wwi study guide
more than any other event, wwi changed canada and defined it as a nation
war referred to as the “war of men against machines of metal”
lots of tension in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century → could explode into war at any moment
the alliance system
in the early 1900s europe forms into power blocks that give countries a collective security
triple entente - britain, russia, france
triple alliance - germany, italy, austrio-hungary
each of these super powers were ambitious
sought land/resources in balkans area
competed for influence over small weak countries
a conflict between two nations becomes a war between six countries, which is what happened
trade → britain vs germany
colonies → germany vs britain, france
→ turkey vs germany
revenge → france vs germany
land → russia vs turkey, austria
nationalism → russia vs austria, germany
power → everyone
tensions between europe’s super powers(britain, germany, france, russia, austrio-hungary. britain, germany, france, and russia are still world superpowers, but usa is the biggest now)
balkans were a collection of tiny states of different races and people and religions
some were friendly with germany, some with france and britain
balkan states were constantly fighting each other
great danger was that when these tiny states quarreled, their more powerful allies might join in to help them and so start a major war
central powers
germany
made into one country from many smaller states in 1870
highly industrialized, few colonies
most powerful army, strong navy
aggressive and wanted to show strength
wanted to gain more trade and colonies
the austro-hungarian empire
huge empire made up of many different races of people with different religions, languages ad customs
ruled by emperor alone
different peoples didn’t want to belong to same state (wanted to have own countries and govs.)
empire was weak with little industry, seemed ready to break up
the turkish empire
called sick old man of europe
had once been great and powerful, controlling all of middle east and north africa
now very weak, many parts broke away to become independent
russia wanted to conquer turkey to get a port on the warm mediterranean sea
western allies
britain
richest, most powerful country in the world
had largest empire, navy, trade
being challenged in trade by germany and usa
france
rich and fairly industrialized
large empire in africa
bitter enemy of germany, after germany beat france in war of 1870 (germany had taken two provinces from france, and france was determined to get it back)
italy
became one country in 1870, had few colonies
slowly becoming industrialized
friendly with central powers, entered wwi on allied side in 1915
russia
huge, backward, very slowly becoming industrialized
ruled by tsar alone
army was huge but no good (badly trained, badly equipped, badly led
russian people often rebelled to try and improve conditions, but efforts were put down savagely
russian people were now desperate (thoughts of strikes, plots, revolution, unrest)
no major European war for a hundred years, but in that timeframe the whole Industrial Revolution had taken place
last great war had been fought by horsemen and foot soldiers charging each other; old fashion rifles, swords, spears, simple canon, wooden warships with close range solid iron canon balls
in 1914 many generals had no real idea what war would be like with machine guns (could fire 500 rounds/bullets per minute, high explosive shells weighing over a tonne each, poison gas, motor trucks, big steel warships with guns with such range that they could fight when the enemy was out of sight, tanks, aircraft,
resulted in slaughter - ex: russia lost over a million men in two short battles
at the turn of the century tension explodes in 1914
1914 - assassination of archduke franz fediand
he was the heir to the austria
n-hungarian throne
was visiting killed the balkan state of bosnia, which was friendly with russia in city of sarajevo by a serbian nationalist
gavrilo princip - a black hand terrorist
black hand was interested in serbian independence
the day before his assassination, there was a bomb attempt, but injured people in cars behind the prince and his wife
day of assassination, they visit the injured in a hospital and when they are leaving, gavrilo princip shoots them
austria blamed serbia, who was friendly with russia
austria went to war with serbia and within a few weeks was joined y turkey and germany
britain, russia, france, and italy came in on serbia’s side
war continued in the balkans, but main fighting switched to northern france, western russia, border of italy, and austria and the middle east
the superpowers and the ‘isms’
aggressive/powerful countries had these characteristics
economic wealth - money and industrialization → able to build war technology
warships, tanks, etc
nationalism - extreme pride/patriotism →memorbillia, flags. canada shows this mainly in sports)
militarism - strong army/navy/air force to promote and defend interests
imperialism/colonialism - conquer areas for resources and to create an empire
avoiding a war on two fronts
schlieffen plan : “one, two punch”
in 1905, general schlieffen realized that germany could not win a war fought on two fronts at the same time, and so drew up the schlieffen plan
france →battle← germany →battle← russia
army would be split
could not win battling two fronts simaultaneously
“knock the french out quickly in the west, then crush the russians in the east”
french were more industrialized, while russians had a larger land area, would take longer, and were not as well equipped
german army had been split in 2
send small force from the south - distraction
french react by descending - soldiers move east - would back away from paris (would weaken the french strength further north, so the german win from the north would be quicker
planned to hold the russians with 400, 000 men until reserves could be moved from the western front after the defeat of the french
germany’s main thrust - huge sweeping attack from north
“hammer” france in 6 weeks - paris
send troops to russia
key was speed
blunders in 1914 : the schlieffen plan fails
general molke altered the original plan and weakened it
first group attacks from south again, but it’s a large group - 4 times the original strength (10:4), southern forces did not get driven back
french unable to chase germans and stay put to defend capital
other germans sweep in but forces too small (since first force was almost tripled), slower/less progress
france able to launch counterattack
germans stuck in their tracks - battle of the marne → made it so germany now had to fight on both fronts, schlieffen plan failed
what did they do to survive?
