In the News: Cyclone in Myanmar

1. In the News: Cyclone in Myanmar • Over the weekend, Myanmar was struck by a large storm, known as a cyclone. • Many rural buildings there are constructed of thatch or bamboo, and were easily destroyed by the cyclone’s winds and debris. • The death toll from the cyclone has been estimated around 10,000, but due to flooding of low-lying areas, it could rise in the next few weeks. • Electricity, clean water and telephone services have been damaged, leaving many residents in the dark, and with no source of fresh water.

2. World War Two Part Two

3. Dieppe • 5,000 Canadian Soldiers sent in. • 2,200 made it back to Britain • The Allies learned a valuable lesson about how to invade Europe. • Was it worth it?

4. Women and the War • In July, 1941, the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) is established. • Canadian women were not allowed to fight in the war, but took on new roles in the armed forces as radio specialists, clerks, nurses, and many other jobs. • In addition, women stepped into industry and jobs at home, which had been left by departing men. • Over 261,000 women were employed in wartime production at home, building war materials.

5. The Battle of the Atlantic • Britain and Russia depended on supplies from North America during the war. To help with this, Canada and the U.S. sent transport ships of supplies across the Atlantic. • The German Navy responded by sending submarines (known as U-boats) out into the Atlantic to torpedo any ships bringing supplies to Europe. • In order to protect their supply ships, the Canadian Navy grew from 11 ships and 20,000 sailors at the outbreak of war, to nearly 400 ships with 113,000 sailors. • Ships were organized into convoys, with the merchant supply ships protected by smaller Corvettes, who could effectively hunt the U-boats. • Many historians feel that Canada’s transport of supplies to Britain was Canada’s most important contribution to WW2.

6. German Bombing of Britain • The German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) continued to bomb British military and civilian targets as the war continued. • The bombing was designed to force the British into submission. • Civilians were forced to hide in underground subway stations, and fires continually raged across British cities. Major industrial centers such as London, Manchester and Liverpool were the primary targets of German bombings. • As a result of the bombings, 27,450 British civilians were killed, with an additional 32,138 wounded.

7. Allied Bombing of Germany • By 1942, the Allies began a bombing campaign of German cities, in an attempt to halt Germany industry. • In addition, the bombings soon shifted to civilian targets, in order to break the German morale, and also in retaliation to German bombings of British cities. • Canada’s Air Force grew to the fourth largest in the world, and the British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP) trained pilots from across the Commonwealth in Canada. • Estimates of the German civilian death toll range from 305,000 to 600,000

8. Dresden • Between February 13th and 15th, 1945, 1,300 Allied bombers dropped over 3,900 tons of bombs onto the German city of Dresden. • The attack caused a massive firestorm which consumed the city and left it virtually gutted. • Estimates on the death toll vary greatly, but recent publications place the figure between 24,000 and 40,000 civilians. • There is a debate over whether the attack was justified, and whether or not its result constitutes a war crime. Was it an important strategic attack, and was it carried out with precision?

9. Canadians in Italy - 1943 • On July 10th, 1943, Canadian troops, supported by British and American troops, attacked Sicily, an island south of Italy. In one month, Sicily was liberated, and the Allies created a plan to invade Italy. • It was hoped that the attack on Italy would stretch the Axis armies out, by opening another front. This would take pressure off the Russian front, which was costing thousands of Red Army troops daily. • The Italian Dictator, Benito Mussolini was overthrown and hung, causing Hitler sent German troops into Italy to defend it from invasion. • The invasion began on September 3rd, 1943, but met strong resistance from German soldiers in the mountains of Italy. Canadian troops were key in winning Ortona from the Germans, in which fighting was fierce and house-to-house. • In June of 1944, Rome was finally captured, and the Allies had made a vital foothold in Europe, from which they could push Germany back.

10. Normandy Invasion (D-Day) - 1944 • An invasion force had been assembled in Great Britain. It was made up of 1.25 million U.S. troops, 1.25 million British troops, and 300,000 Canadians. • The invasion, called Day of Deliverance (D-Day) began on June 6th, 1944. After artillery and aerial bombing barrages from 2,000 bombers and a number of warships, designed weaken the coastal defenses, the first troops reached the beaches around 06:30. • This was Canada’s largest military operation, landing on Juno Beach, the second most heavily defended beach. While 800 Canadians lost their lives in the initial attack, they were able to successfully meet their objective in the first day, something which the other army groups could not match.

11. The Liberation of Europe • For the next 11 months after D-Day, the Allies continued to push the Germans back through Europe, liberating towns and cities on their way. • Over the 11 months, Canada lost 11,000 soldiers in the fighting. • Canada played a key role in Holland, where the retreating Germans had flooded the farmland valleys. The Canadians finally forced the German surrender in Holland, and were able to help feed the starving Dutch, who had been forced to eat tulip bulbs to survive. • After continued attack from both the West and East, Germany finally fell on May 7th, 1945, a day that would become known as VE Day, for Victory in Europe.

12. The End of WW2 • After the fall of Germany, the Allies met in Potsdam, Germany, to discuss the end of the war. They demanded the surrender of Japan, and threatened “prompt and utter destruction” if they would not. • Japan rejected the terms, and U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. One on the city of Nagasaki and the other on Hiroshima. • The bomb which dropped on Hiroshima resulted in the death of 140,000 people, while the bombing of Nagasaki cost 80,000. • Facing this new and terrible threat, Japan surrendered on August 15th, 1945, ending the Second World War.