NATION BUILDING: What people, ideas, and events have helped build our nation?

WWII

there were many new weapons during WWII

Japan

the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour by planes launched from Japan aircraft carriers. The Akagi was originally built as a cruiser but was converted in to an aircraft carrier in 1934.

it carried over fifty planes.

which included:

Torpedo bombers

for sinking enemy ships

Fighters planes which is also called the Zeros

this is used for protecting the carriers

Recognisance planes

recognisance planes are used for finding and observing the enemy

Russia

Was the best tank in World War II

was able to travel at 50 km/h and its 76 mm gun packed a powerful punch.

The size of the gun is determined by measuring the inside diameter of the gun barrel

Played a large part in helping beat back the
German invasion of Russia.

its armour made it so effective

Steel, 50 mm thick,
protected the tank crew of 4 from German Shells

more important was the sloped surface Armour
design of the T-34

caused many German tank shells to simply bounce off without doing any
damage.

gave the T-34 a low
profile which made it a more difficult target to hit.

Germany

was used by German ground soldiers

was effective in the highly mobile warfare typical of WWII

not heavy, and easy to carry

was especially effective when fighting in close quarters. Such as house to house fighting within city or town

During 1942 and 1943, the Allies tried to bomb German industry to slow down war production.

main problem

was that the bombing missions were so far away, that Allied fighter planes were unable to fly with the bombers and protect them over Germany.

The P-51
Mustang changed this.

This new fighter plane was
introduced in 1944 and designed as a long-range fighter.

carried special fuel tanks that could be dropped once they were empty and its efficient engine allowed it to fly all the way to Germany and back.

carried 4 heavy machine guns in its wings as well as two 20 mm cannons that allowed it to defend the tightly-packed formations of bombers.

Germany

U-Boat was the most important weapon used by the Germans

usually travelled on the ocean’s surface using diesel engines.

could remain underwater for
about 12 hours in depths of up to 200 m.

main purpose is to sneak up on Allied merchant ships & torpedo them,before they could reach Britain

Canada

was the workhorse of the British Bomber Command.

Four powerful engines enabled the Lancaster to carry 10,000 kilograms of bombs a distance of up to 2,500 kilometers- deep over Germany.

A crew of six (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, tail gunner, bomb aimer, radio operator) operated the ten machine guns that protected the bomber against German fighter planes.

most of the crew were made up by Canadians

American bombers flew during the day, which strained the German Luftwaffe (air force) planes trying to stop the bombs from falling on German cities.

Lancaster’s flew mostly on night missions
targeting German military targets.

Russia

was in the Battle of Stalingrad

50-100 Russians

shoot Germans at night time

uses Grenades

made the Allies won the battle

Germany

Stuka dive bombers was used in the Battle of Stalingrad

it was used to bomb the Russians

develop into a refined practice of killing and gathering intelligence during Word War II.

Austrian sniper on the Eastern Front during World War II who was credited with 345 kills between 1943 and 1945.

British and American scientists developed radar

radar was used in many battles of WWII

it was used to "see" for hundreds of miles, even at night

it was widely used by the German throughout the war, and it was one of the most recognized German weapons of that conflict

this was used in the battle of D-Day/ Invasion of Normandy

was a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm and used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War

it had a simple design, and very low production cost

Also some old weapons from WWI was used in WWII

Artillery rifles weren't as advanced as the weapons that the Germans had, But it was the only thing the Canadians had at that time

At first, only the Germans appreciated the power of machine-guns when used on the defence from prepared positions with overlapping fields of fire

as the machine-gun, perhaps more than any other weapon, drove soldiers from the battlefield and into relatively safe trenches, dug-outs, and fortifications

Landmines are typically used to disrupt or prevent the massed attack of tanks and/or infantry.

appeared as deadly sharpshooters in the trenches

Most flamethrower designs consisted of two tanks carried on a soldier’s back

one filled with a flammable liquid

other one with propellant gas

It was used effectively against British positions to flush soldiers out of their trenches

It can be used for against enemy positions such as:

trench lines

gun pits, and other locations not protected by overhead cover.

the first grenades in 1914 most of the time were hand-made

consisting of old cans filled with nails and bits of metal and packed with gunpowder

often were proved as dangerous to their makers as to their intended targets, due to the risk of premature explosion

more than 100 Canadians participanted

groups

No.242 Squadron

No.1 R.C.A.F. Squadron

First Military Campaign fought by air

23 were killed

it was Hitler's first defeat

involved

Americans

Japanese

U.S Japan

Germany invaded USSR

Canada has no direct involvement

declares war on Japan 4 hours after the attack

Stop Japan later (Battle of Hong Kong)

U.S declares war

First battle as Canadians shown as a strong army

290 Canadians were killed during this battle

Canada was outnumbered

1944-1945

took place in Southern region of the Netherlands

7600 Canadians died

1st Canadian Army fought Germans force

Hitler wants fame and power

Germans Attack (August 23, 1942)

took over the sky

Bombs down on multiple Volga ships

July 7th 1942 started, ended on February 2nd 1943

Canadians had not much involvement

Victory for Allies

this battle was a turning point in war

led Germany great shame

groups involved

Canada

U.S

Britain

Germany

France

Took place in Dieppe, France

The battle first started on water then to land after went to air, and lastly went back to land again

