The involvement of Canada in World War II played an important part in winning the war for all the countries that were involved in the war. The Second World War according to scholars and history records officially began in September 1, 1939 when the German Nazi’s, under Hitler’s orders, invaded Poland an act that would see Britain and France declaring war on Germany.
The Canadian government decided to join the war nine days later on September the 10th 1939 after Germany had declared war on Europe and the rest of the world. This was the country’s first independent declaration of war on a foreign country as well as its first participation in an international armed conflict that would lead to the loss of lives.
The number of soldiers that participated in the war amounted to 1.1 million military men and women who served in ether the air force, the navy, the armed forces or the various Canadian divisions and platoons that fought together with the British. The financial cost that was incurred by the government of Canada amounted to $21 billion dollars during the whole duration of the war.
By the end of World War II, Canada was able to have one of the world’s largest air force fleet as well as a navy which was mostly attributed to the various battles the country took part in. Most of the battles that the Canadian army was involved in included the Battle of the Atlantic which took place in the Atlantic Ocean, the battle in Normandy and Dieppe and the Battle of Britain which was meant to deter Hitler and the Nazis from taking over England.
Outbreak of the War
During the outbreak of the war, Canada was reluctant to participate despite the country being the oldest dominion in the British Commonwealth. The country was however able to raise a substantial number of armed forces to join in the war despite the army being neglected for over 20 years.
Before the war, the country’s permanent active militia were only 4,261 in number while the reserve active militia totalled 51,000. This included both male and female soldiers that were ill-equipped and poorly trained to deal with armed conflicts such as the war. At the outbreak of the war, Canada showed a great commitment to the war that had affected Europe by recruiting many soldiers to participate in the war.
While the country’s enlistment of over 1 million soldiers was seen to be proportionately smaller when compared to the British and Australian armies, half of these soldiers never left the country when compared to the three-quarter deployments of armed forces used by the other countries. Canada’s role in the war became increasingly important with the defeat and invasion of France as well as Normandy Beach which was an important landing for the British and Australian forces.
During the 1920’s the country had become one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers in the world because of the many American factories that were based in the various cities in Canada. The automotive industry was able to produce 800,000 trucks and cars that would be used during the war, a number which far exceeded that of Germany.
The industry was able to design a Canadian Military Pattern truck (CMP) that would be used in the various battles the country participated in during the war. This truck was also used by the British army as Britain was now relying on Canada for half of its transportation requirements during the war.
The military pattern truck according to historians was seen to be Canada’s greatest contribution to the allied victory in World War II as these trucks were suitable for use in any terrain and they were able to withstand any form of violent attack such as gunshots and bombs. This made the CMP trucks to be suitable for use in armed conflicts and combat as well as in the deployment of soldiers to various battlefronts during World War II.
Canada’s Military Contribution to the Allied Victory in World War II
Initially, the country’s response to the war was meant to be limited but as more German Nazis were deployed to various parts of Europe, more soldiers were sent out to deal with the increasing armed conflicts.
Despite the small numbers of soldiers involved in the war, the country was able to make a huge contribution to the allied victory in the war by being able to build its own armed forces and also arming them with the most suitable weapons. The country was also able to export military fire arms, machine guns, rifles and transportation such as the CMP trucks to British allies and armed forces who began relying on Canada for the military equipment.
The Canadian industrial sector was able to produce over 11 billion dollars worth of ammunition, small and heavy firearms, 16,000 aircraft that would be used for air assaults, 50,000 tankers and 9,000 boats and ships that would be used by the country’s navy personnel as well as the allied forces in battle ship attacks.
The country’s industry was also able to produce field artillery equipment such as radar sets and electronics that would be used in the surveillance activities of the armed forces. The Canadian industrial sector was able to increase its efforts in the production of weapons and war materials to aide in the war effort.
In part, the industry was seen to be a major contributor to the allied victory in World War II. The industry saw the establishment of a Department of Munitions and Supply in the country as well as the Wartime Industries Control Board in 1940 that would both be used in overseeing the production of weapons and war materials during World War II.
