kilometers of coastline. Juno was one of 5 targets at Normandy • Canadians landed at Juno and fought their way inland. They covered more ground in one day than any other Allied division! • The night before, paratroopers landed in Normandy, and artillery pounded the beaches. • Over 30,000 Canadians landed at Juno Beach • Canadians lost 359 soldiers, and had 715 wounded. • With surprise on their side, they were successful in establishing a foothold, and began to push inland. Canadian soldiers study a German plan of the beach during D-Day landing operations.

12. Caen 1944 • After Juno, the next major task for the Canadians was to continue to engage the enemy; then take the city of Caen. • Canadians fought their way inland. In Caen, they met the 12th SS Division of Hitler Youth. This division killed 150 unarmed Canadian prisoners. • Caen is a French city in Normandy • July 9: they took Caen, but almost a month later than planned • In taking Caen, they suffered higher losses than on D-Day Infantry men with a Bren gun looking out for snipers on a street corner, Caen. 10 July 1944, Caen, France.

13. Caen 1944 • Caen eventually fell and the Canadians pushed on to Falaise • Canadians managed to cut off the Germans’ only remaining escape route out of Normandy • Allies finally had a foothold in Europe

14. Battle of the Scheldt, 1944 • The British needed to take the Belgian port of Antwerp (a crucial link for Allied supply lines) • Unfortunately, Antwerp was still under German control on the Scheldt River • The Scheldt has important port access lanes (and can support the Allied offensive) • So the task of clearing the Scheldt fell to the Canadians • The Campaign launched October 1944 • The Scheldt River estuary was a nightmare – Canadians had mud up to their waists.

15. Battle of the Scheldt • The Battle of the Scheldt (Oct 1- Nov 8, 1944) cost 6,000+ casualties. • It took weeks of heavy fighting but the Canadians were successful • This opened a much needed supply line to the frontlines of Europe Wounded being unloaded from Terrapin, Scheldt pocket embarkation point, West of Terneuzen.

16. Into Holland! The Rhineland Campaign • By February and March 1945 Germany was on the defensive. The Allies seemed to have a limitless supply • The last major line of defence was the Rhine • The Allies launched a major offense to push the Germans back across the river once and for all • It was very muddy and bloody • 5,300 Canadians were killed • After this, the Canadians turned North into the Netherlands…

17. Liberation of the Netherlands • The Dutch had been starving under German occupation (remember, after the Phony War, Germany immediately took the Netherlands) • On May 5, 1945, Canadian forces drove the Nazis to retreat from Holland and surrender • Cheering crowds welcomed the Canadian soldiers • This allowed Allied troops to continue towards Germany Postcard following liberation 1945

18. Celebrations • May 5 is now a national holiday in the Netherlands to celebrate liberation • In appreciation, the Dutch people sent tens of thousands of tulips (the Dutch national flower) to Ottawa. In the following year, the royal family contributed thousands as well, and a further ten thousand yearly since. The donations became an annual tradition, culminating in the Canadian Tulip Festival. Dutch civilians celebrate the liberation of Utrecht by the Canadian Army, 7 May 1945

20. Canadian-Netherland relations • When the Netherlands were invaded May 12, 1940 the Royal Family evacuated to the United Kingdom. They stayed there for a month before retreating to Ottawa • Princess Juliana was about to have her third child. • The Governor General of Canada granted Royal Assent – making the hospital room temporarily Dutch soil so that the princess would have exclusive Dutch nationality (not dual) • If this had not happened, the young Princess Margaret would not have been in the line of succession • Since then, Ottawa has received an annual gift of tulips (a portion were planted at the hospital and in front of Parliament)

21. Berlin – April 1945 • Late April 1945, American and Soviet forces met in Germany, south of Berlin • Soviet forces demolished the city of Berlin • April 30, 1945 – Hitler commits suicide • The following week, May 7, 1945, Germany surrenders • Berlin was cut in two: West Germany is democratic and East Germany is communist • May 8 1945 – VE Day: Victory in Europe was announced when the last of the German troops surrendered

22. V-E Day May 8 1945 • V-E Day (Victory in Europe) was announced when the last German troops surrendered • Japan would surrender on August 14, 1945 after the atomic bombs were dropped, ending the war • Although the bulk of the Allied forces were British and American, Canada played an important role. More than 1 million Canadians served in WWII. • 45,000 gave their lives • 55,000 were wounded • If WWI established Canada’s independence, WWII confirmed it Source: National Archives of Canada

23. V-E Day