Transcript Unit 2 - Ascension Collegiate

World War I
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Britain, France and Russia VS. Germany,
Austria-Hungary and Italy.
France and Germany were in conflict before,
so they looked for other countries to be their
allies. Alliances are formed when countries
band together against a common threat.
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France, Russia and Britain were the Triple Entente
or The Allies.
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were the
Triple Alliance or The Central Powers but Italy
joined the Allies later.
The alliances were dangerous because they
increased fear and suspicions among rival nations,
and a war between two countries would likely
involve many more.
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Nationalism is a feeling of deep loyalty
towards people and homeland.
Europe nationalism in the nineteenth
century was a powerful force.
Examples would be the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and France’s desire
to regain Alsace and Lorraine from Germany.
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During the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, imperialism increased because the
nations of Europe became more industrialized.
European countries wanted to gain control of
lands away from home and build huge empires
which would be a source of raw materials,
cheap or free labor, new markets and military
strength.
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Imperialism led to quarrels among the great
powers of Europe in all parts of the world, and
arguments over colonies and trade threatened
peace.
Also Germany wanted to have an empire like
Britain and France.
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Militarism is the belief in the power of strong
armies and navies to decide issues.
Preparing for war was thought to be the only way
to guarantee peace, and if a nation is strong, no
enemy would dare attack it. If war did occur, the
militarized nation would be ready.
This thinking led to an arms race in Europe,
which was where each country produced and
stockpiled battleships, artillery, and guns
ammunition
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Germany built a huge navy, causing Britain to
become nervous and led to the Naval Race.
European countries built huge armies through
conscription.
All that was needed to start a World War was a
spark.
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The Black Hand was a terrorist group that was
composed of Serbs and Bosnians that thought
Bosnia should break away From AustriaHungary.
The Austrians were also expressing
feelings of nationalism when they opposed the
attempts of Bosnia to break away from their
empire. Bosnian Serbs wanted to be part of
Serbia.
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the
Archduchess Sophia were visiting Bosnia
because the Archduke would someday be its
Emperor.
Gavrilo Princip (a 19 year old) stepped up by
the car and fired two shots killing them both.
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Those who attacked the Archduke were
members of a Serbian terrorist group known as
the Black Hand.
This was an example of the danger of
nationalism leading up to WW1.
The assassination would lead to Austria –
Hungary declaring war on Serbia and put in
motion the steps to world war.
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When the call came out for recruiting in
Canada, offices were flooded with volunteers
for the war at a pay of $1.00/day. People
thought that the war would end quickly.
Within 2 months, 30 000 Canadians were sent,
however the war did not end until 4 years later,
with the involvement of another 400 000
Canadians.
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Ypres is an ancient city in Belgium.
First time poison gas was ever used in battle. The
men who didn’t have gas masks or who did not
use a urine soaked cloth to breathe through
choked, gagged, gasped, coughed and died.
The Canadians had make-shift gas masks and
survived the attack.
More than 6000 Canadians died during this battle.
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On July 1, 1916 at 7:30am, the British army
consisting of Canadian and Newfoundland troops
went “over the top”.
Most men never made it out of the trenches and
most were killed by the shower of bullets in noman’s land.
By nightfall approximately 58,000 men were dead
or wounded – the most ever in British military
warfare in a single day.
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Newfoundland troops were mowed down at
Beaumont Hamel. Over 90% were killed or
wounded.
When it came to an end, casualties for both
sides reached 1.25 million; 24 000 were
Canadian.
Tanks were introduced for the first time in
war. It helped to break the stalemate at the end
of the war
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv5gBa9DQs
Battle of the Somme
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On April 9, 1917, Canada won its most
celebrated battle.
German forces had a good vantage point they
controlled all the surrounding areas.
Many attempts were made by British and
French troops but were unsuccessful.
Vimy
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After months of preparations 100 000
Canadians (four divisions) launched an attack.
In a few hours, they had captured the ridge.
More ground, guns, and German prisoners
were taken that day than the first 2 1/2 years
of war.
Four Canadians won the Victoria Cross at
Vimy. Vimy Ridge
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In the fall of 1917, soldiers fought in
Passchendaele, Belgium ( close to Ypres )
Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres.
Passchendaele was once beneath the sea.
The shelling destroyed drainage ditches and the
land was waterlogged.
Soldiers were very frustrated over trying to
advance through the mud.
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Thousands of soldiers and horses who slipped
into the mud were sucked down and drowned.
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Tanks also got bogged down quickly.
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16000 Canadian causalities.
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The 7km of land they won was soon won back
by the Germans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJZttzblH
FQ
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Tanks
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Were developed to solve the problem of trench
warfare
Tanks could roll over barbwire and protect troops
crossing no-man’s land.
British first used them against the Germans at the
Battle of the Somme
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Machine Guns and Artillery
Completely changed the way battles were fought
 One soldier could kill enough enemy soldiers to
break up a frontal attack
 Fast-firing artillery could fire shells that exploded
into fragments (shrapnel) killing or wounding
soldiers anywhere near the explosion
 Contributed to the development of trench warfare
and stalemate
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Airplanes
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Used in the early part of the war for reconnaissance
(spying)
Eventually the timing of the machine gun was
modified to fire between the rotating propeller
This allowed planes to fire on ground troops and
take part in aerial “dogfights”
Dogfight History Channel
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Submarines (U-boats)
Effective and deadly weapon
 Germany used submarines to blockade Britain from
receiving food and war supplies.