These two government bodies would also regulate the prices of war materials to ensure that the allied countries were able to afford ammunitions during the war. In 1945, Canada was able to be ranked fourth as the leading manufacturer of war materials, weaponry and machinery after countries such as the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain.
During the war, Canada in partnership with Great Britain was able to operationalise the British Commonwealth Air Training program which saw 13 5,000 pilots being trained to take part in air combat and plane assaults. The pilots were trained on war tactics as well as on air assaults by using missiles and bombs.
The country was also able to build over 300 air fields during the first year of the war which would be used by both the Canadian air force and the allied countries that were participating in the war. These airfields also served as rescue centres and first aid clinics for soldiers who had been injured during the war. With regards to aircraft, the Canadian industrial sector was able to produce 16,000 aircraft for its allied forces on top of providing training for their pilots.
This was seen to be one of the largest productions of aircraft during that time as there were only eight aircraft plants in the country before the war that were able to manufacture 40 airplanes in a year. The production levels increased during the war from 40 to 4,000 aircrafts being produced every year which was made possible by increasing the factory space used to produce aircraft by more than 500,000 feet.
Because of this expansion, the country was awarded a contract by its ally in the War, Britain, to produce 1,100 mosquito fighter bombers that would be used in air assaults by the commonwealth allies. These bombers contributed greatly in the Battle of Britain and in the Battle of Atlantic where British armed forced defeated the Nazis advancement to other European territories.
Canada was also able to produce 4,000 naval ship vessels that would be used during the Battle of the Atlantic and also the battle in Normandy. These ships were designed to adapt to different cargoes that were needed during the war such as tankers, trucks and missile launchers and they were also designed to withstand any form of assault such as a missile attack. The Canadian industry was also able to produce 300 anti-submarine warships and also 4 tribal class ship destroyers.
The country also conducted scientific experiments that would be used to develop technologies such as radar and sonar technology that would be used by soldiers at night and also during covert operations. Radar technology enabled the Canadian armed forces as well as other war allies to be able to counter German air and land attacks as well as submarine attacks.
The Canadian ships were outfitted with asdic apparatus that would be used to detect any German vessel in the Atlantic Ocean as well as any air attacks. In total, $600 billion worth of war materials and weaponry were manufactured by Canada for supply to the war allies.
With regards to manpower, the number of soldiers that were deployed to fight in the war amounted to 1.1 million. The parliament in Canada established the National Resource Mobilization Act which saw the establishment of Atlantic and Pacific commands who would respond to any threats posed by the Germans in the Atlantic.
Women were also included in the war with 30,000 female soldiers being incorporated into the three divisions of the Canadian army. A national selective service was also organized by the government to control placements of soldiers in the various battlefronts of the war. While one million soldiers were deployed to fight in the war, 600,000 people participated in the war as nurses, doctors and technical teams that were used to repair weapons, trucks, airplanes and other machinery.
Canada’s Economic Contribution to the War
By the end of the war, many of the countries that had participated in the war (Britain, Australia and New Zealand) were heavily in debt and their economies were struggling as a result of the war. Most of these countries governments channelled their wealth and national income to financing their war efforts against the Nazis, an activity that saw the national coffers being exhausted considerably.
Canada’s economic contribution to the war was attributed to the industrial sector where the country’s government poured a lot of investments in establishing factory plants that would be used to manufacture weapons, aircraft, vessels and war materials to be used by allies in the war. The industrial contribution of Canada was therefore very significant and considerable despite the fact that it began slowly during the initial days of War.
After the defeat and invasion of France, British orders for equipment began to increase as they requested for more artillery to combat the advancing Nazi soldiers who were threatening to take over England and the rest of Europe. The establishment of the Department of Munitions and Supply in 1940 gave the industrial sector in Canada more powers and authorities that would enable them to manufacture more weapons that would be used in the war.