Canadians played a huge role

Many improved in weapons and military

2 Canadians won the Victory cross

Groups involved

Allies

Britain

Canada

Germany

Italy

Took place in northern reigion of the Atlantic Ocean

U.S. joins the war on July 17,1941

Canada was important

Britain dependentor resources and supplies from Canada

United States

Allied win

Canada grew bigger

It give Canada a better reputation

Victory cross was awarded

Germany shrunk

Groups involved

France

Nazi Germany

Happened on December 16,1944-July 25,1945

Took place in 4 different places

Ardennes

Belgium

Luxembourg

Germany

Germany assault on the Ardennes

December 16, 1944

Attack in the center

German surrounded American troops

Malmedy Massacre

Canadians didn't really involved in this battle

Provided troops

Japanese

The War in the Pacific

War had been raging in Asia since 1937

With China weak and divided, Japan decided to expand its empire

Japan knew any action they take could cause the United States to enter the war

Japan’s strategy was to strike quickly on various targets to gain a quick victory and demoralise the US

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked:

Pearl Harbour, a US military base in Hawaii

Hong Kong

The U.S. territory in the Philippines and Malaya_(present-day Malaysia)

Pearl Harbour

The USA had recently banned trade with Japan

The Pacific fleet, based in Hawaii, was the most powerful Japanese rival in the pacific

destroying it would allow the Japanese an advantage

Two waves of attacking planes flew 230 miles from the north east

a completely unexpected direction

targeted battleship row, the naval air station on Ford Island

used bombs, torpedoes, and machine guns to attack the ships first and then any target of opportunity

Result

9 battleships sunk or damaged, 4 beyond repair

1,100 men killed on the USS Arizona alone

349 aircraft were destroyed

2400 service men and civilians were killed

29 Japanese planes and 4 submarines were sunk

The US Pacific fleet was out of action for 6 months

19 ships damaged, 10 of them sunk

The U.S. declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941

Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. on December 11, 1941

Hong Kong

Had been planned for over a year- under the code name Hana-Saku

Almost 30% of the Canadian Force had never fired a shot in rifle practice

were joined with Commonwealth defence force totalling no more than 14, 000 people including nurses and civilian volunteers

were positioned on the mainland and in charge of defending the island Hong Kong.

Canadians were outnumbered 10-1

Christmas day 1941 Hong Kong officially surrendered

When invasion ended, every Canadian soldier in Hong Kong had either been killed or captured by the Japanese

For next three and a half years Canadian prisoner of war were crowded into barracks and forced into slave labour

Before the war

From 1890 until WWI, almost 30,000 Japanese immigrants entered Canada. The great majority of them settled on the coast of British Columbia

From the 1920's to the 1940's Japanese immigration to Canada dropped considerably. Between 1920 and 1940 approximately 5000 Japanese immigrated into Canada

Japanese immigrants tended to pocket themselves into their own communities and did not interact with other nationality groups. They segregated themselves and did not assimilate into Canadian society. They kept to their traditions and did not assume Canadian traditions and qualities. This was seen as anti-Canadian

The white population saw the Japanese community with suspicion. They thought the Asians were trying to take over B.C. This fear prompted anti-Asian sentiments through discrimination, verbal abuse and even mob violence.

The population growth in the Japanese communities was far higher than white communities. This was seen as a threat because as the community kept growing, the more land they inhabited and the more business and network they would open

The Japanese community took over the fishing industry in British Columbia. They were better fisherman and other communities could not compete with them. This was seen as a take over ploy.

Pearl Harbor and the impact on Canadian Japanese

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941 and 1600 Canadians at Hong Kong there was intense pressure for the government to investigate the approximately 22, 000 Japanese living in Canada

14,000 of them had been born in Canada and were rightfully Canadian citizens.

The RCMP conducted a sweeping review of possible security risks represented by Japanese citizens

Report concluded no express security breach was implied by granting them citizenship

Many Canadians paid no attention to these facts– they decided that Japanese Canadians were dangerous

In the weeks following Pearl Harbor some Japanese in Vancouver were victimized by scattered acts of violence. These activities intensified as time went on.

The white population in B.C. pressured the government to get rid of the Japanese living on the coast. Rumours of Japanese spies and communication with Japan mounted, violence against the Japanese in B.C. worsened, and protest by the population grew day by day.

There was fear by the B.C. government of open rioting and violence due to the growing fears of a Japanese take-over.

The B.C. government pleaded with the Federal Government to step in and stop the racial and violent problems in the province

Canadian Pacific Railway fired all Japanese workers

Japanese fish boats confined to port

Eventually 1200 vessels seized by Canadian Navy

January 1942, “protected” 100-mile strip along pacific coast created

All Japanese Canadian men between 18 and 45 were taken away

February 24, 1942, War Measures Act allowed

Gave federal gov’t power to intern all Japanese Canadians

All Japanese rounded up, sent to: Internment camps in B.C., or sugar-beet farms in Albert, Manitoba, and Ontario, or POW (prisoner of war) camps

Those unwilling to go faced possibility of deportation to Japan

70 dangerous Japanese placed behind barbed wire

All previously owned property taken by government and auctioned off

Internees

In total there were around 22,000 Japanese-Canadians who were interned

Internees paid for their own living expenses except for basic housing

Education in Camps

Local school boards refused to offer schooling to the internees' children

The internees organized elementary education among themselves

Aftermath

After victory over Japan, federal gov’t wanted to evacuate all Japanese Canadians from B.C

Law passed to deport Japanese back to Japan

Or they had to transfer to the East of the Rocky Mountains

Wasn’t repealed until 1947, after 4000 had already left

Japanese Canadians had to report to RCMP if they traveled more than 80km from home

In 1949 – Gained right to vote, and allowed to live anywhere in Canada again

Canadian government didn’t apologize until 1988, offering $21,000 to every survivor of the Japanese Internment