end of ww1

The 1918 german spring offensives

Early in 1918, Germany launched major offensives that pushed the Allies back.

However, this was Germany's last major effort as they had over-extended their army and were running out of resources.

The Allies were reinforced by American troops after the U.S. entered the war in 1917.

The Allies regrouped, stopped Germany’s advance, and prepared to launch their own offensive to end the war.

Canada’s 100 days

In the last three months of the war, a massive Allied offensive spanned the Western Front.

The Germans were pushed back from territory they had fought for over four years.

The offensive was launched without a preliminary artillery bombardment, catching the Germans by surprise.

Impressive accomplishments

The Canadian Corps’ accomplishments from August 8 to November 11 were truly impressive—

more than 100,000 Canadians advanced 130 kilometres and captured approximately 32,000 prisoners and nearly 3,800 artillery pieces, machine guns and mortars.

During “Canada’s Hundred Days,” 30 Canadians and Newfoundlanders earned the Victoria Cross, the highest award for military valour they could receive.

Cease-fire

With German resistance crumbling, the armistice was finally signed on November 11, 1918.

Canadians fought to the very end with the war’s last Canadian combat death—Private George Lawrence Price—happening just two minutes before the fighting officially ended.

That day saw our soldiers in Mons, Belgium—a place of great symbolic meaning, as this was where the British Army had its first significant battle against the invading Germans in the summer of 1914.

November 11, 1918 armistice

- WWI ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

- At 5 a.m., Germany, low on supplies and soldiers, signed an armistice with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiegne, France.

- The terms included German withdrawal, disarmament, and the release of Allied prisoners.

- The armistice was a temporary ceasefire, not a peace treaty, which would be negotiated later.

- An armistice is a formal agreement to stop fighting, not necessarily the end of a war.

The War to end all wars?

Known then as the ‘Great War’, World War I was also described as the ‘war to end all wars’, because many believed its high death toll and vast destruction would deter future fighting.

This, of course, did not hold true.

World War One lasted four years, 3 months and 1 week.

It is estimated that 65 million soldiers fought in WWI.

George price- the last allied casualty of wwI

A 25 year old farm labourer before he joined the army in October 1917

The last Canadian, and believed to be the last Allied soldier, killed during WWI

Took a snipers bullet to the chest at approximately 10:50 a.m. on the last day of battle while on house to house patrol nears Mons, Belgium

Died of his wounds a few minutes later at 10:58 a.m. (two minutes before cease-fire)

Buried in a cemetery in Belgium where the first Allied soldier to die in the war is also buried

The cost of war

- About 620,000 Canadians enlisted, with 425,000 serving overseas during WWI.

- Canadian deaths ranged from 60,000 to 66,000, with 60,000 killed overseas and the remaining 6,000 dying from wounds or other causes after returning.

- 172,000 Canadians were wounded.

- Newfoundland had 1,305 killed and thousands wounded.

- The odds of being killed were about 1 in 7, and the odds of being injured were about 1 in 3.

total killed and injured in all countries

approximately 8.5 million soldiers died during WWI as a result of wounds and/or disease.

The greatest number of casualties and wounds were inflicted by artillery.

Casualties occurred even when no major battle was happening. Even on a quiet day there would be hundreds of Allied and German casualties.

The heaviest loss of life for a single day occurred on July 1, 1916 (the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme).

It is estimated that 21 million soldiers were wounded during WWI.

Almost 8 million soldiers were taken prisoner during the war or went missing.

Civilian casualties

The total number of civilian casualties is harder to determine because they were not as well documented as military deaths, however it is estimated to be millions.

Because of the war, many people suffered from disease and malnutrition because of food shortages brought about by disruption of trade.

The Armenian genocide also contributed to the civilian death toll of WWI.

postives and negatives for ww1 in canda

Pride in our accomplishments.

Our soldiers earned a great reputation as one of the most effective fighting formations in the war.

The war united Canadians in a common cause.

Some women had received the right to vote.

Canada became more independent from Britain.

Respect given to Canada from other countries resulting in increased international standing.

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Thousands of Canadians were killed or wounded.

Income tax was introduced.

Some Canadians lost the right to vote.

Conscription crisis hurt French-English relations.

Halifax destroyed by explosion.

Post-war debt of approximately $2 billion.