History Unit 1 - Canada in WW1

Mr. Burgess Grade 10

What are the four causes of WW1?

The Alliance System, Nationalism, Militarism, Imperialism

Nationalism

Feeling intense pride in one’s own nation, belief in its superiority

Imperialism

Powerful countries seeking to maintain or expand their power by controlling weaker countries as colonies, politically, militarily, and economically.

Militarism

Belief that force should be used to solve conflicts, and to defend and promote its national interests.

The Alliance System

Set of treaties and agreements that European countries agreed to defend each other militarily against actions of other countries

Trench Warfare

Main style of warfare in WW1, became a defining feature of the war.

Western Front

Line of trenches that stretched over 700km across Northern France, became the most significant battle field in WW1.

No Man’s Land

The land between the trenches that became the main battleground where the fighting took place. Filled with mud, bomb craters, and bodies.

Propaganda

Systematic effort to shape beliefs to achieve certain goals, used by governments in WW1 to shape beliefs on war.

Victory Bonds

A key way the government used to finance war, asked Canadians to lend money that would be later returned with interest.

Conscription

When a government forces citizens to join the military and fight in war.

Historical Analysis

Historical significance, historical perspective, cause and consequence, continuity and change.

Historical significance

Identifies the importance, impact, and meaning of people, events, developments, and why we remember them today.

Historical perspective

Understanding the political, economic, social, and cultural context of a period. Values, beliefs, experiences that shaped peoples lives and actions.

Cause and consequence

Examines the political, economic, and social forces that shaped historical events. The role of people and groups in shaping history.

Continuity and change

Analyzes what has stayed the same and changed over time.

Outbreak of WW1

The assassination

• June 28, 1914, Serbian nationalists assassinated the future king and queen of Austria-Hungary

A chain reaction

• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

• Russia, Serbia’s ally responds by attacking borders of Austria-Hungary and Germany

• Germany declares war on Russia

• Germany declares war on France, France responds

• Germany invades France through Belgium

• Britain declares war on Germany, Canada is automatically involved

Canada’s Entry

• Canada was an independent country and also a member of the British Empire.

• Canada was automatically at war when Britain was.

• Most Canadians (British, African, Asian, Indigenous) supported going to war.

• French Canadians felt it was imperial.

• Both conservative and liberal leaders supported it.

Canadians served in WW1

650 000

Canadian causalities in WW1

66 000 killed, 172 000 injured

Life in the trenches

• Stalemate resulted in trenches dug

• Miserable conditions

• Trench foot: rotted flesh of feet cause by standing in mud and water

• Surprise attacks between battles

Diverse Canadians in War

• Discrimination: diverse people were not expected or encouraged to sign up

• Black, Indigenous, Asian, Canadians of German heritage turned away

• Many supported the war to prove their worth

Battle of Ypres

• Chlorine gas introduced

• French front line hit, Canadians as reinforcements

• German line stopped

• 6000+ Canadian casualties

• “In Flanders Fields” written by John Mcrae

Battle of the Somme

• Goal: break through German line and stop troops from bombarding France

• Newfoundland Regiment taking part (they had not yet joined Confederation)

• 60 000 allied casualties on the first day

• 650 000 casualties, 545 square km (24 000 Canadians)

• Sometimes called the bloodiest battle in human history

Battle of Vimy Ridge

• By 1917, British and French forced had tried to take the Ridge

• Canada’s four divisions fought together as a single unit for the first time

• Canadians captured the ridge

• Recognized by allies

• 3K dead, 7K injured

Battle of Passchendaele

• The Third Battle of Ypres: allies ordered to break through German lines near Ypres

• Canadians ordered to take Passchendaele Ridge

• British, Australian, and New Zealand forces tried previously, failed at a cost of 100 000 casualties

• Canadians captured the ridge, but 15 654 dead or wounded

• Despite victory, the Third Battle of Ypres resulted in 310 000 allied casualties without significant gain

  • Futility of WW1

Canada’s Hundred Days

• Russia surrendered to Germany in early 1918

• The United States had entered the war in late 1917

• Allies launched a major attack on the Western Front (start of Canada’s Hundred Days)

• Canadian troops led by Currie attack on city of Amiens

  • Pushed Germans back 13 kilometers

    • Astonishing achievement

  • Canadians kept advancing, 37 kilometers

• Went from Amiens to Canal du Nord to Cambrai to Belgium.

• Armistice truce negotiated, 11:00 AM November 11 1918, fighting ended

Financing the War Effort

• War was costing government about $1 million a day

• Victory bonds sold

• First bond drive expected to raise $50 million, raised $100 million

• Income tax - supposed to be a temporary measure that would go away once the war was over, but is still in place today

Propaganda in Canada

• Conservative Prime Minister used propaganda to maintain patriotism

• Posters encouraged to buy bonds, enlist, work harder, change eating habits

  • Some promoted hatred of people from enemy countries and shamed Canadians for not doing enough

Conscription in Canada

• As war continued, it was more difficult to get volunteers, but Canada was getting pressured from the British for more troops

• Prime Minister Robert Borden passed the Military Service act

• Many supported it, but others including Liberal leader Wilfrid Laurier were outraged

• Riots erupted especially in Quebec

  • Conflict between Anglophones and Francophones

• Almost divided the country but made little difference

The Right to Vote

• Robert Borden introduced measures to improve his chances or getting re-elected

• Military Voters Act: gave all members of military the right to vote

• Wartime Elections Act: close women relatives of men serving in war the right to vote

• Borden promised to extend to even more women

• Anglophone farmers opposed conscription because they did not want to leave their farms, Borden granted farmers’ sons an exemption from conscription

  • Later revoked after the election

• Borden won

Positive WW1 Consequences

• Earned reputation as an effective military force

• Successfully argued to establish its independence as a country at the Paris Peace Conference

• Transformed Canada economically, apart of world’s most advanced economies

• Diverse Canadians fought against discrimination and earned recognition

Negative WW1 Consequences

• 66 000 soldiers lost, 172 000 wounded

• Returning veterans had difficulty adjusting

• Ended war heavily in debt

• Conscription divided English and French

• Violating diverse human rights