The Second World War

Flashcards about the Second World War.

World War II

Began with Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.

Blitzkrieg

German forces unleashed a blitzkrieg (lighting war), across the eastern plains of Poland destroying what little resistance Poland could provide.

Canada declared war on Germany

September 10, 1939.

Phony War

An agreement could not be reached that would appease the three powers involved during the winter months.

Cost of German Victory in Norway

Coastal guns and British warships destroyed most of the German surface fleet.

Rotterdam

Became the second major city after Warsaw, Poland to experience German bombing.

Ardennes at Sedan

The French overlooked this area when planning to defend France against the Nazi’s.

Armistice Signed at Compiègne

German mechanized forces entered Paris on June 14, and the French government fled to Bordeaux. The Germans were to occupy the north of France and the Atlantic coastal regions but leave about a third of France unoccupied.

Vichy government prisoners

Anti-fascist, labourers, and Jews

Hitler hesitates

The invasion of Britain did not begin until mid-September.

1st Canadian Division

The 1st Canadian Division assumed a position of vital importance while the troops were rescued from Dunkirk.

August 12, 1940

The Luftwaffe struck at Britain attacking their radar stations, bombing their airfields, and engaging British fighters in an attempt to gain air supremacy.

twist of fate

Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to switch to daylight attacks on London.

Battle of Britain

Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sea Lion.

Operation Barbarossa

June 22, 1941 the Germans initiated Operation Barbarossa.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

The Nazi-Soviet Pact renounced warfare between each other and pledged neutrality if either nation was attacked by a third party.

German northern army

The German northern army reached Leningrad and laid siege to it. There was little fresh food and water in the city in the winter months and thousands died of starvation.

Germany’s fall campaign of 1941

The gains had been so great they did not have the resources to supply all three battle groups at the same time.

Battle of Moscow

Heavy fall rains turned the fields into mud holes making impassable by vehicle.

Precarious position

Germany did not have the resources to fight a prolonged war.

Nazi racial policies

The objective was genocide of Jews, Gypsies, and most Slavs in Europe.

Six death camps

Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibór, Majdanek, and Chelmno

Canada in WWII

Passage of the Statute if Westminster in 1931 had given Canada complete control over its dealing with foreign nations.

Canada declares war

September 10, 1939, a declaration of war was passed.

Canadian help

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan would train pilots in the safety of the Canadian skies.

Japan declares war

December 1941, Japan declared war on Britain and the United States with attacks throughout the Pacific.

Volunteers flocked to the armed forces

Many went because they needed work after the Depression.

National Mobilization Act

It required men 18-45 to serve in the army but King promised these men would not be sent overseas.

Conscription Crisis

King gave the order to send the conscripts overseas.

Results of Referendum

In Quebec, 80 percent of the voters said no. In the rest of the country 80 percent said yes.

End of the war

Employment restrictions returned, and it was not until 1966 that the number of women in the work force reached 1945 levels.

Japanese Canadians

British Columbians feared a Japanese invasion.

February 1942

Mackenzie King ordered that all person of Japanese ancestry be interned, most of them in camps in the interior of British Columbia.

1988

Authorized a sum of $21000 as compensation for each survivor of the camps.

First Nation troops

They were always among the first to volunteer for special duties, and proved to be excellent marksmen and also played a significant role on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day.

Code-talker

Cree soldiers would send codes to confused the enemy and which the most skilled code-breakers had trouble decoding.

Turning of the tide

The Battles of Midway in the Pacific, El Almein in Egypt, and Stalingrad in the southern Soviet Union.

Battle of Midway

Fought in June 1942, the Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers.

Victory in North Africa

Ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal, and of gaining access to the Middle Eastern and Persian oilfields.

Stalingrad

Stalingrad was a strategic transportation and communication hub, and the largest city near the Caspian Sea.

Soviets built up their forces

December and cut off Stalingrad from the outside.

Unable to hold out

The Luftwaffe was unable to bring in the 500 tonnes of daily supplies required.

Soviet Victory

The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was the prelude to the Soviets counter offensive in 1943.

Italian Campaign

Benito Mussolini was deposed by a vote of 19 to 9.

German cities

Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg and Dresdan

Largest tank battle of the war

The Soviets would finally crush the Panzers through the use of anti-tank rockets, air superiority and weapons.

D-Day

June 6th, 1944, the long awaited second front came with the Allied invasion of Normandy.

December

Allied forces had pushed the Germans back within their own borders, and were preparing the final advance in Germany.

End of the war in Europe

Surrender of German forces took place at Potsdam, Germany at the end of July.

Quarrels

This was the start of new war, The Cold War.

Nuremburg Trials

Twenty four major Nazi leaders were brought on trial for war crimes against humanity at the Nuremburg Trials.

WWII

United States and the Soviets emerged as the super powers, and the United States emerged as the supreme power of the world.

Atomic would do two things

It would prevent the attack of Japan thus savings thousands of American lives and America would no longer need the Soviets as Allies.

Atomic Bombs

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Code name

Little Boy and Fatman

September 2, 1945

The guns were now silent, but the tragedy would be acutely experienced for years.

Canada’s Role

Canada’s role in supplying high-grade uranium to the Americans during World War II is well known.

C.D. Howe:

Negotiated a nuclear research agreement with Britain and gave the go-ahead for the Laboratory with the simple words, “Okay, let’s go.

Louis Alexander Slotin

Was a Canadian scientist who became the second person on the project to receive a lethal dose of radiation during an experiment on a plutonium core.