Locate Dunkirk on a map and after having done so, explain its strategic importance.
Write an appropriate contemporary headline for the evacuation of Dunkirk.
Write three days’ diary entries that 20-year old Paul Trimbell might have written.
Construct a timeline of what occurred in Hong Kong in 1941.
Imagine that you are a military strategist writing a post-facto account of the disaster at Hong Kong. List and briefly explain the reasons for the defeat in the form of a military memo.
Consulting a map, indicate the path taken by the major flanks of the Allied soldiers.
Explain why December 7th, 1941 is “a day that will live in infamy.”
Compile a table of the military engagements listed in this section. Your table should have the following columns: engagement, success or failure, causalities, significance. Consulting your table, how successful were Canada and the Allies in the early part of WW II? Can you suggest some reasons for that?
Draw a model of one of the ships used in WW II.
Select any one of the battles listed in this section and write either a poem or a song.
Calgary teacher-singer, John Spearn has written a song about Dieppe. Find and download it and then analyze the song’s lyrics.
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Working with a partner, write the speech that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill might have delivered in the immediate aftermath of Operation Dynamo. Somewhere in your speech, you should have the phrase “miracle of deliverance.”
Write the letter to his family that Paul Trimbell might have written when he returned to Dunkirk for the 60th anniversary celebrations. What kinds of emotions do you think he was experiencing.
Explain the meaning – and significance – of Churchill’s line “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Working with a partner, write a speech that President Franklin Roosevelt might have delivered as his war declaration.
Reading Faces – Closely study the Karsh photograph of Winston Churchill. One of the reasons why it is regarded by many as a classic is it appears to have captured the essence of the British leader. From the photograph, how would you describe his personality?
Research the situation in Hong Kong more extensively and then conduct a debate, either in triads or as a class on whether or not Canadian troops should have been sent to Hong Kong.
Was Dieppe a necessary prelude to D-Day or was it a military disaster. Research the battle and write a one-page Position Paper defending your view.
Imagine that you have been selected to write the epitaph for Unknown Soldier of WW II.
What was the battle of the Atlantic and why was it significant?
The battle of the St. Lawrence is relatively unknown. Can you suggest some possible reasons for that?
The 1,975 soldiers who fought in Hong Kong in 1941 are seen by some historians as Canada’s “forgotten heroes.” Why do you think they are deserving of such a description?
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