Socials 10 Unit 2

Big Ideas: Nationalism, The Dehumanization of Soldiers, Canadian Independence

Why do people go to war? 

• Fear - scared of being hit first 

• Pride - Sense of I’m better if I go to war 

• Self- Interest - Selfish reasons

• Fun

How did we get there? 

1. Imperialism 

2. Militarism 

3. Nationalism 

4. Alliances 

Imperialism:

• Having power and control from afar, the idea of extending the rule of authority in one country over another. Not the same as colonialism. (Act of physically taking over a place) 

• Power projection → economic and political domination 

Consequence of Industrialization 

• Search for raw materials → go to other countries to find

• Access to new markets 

Militarism: 

• Policy of strengthening armed forces, military interests dominate government policy. Build up of forces, weapons, tech for decades 

• Germany thrive to build its military started arms race 

Nationalism 

• Nationalism by State - pride connected to an actual place 

• Nationalism by Ethnicity - attached to heritage, cultural, ethnics 

Why is it so important? 

• Kickstarts war and fear 

Alliances 

• Seeking security and stability - teams

• Why? - it was key to success they would have help if they were attacked 

Triple Alliance (Central Powers) 

-  germany 

- austria-hungary 

- italy 

Triple Entente 

• France

• Russia 

• Great Britain 

Chain of Events 

• The black hand assassinated Archduke Ferdinand

 (Heir to the Throne of Austria- Hungarian Empire)  Trigger 

• Uncle is more upset that Serbia was so disrespectful than nephew’s dead 

• Germany suggests they go to war and they offer their help (The Blank Cheque from Germany) 

• List of demands from Austria-Hungary to Serbia 

• Serbia’s reply: 

  • Gave in to all demands 

  • Except for internal investigation 

  • Did not matter because it wasn’t really about Franz Ferdinand’s death but

 Fear +Pride + self Interest 

• AH declares war on Serbia (The first declaration of War - July 28, 1914) 

• Germany now faced with possible two-front war so they develop plan - Schlieffen Plan 

Dominos: 

• Russian mobilization on AH

• Germany declares on Russia (alliance triggered)

• France threatens Germany (alliance triggered)  

• Germany declares war on France (alliance triggered) 

The Schlieffen Plan (Germany)

• Russia had to mobilize armies on foot (6 weeks) 

• To avoid a two front war Germany planned to defeat France before Russia was ready (In 6 weeks) 

• Were going to use Belgium to surprise attack France 

• But Belgium said no bc they want to stay neutral and didn't want to seem like they were aiding them 

• Belgium gets wrecked 

• Belgium has an alliance with Great Britain 

• Britain gets involved 

Alliance Triggered: Britain declares War on Germany (August 4, 1914) 

Motives: 

Germany- Thought they could win a war now, but maybe not later (Pride) 

Austria- Hungary: concerned with their survival and wanted to solve their Pan- Slav threat once and for all (Fear) 

Russia: mostly economic, wanted access to an all-weather port (Self- Interest) 

France: loyalty with the other nations, only way to remain a major power (Pride/Power) 

Great Britain: Believed in the independence of sovereign states and wanted to curb Germany’s increasing power

WWI: 1914- 1918 

How did this become a war: 

• Imperialism 

• Militarism 

• Nationalism 

• Alliances 

Exam questions: 

What are the 4 causes? 

How did this contribute to starting the war? (Links) 

1. June 28, 1914- Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated in Bosnia - trigger 

2. Ultimatum- AH gives Serbia a list of ridiculous demands, knew Serbia couldn’t go with the demands 

3. Blank Cheque- Germany pledges full support to AH by giving unlimited support 

4. Serbia’s Reply- Serbia agrees to all the demands except those that infringe on their sovereignty, don't want to go to war (know Russia has their back - wants the warm water ports from Serbia) 

5. July 28, 1914- AH declares war

6. Russia mobilizes- Russia needs to start walking if they plan on helping Serbia 

7. Germany declares war on Serbia 

8. France supports Russia- doesn't want Germany to grow even more powerful (threatens Germany) 

9. Germany declares war of France - scared at 2 front war but starts one, but they have been thinking about the Schlieffen Plan 

10. Aug 4, 1914- Britain declares war on Germany 

Hegemony- Leadership or dominance, especially by one country or group (Great britain is looking to keep this but Germany wants it) 

Sphere of Influence- International political by a state to exclusive or predominant control over a foreign territory (British influence over Canada, Russia over small Balkan states - the more control the more industrialized goods they can have)  

Sovereignty- The authority of state to govern itself independently or another state (Canada does not have it) 

• The sun never sets on the British Empire - Great Britain controlled 25% of the earthś land mass which meant there was always daylight in one of itś territories

• The Dominion of Canada had control over domestic affairs but not their international/ foreign  policy so we had to go 

The Race for the Coast/ Sea 

Flanking Maneuver: Keep going around/behind them to cut them off from supplies/surprise attack 

• Germany could not advance and France/Britain could not push them back so they could only go down. 