 Difficult to detect and destroy
 During the war U-boats sank thousands of merchant
and civilian ships as well as navy ships
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In 1914 when war broke out, the airplane was a
new and unproven invention.
Canada had no air force of its own.
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Billy Bishop was a young pilot from Ontario,
Canada.
He became a Canadian hero during WWI
because of his shooting and flying abilities.
As a boy he practiced shooting at moving
targets in the woods.
His first day behind the front line, he knocked
down a plane
In one five-day period, he destroyed 13 planes.
Billy Bishop
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German submarines prowled the seas since the
beginning of the war.
Germans sank 200 British ships by 1914
(including passenger ships).
The sinking of the Lusitania (a passenger ship),
which had American passengers on board
when it went down angered the U.S..
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Submarines (or U-Boats as they were often
called) were Germany’s most deadly weapons
at sea.
Germany was sinking British and other boats at
an average of 160 ships per month.
Germany navy introduced a policy of
“unrestricted submarine warfare.” This meant
that German U-Boats would sink any Allied
ships that approached Britain.
Responsible for U.S. entering the War
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First four months of the policy, Germany sank
over 1000 Allied ships.
Britain had to find a way to solve this problem
or it would be starved into surrendering.
Canada’s main contribution to the war at sea
was to provide sailors and ships for the Royal
Navy.
Eventually the use of the convoy system and
technological advancements turned the tide in
the allies favor.
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Canadians at home supported the troops
overseas in many ways.
Posters, and government campaigns suggested
that no sacrifice should be spared to ensure the
victory of Europe.
People planted victory gardens (to produce as
much food as possible).
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Canadians were sending large amounts of food
to fighting forces overseas.
At home people were trying to waste nothing
and reduce own food consumption.
Students were often dismissed from school
early to help farm workers with the harvest.
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Groups of woman meet to organize fundraisers
and roll bandages for the troops.
Each community held card games, dances and
variety shows.
Profits were used to send soap, writing paper,
pencils and candy to the troops.
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1918, war was costing Canada over one million
dollars a day.
Victory bonds were also used to help pay for
the cost of war.
After the war the bonds could be cashed for a
profit.
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Private and commercial investors loaned over
one billion to the government
Children bought stamps at 25 cents
Canadian government introduced income tax
during the world war I to help finance the war.
Industrial production went to dramatic new
heights.
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Airplane, shell and ship factories sprang up
across the country.
1918 - 300,000 Canadians were employed.
One third of the shells fired by the armies of
the British Empire were made in Canada.
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At the beginning of the war, hundreds of
Canadian women volunteered to work
overseas as nurses or ambulance drivers.
They worked in banks, on police forces and in
civil services jobs. They also drove buses and
street cars.
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Women worked in ammunition factories and in
other war industries while the men were away
at war.
This meant that the number of women working
rose very high.
There were very few men left so women on
farms brought in the harvests and they also got
help from city women.
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Since women were doing so much for the war
effort, they wanted a share in making decisions
about the country.
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One of Canada’s great social reformers and
Suffragists was Nellie McClung.
Suffragists campaigned enthusiastically for
women’s suffrage (the right to vote).
Women were given the right to vote in the
Province of Manitoba in 1916
Within a few months, Saskatchewan , Alberta,
British Columbia, and Ontario had granted
Women’s Suffrage.
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In the election of December 1917, the Wartime
Elections Act granted the vote to the mothers,
sisters etc. of men who were fighting overseas.
By the time the war ended, the right to vote
had been extended to almost all women in
Canada over the age of 21.
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The Dominion Elections Act gave women the
right to run for election in parliament in 1920.
Native women and most native men were not
allowed to vote.
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At the beginning of the war, people were very
patriotic and wanted to help in any way that
they could. As a result, Canada was flooded
with volunteers willing to enlist in the army.
As the war progressed, people became less
enthusiastic about helping, and the number of
volunteers decreased.
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In 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden visited
Canadian soldiers at the front and was shocked
by what he heard.
Canadian Volunteer enlistments were not
keeping up with the number of men killed
or wounded in battle.
Military officials desperately needed more
soldiers and they asked Borden to send more
Canadian troops to Europe.
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When Borden returned home he asked the
parliament to pass a Conscription Bill.
Conscription means that all able bodied men
would be required to join the army.
Canadians were forced to join.
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With an election coming in December 1917, the
government passed two bills:
The Military Voters Act( Vote to soldiers and
nurses overseas) and the Wartime Elections
Act.
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The Military Voters Act allowed soldiers
overseas to vote in elections at home in
Canada.
The Wartime Elections Act gave females living
in Canada who were relatives of soldiers
fighting in Europe the right to vote.
A Union Government was formed by
Conservatives and Liberals that believed in
Conscription.
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The election was brutal
Laurier and his followers were accused of
letting down the soldiers at the front.
Borden and the Union Government won the
election, although they got only three seats in
Quebec out of 65.
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The split that had been feared for so long
seemed to have happened – riots occurred in
Montreal and Quebec City; the French and
English Canadians were entirely torn apart.
In November, 1918, at the end of the war,
Canada was a divided nation.
The Treaty demanded that Germany:
Accept total blame for the war
Give up its weapons and ships
Reduce size of military
Give back all the land it conquered
Make reparations ( pay for damages )
Give up part of its country.
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World War 1 Summary