Various companies that dealt with machinery were also subcontracted by the government during the war to increase the country’s industrial effort towards the production of weapons and other war materials. New factories were built to meet the growing demand of weapons by the war allies while old factories were converted into war time production plants to ensure that the growing demand for CMP trucks, naval ships and aircraft was met.
As a result of the increasing industrial sector, the country was able to experience a certain growth in its economy given the huge orders for military equipment that countries such as Britain and the United States were making for military equipment. Even after the war, the company was still receiving orders for military trucks and aircrafts from the US which ensured that the country did not run into any heavy debt as was experienced by England and Australia.
Most of the public coffers were spent on developing and establishing plants and factories that would be used to develop war materials and equipment. When compared to World War I where the country only produced grenades and shells, more weapons were produced such as small and large fire arms as well as machine guns and assault rifles.
Half of all these equipment was sent to Britain but the country was however unable to pay for it all which forced the Canadian government to finance a huge proportion of the British consignments. This was done to ensure that the factories were kept working and to support the allies in winning the war.
The country donated a billion-dollar gift in 1942 during the early days of the war to support the efforts of the commonwealth countries and in 1943 it established a mutual aid program that was used to support the ally nations participating in World War II. The financial assistance that Canada gave to Britain during the war amounted to $3 billion dollars while the total expenditure spent by the country during the whole duration of the war amounted to $21 billion dollars.
The overall significance of World War II on the economy of Canada was great but it was not as great as that which was felt in World War I where the country was left in a significant amount of debt. The industrial sector in the country was a major contributing factor in ensuring that Canada did not go into any form of financial and economic debt.
The economy in the country was actually strengthened by its manufacturing capacity to produce more that 4,000 aircraft in one year as well as 800,000 military vehicles annually. The industrial sector in Canada therefore played an important role in achieving an allied victory in World War II.
Impact of Politics in the Allied Victory of World War II
As mentioned earlier in the discussion, Canada’s participation in the war began 9 days after the Nazis attacked Poland on September 1, 1939. The decision to participate in the war was approved by the Parliament of Canada with a unanimous vote which demonstrated that the government was committed towards ending the German invasion in Europe. The cabinet immediately dispatched one army division to join the ally forces in the Europe to deal with the advancing threat of Adolf Hitler and communist law in Europe.
The defeat of the allied forces in France and Belgium in 1940 spurred parliamentarians in Canada to enlarge the number of army divisions that were sent into France and Poland to counter the Nazi forces. A National Resources Mobilization Act was formulated in June 1940 that would be used by the Ministry of Home Defence to train and mobilize armed forces to the various armed conflicts during the war.
The resources mobilization act ensured that the number of divisions sent to Europe increased from the original one to more than five divisions which incorporated all aspects of the military; air force, navy and armed forces. Two battalions that were sent from Canada were engaged in the Dieppe raid with British soldiers but the results if the raid were negative as both allies lost to the Germans.
This defeat sparked a lot of debate amongst the Canadian parliamentarians who wanted more soldiers to be sent to Dieppe while the military commander of the Canadian army, Lieutenant-General A. McNaughton maintained that the army needed to be reserved for the final assault.
The government eventually decided to make arrangements with Britain for the First Canadian Infantry Division to join the British attack in Sicily in 1943, a year after the Dieppe raid. The government also insisted on developing a Mediterranean force that would reach division 2 of the military corps to ensure that there were enough soldiers in the field to deal with any war flare ups in the various parts of Europe.
This lead to a serious disagreement with Lieutenant McNaughton who still held the opinion that Canadian soldiers needed to be reserved for a final confrontation with the Germans. McNaughton was eventually replaced with Lieutenant-General Crerar at the end of 1943 after the British war office termed him as unsuitable for field office command.
McNaughton’s departure from field command made it possible for the Canadian government to send a first division into the Sicilian campaign and also in the mainland of Italy in December 1943. The army was able to take part in the battle of Ortona and it made notable strides in defeating Hitler’s Nazis who had formed a line barring entry into Liri Valley.