  • The dug in and dugout trenches (swiggle - so they could hide better) 

  • These trenches were intended to protect the troops 

• “No man’s land”: Narrow strip between the trenches Dangerous, Exposed to the enemy at any moment you were an easy target 

• “Going over the top”: Ordered by officers meant getting out of trenches and going to “No man's land”

Canada Gets into the War 

• 1914, Canada is a dominion so they go to war once GB is involved

• We have no army, but Militia, 3000 men who are essentially glorified boy scouts, untrained/unqualified soldiers 

• We promised to bring a division (25,000)  

Sir Sam Hughes 

• Minister of the Militia (and defense of Canada) 

• Had the idea to raise regional battalions (ex. Vancouver Island Battalion, New Westminster Battalion) 

• He manages to get the first division over in 6 weeks 

  • How??? = Patronage → because of connection

• Give an example of how patronages fail: 

  • People who had no experience got jobs got promotions 

  • Ross Rifle 

    • Has the Canadian “army” switch to the ross rifle (they were very accurate) 

    • But jammed when they were dirty 

    • Why the switch? = His friend from Montreal owned the manufacturing plant that made them 

  • MacAdams Shovel 

    • Canadian “Army” required to carry around this hefty shovel to dig their trenches as well as used as a shield 

    • Hughes personal assistant thought it was a clever idea 

General Julian Byng 

• Scottish 

• Attended Sandhurst (military school that everyone back home went to) 

• Was in charge of the Canadian Corps 

Lieutenant- General Arthur Currie 

• From Vancouver Island

• A school teacher 

• In charge of Canada’s first division 

• Previously been a volunteer in Canada’s militia 

Battle of Ypres, April 1915 

• The first time poison gas was in used in warfare by the Germans 

• What were the gas masks made of? = Leather and Glass

• What happened when people got warm and ran around: they fogged up!

• Some people thought it was better not to wear them at all - not true. 

• Canadians were all discipline in their gas warfare, this was also their first taste of gas warfare 

The Battle of Somme, July - November 1916 

• This attack was not successful whatsoever. GB put all effort into artillery. More shells in 4 or 5 weeks than are fired in the entire war. 

• July 1, 1916 

  • 60,000 brits are dead by the morning 

  • 90% of the Newfoundland regiment suffered casualties (~1000 men stated, ~50 men were left at the end) 

  • Barbed wire gets blown up and lands back down on the floor 

The Canadian Corps 

• Unique to Canadians- DIvisions stay together (nationalism) make its easier to replace soldiers more easily (Losing men from sickness, battle → the more men lost, higher percentage of men are going to be lost aka you can’t run battles short handed)  

• Constant loses meant the need for constant recruitment 

• Nationalism allows us to increase recruitment at home, used for reasoning with the GB govt. To keep divisions together. 

Our Leader

• Meritocracy over patronage → earn jobs and promotions based on merit (working hard) rather than whom you know  

• Training together as a group 

• Innovation 

  • Everyone Understand the objective 

  • Everyone Gets a map 

  • Everyone Sees a model of the terrain 

  • Everyone Gets a watch 

• Battle Tactic: The Creeping barrage 

  • Used before vimy but we had practiced it 

  • Gun running across no mans land, explosion is right in front of him. Person moved forward behind the artillery, keeping the Germans from setting up machine guns. 

  • More sensitive artillery. Added shrapnel to the artillery to cut through barbed wire. 

  • Artillery barrage created holes as people kept forward for people to duck down into if machine guns were set up. 

Vimy Ridge 1917 

• Technological advancements = Creeping barrage, Vickers Machine Gun

• Leader is Byng, and believes in meritocracy over patronage. Divisions stay together, being trained together, embracing innovation. 

• Previous things measured in yards/metres, but this was KM’s of progress 

• Didn’t expect Canadians to get through, so there were no men ready behind them to come through and take advantage of the hole in the German line. 

New Leadership - Arthur Currie 

• Byng leaves as he is promoted, they don't want him replaced by another Brit. So Arthur Currie gets the job (didn’t go to Sandhurst) 

• Put someone good at his job to the position, not bc of career, his family, or his training → meritocracy 

• We lost 10,000 men. (10%) Need to replace 10,000 men 

• CEF wants time to recover, replace men, train men

Revolution in Russia 

• Russia falls out of war bc of revolution 

• Suddenly Germany is only fighting a one front war 

• Britain HAS to push forward at this moment and decided to push forward Ypres. The third battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) cs Ypres is basically gone 

Battle of Passchendaele

• Objective: Shack-size fort place, where Germans camped in 

• Canada ends up losing ~ 15,000 men 

• The lad is so wrecked has no strategic value, thick high sludge that men were just drowning in (was toxic) 

• Why? Dougalas head of the British Force forced them to fight regardless

• All Mud 

• No trenches 

• Fighting shell hole from shell hole 

• Mud is poison full of dead bodies 

• Gasses 

• People fall and die (poison) 

• No landmarks to use for directions 

Conscription Crisis 1917 (Fall 1917) 

• We can’t keep replacing men, we already got all the ones that wanted to go. SO now we have to make it “mandatory” to join 

• English Candaians = YAY conscription

• French Canadians = NAY conscription  

• In the end: english canada out votes the french canada and conscription goes through. (By late 1917 they are desperate there is no 18 year old minimum and or 45 year old maximum ) 

Spring Offensive 

• This is the last German push (The US is on the way) 

• Germans also started avoiding the Canadians

• Spread out the canadian communications core start to confuse the Germans re: where to hold the line 

• We almost lost the war, they got within miles of Paris, used the techniques we used  and if they hadn’t been so low on men so they would’ve won 

Last 100 Days 

•  Germany is out of everything 

• The allies (mostly the Brits cause French are done) being an offensive 

• This a War/Battle of movement 

• Canadians lead up the Vanguard (They are front cs they are the bomb diggity) lots of influence. But we still took huge losses. We are taking ~10s of KMs a day but with major losses 

• Canada has lost more men in the last 100 days than in the first four years of war 

• The war ends on November 11, 1918 at the 11th hour= Armistice Day

The Invitation 

• This performance earned Canada a seat of the Treaty of Versaille at the Paris Peace Conferences 

  • We are just a dominion 

  • FOr us to lose 60,000 men from a population of barely 8 million, this is a huge sacrifice 

  • Our extreme influence and sacrifice 

• Treaty of Versailles= Peace document signed at the end of WWI