battles

• Raid on Dieppe

  August 19, 1942
• Importance of Raid on Dieppe

  • 913 Canadian troops died
  • 1500 were taken prisoner
  • Raised many questions about the Allies ability to effectively plan and launch an invasion
  • Allies learned to do raids at less secure places rather than heavily defended coasts
• Raid on Dieppe

  • 6100 troops (5000 allied) on the beaches of the French town of Dieppe

  • Raid was doomed from the start
  • A German messenger encountered the Allies as they prepared to attack
  • Forces were now notified of the attacked and barbed wire lined the beaches
  • As the Allies came to the shore German fire rained down on them
  • They were perched up on the cliffs above the beaches
  • Tanks that were supposed to be used sank in the wet sand
• Ortona

  • July 1943 the Mussolini stepped down from office, and by September the new government surrendered
  • Ortona: an ancient city that consists of narrow streets and connected houses
  • Much reduced to rubble, making it hard for Canadian tanks to get through
  • Germans barricaded themselves in houses and mined the streets
  • Fighting was house-to-house (literally)
  • Canadian troops blasted walls to get from building to building (i.e mouse holing)
  • Battle continued over Christmas Day, 1943 but three days later the Germans withdrew
• D-Day - June 6th 1944

  • The Normandy landings
  • Where the Allied forces took back Normandy (north France-ish)
  • D-Day: when an important battle will take place
• Japanese Internment

  Importance: despite their race, they were still Canadian citizens, but Canada chose not to recognize them as equals just because of the war. 

  • Believed that internment camps were manifested out of BC’s hatred for the Japanese
• Japanese Internment

  • 10 internment camps in total throughout Canada
  • Came about because of the racist attitudes Canadians held toward Japanese Canadians after the bombing of Pearl Harbour
  • British Colombians blamed all their problems of the Japanese
  • The prime minister (Mackenzie King) listened to the BC people to rid Canada of people of Japanese origin
  • He complied because he wanted votes from BC
• Japanese Internment

  • Incarcerate all Japanese males (14-45), move 160 km inland to safeguard the pacific coast from Japanese spies
  • Given a choice to work in road camps as slaves or to beet camps to be with their families
  • Japanese Canadians were being punished for a crime they didn’t commit
  • Stripped of their rights, issued special clothing, humiliated, thrown behind barb wire fences, and forced to do manual labour
• Japanese Internment

  • Many families were forced to live in cramped quarters with ten other families sharing one stove
  • Many were also placed into tents until houses were available

  Repatriatism: people who return to their country of origin

  • King said that they would be deported to Japan if they did not leave BC