By the end of August 1943, the 1st Canadian division was able to break down the Gothic Line that was formed by the Germans in the Adriatic sector of Rimini, Italy. While there were many Canadian casualties during the battle of Ortona, the country was able to play a major role in reducing the number of German Nazis within Italy.
The Canadian government was committed to getting its troops in action within Italy to counter the German presence there. The development of an allied policy in 1945 between Canada and Britain enabled the country’s troops to participate in war attacks together with Britain.
The allied policy ensured that Canadian troops were able to receive the same level of training as the British troops and that they were accorded the same type of treatment during combat training as they other allied forces. The policy also ensured that both countries were able to share military equipment during the war such as military tanks, trucks and heavy machinery.
Canada’s then Prime Minister Mackenzie King did not exert himself to achieve an overall direction of the war as he feared that such an act would lead to an interference of international relations between him and Winston Churchill , the Prime Minister of Great Britain and American President Franklin Roosevelt.
King wanted to ensure that the political influence of Canada in the war was limited to that of deploying troops to the various conflict areas in Europe. The same way it had little input in the direction of the war was the same way it had little impact in peace-making efforts. The peace conference that was organised in Paris during the summer of 1946 was meant to give the lesser allied of the war such as Canada an opportunity to facilitate the peace keeping efforts between the affected countries of World War II.
President King together with several parliamentarians were able to sign treaties with European countries such as Italy, Hungary, Finland and Romania to divide Europe into western and eastern Europe with the eastern part of the country being dominated by the Soviet Union. In the year 1951, Canada together with other countries was able to end the war with Germany through a royal proclamation signed by the Canadian prime minister and western leaders involved in the war.
The Canadian government was a major contributor to the war as it was able to modulate the number of soldiers sent into the various countries in Europe to deal with German forces. World War II demonstrated the coming of age of the political environment in the country given its ability to maintain a sense of democracy during the whole war. Political actors in the war were able to make sound decisions that ensured that the number of casualties in the war were minimised to a smaller number when compared to the First World War.
The involvement of the government in the deployment of soldiers also ensured that there were no deficiencies in the number of soldiers that were located in the various areas of conflict during the war. The Canadian army played a major role in defeating the German army in Italy which was mostly attributed to political influence in the deployment of armed forces to the Liri Valley and Rimini as well as to Ortona.
One of the most important contributions that the Canadian government made to World War II was the Battle of the Scheldt which took place in Holland in September 1944.
The Canadian government deployed the 2 division of the Canadian Corps as well as the 3rd Infantry Division and the 4th Armoured Division to take part in the battle in the Scheldt estuary. The Canadians succeeded in defeating the Germans in Scheldt after several weeks of heavy fighting which meant that the city’s fort was freed for naval and submarine landings during the war.
After winning the battle of Scheldt, the Canadian army moved east to take part in the liberation of the Netherlands from German communist rule. The Canadian army and government played a central role in liberating the Netherlands from the Nazis as it allowed the royal family in the Netherlands to move temporarily to Ottawa until the Netherlands was completely free from German occupation.
During the end of the War, hostilities within Europe declined and many western allies withdrew their forces from the various countries that were affected by the war. Peace treaties were signed between countries in Europe to ensure that such an event never took place in the future.
The Canadian government revised its defence contracts to take advantage of an ensuing confrontation between the United States and Japan and also the Soviet Union. Despite the fact that the war plunged much of Europe into economic and political instability, it did a lot in strengthening the ties that Canada had with the United Sates, Italy, Paris and Britain. It’s increasing military industrial sector ensured that military equipment production continued even after the war.
Conclusion
By the end of the war, Canada had become the world’s number four producer of military equipment as well as war material. The country was able to contribute in a major way to the allied victory in the war as a result of its economic input which came from its industrial sector as well as from its political environment and the military involvement in the war. The production of armoured trucks, weapons and machinery from Canada allowed the British, Canadian army to defeat the Nazi occupation of various European countries during the war.
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