Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Canada in WWII, Part 2
Caption: Canadian crew of a Sherman tank south of Vaucelles, France, June 1944
Hitler was anxious to see the Luftwaffe (the German air force) dominate the skies over Britain as it did everywhere else. To prove their German superiority, they made bold daylight strikes on Britain. The purpose was to prepare the island for a ground assault. The British RAF (Royal Air Force), with Canadian air support, foiled Hitler's plan. He changed tactics and began a nine month period of night bombardments. Even that did not have the desired result.
It was obvious that Hitler's U-boats (submarines) would play a big part in isolating Britain. This was the Battle of the Atlantic, and it went on for years. The U-boats hunted like wolf packs. They traveled in groups throughout the Atlantic. When one found a ship, the crew would radio the others. Then they would all attack together. It wasn't just ships on the ocean that were attacked. Ore carriers at Bell Island, Newfoundland, were attacked and sunk in 1942. A railway ferry was also torpedoed by a U-boat, killing 137 people in the Cabot Strait.
In an attempt to regain a foothold in France, British and Canadian soldiers joined together for a raid on the port of Dieppe. The raid was a disaster that resulted in more than half of the men being killed or captured.
In spite of these losses, the Battle of the Atlantic was pretty much won by the Allies by 1943. There were still U-boat attacks, but their power was mostly broken.