“dug in” - trenches in belgium/france
german trenches were typically sturdier because they were happy to stay where they were (hold territory was goal)so they dug in and dug deep so their trenches were sturdier and dugouts set deeoer with concrete and iron girders in the roof. some even had electricity
russians were weak - large but slow → had difficulty getting troops to the front lines, disorganized, poor rail system
ended up in a stalemate - “unwinnable war”
4 years of “mud and misery” with 8.5 million dead
plan failed, long war, static, war in trenches, hold territory, “dig in”, who’s willing to lose more men, mowed down by machine guns
british expeditionary force was effective because it was a well trained and professional army
a war of attrition -outlast the other side/kill more
“bullet, spade, and wire” - trench warfare
referred to the defensive trinity used in trench warfare : they used bullets to defend their trench and kill enemies, they used spades to dig the trenches, and they used wire to build a barricade in front of the trenches
“digging in” - trenches to hold territory
trenches were zigzagged to make it harder for enemy artillery to destroy them - prevented enemy soldiers from firing down the length of the trench if one section was captured
a sap was a 30 yard narrow passage past the front trench where 2 or 3 men would sit and listen for slightest enemy movement (shovels and picks underground), shell craters also worked
trenches were at least six feet deep - deeper than the tallest soldier
telephones were installed in the trenches “strictly for business”
trench warfare was slow paced, and soldiers were antsy
“attrition” - outlast, out kill, exhaust enemy
“going over the top” - running recklessly over “no man’s land” to enemy territory
100, 000 men went into “no man’s land” the first day of the battle of the somme
the battle became more defensive in nature
trains and factories could supply millions of soldiers, weapons, and supplies to the battlefield
artillery, mortars, machine guns, and poison gas made soldiers efficient killers, but slow movement on the field made it easy to defend and impossible to win any real territory
millions of lives sacrificed in fruitless offensive attacks
battle was compared to fourth of july - fireworks display
monthly salary of an american officer was $33, while dutch were paid 19 deutsh marks (roughly $5 usd)
at the start of the war, wwi was the great adventure (way out of daily ruts, way to see the world for cheap
german leggings were wrapped tight to keep mud and lice out of uniforms
steel helmets that protected from aerial shells became the most coveted accessory
soldier nicknames
british : tommy - guy in enlistment papers would be filled out with the name tommy with sample service details
germans : hun - derogatory, after militant
americans : doughboy - doughnut shaped holes in uniform
french soldier showed how to throw hand grenade
a soldier’s primary weapon was a rifle (ex: mausser), but the spade and helmet were just as valuable
canned bulla meat was called monkey meat
germans made growl out of sawdust and bread
british soldiers got a shot of rum each day
the soldiers’ worst nightmare was rain → caused flooding in trenches
the british heard the germans sing silent night on the christmas of 1914
on april 22nd, 1915, the germans introduced a new weapon : chlorine gas and mustard gas
mustard gas was the worst, it caused death (obviously), skin blisters, burned clothes
on april 6, 1917, america declared war on germany
trench mouth was sores in your mouth due to poor oral hygiene
trench foot - looked almost rotten, due to damp environment → one of most helpful things you could do was send socks to front lines
armistice was signed on nov. 11, 1918
germany’s last gasp
1918 - moved troops from the eastern front to the west
russia was out (revolution 1917, communist revolution →) as they just stopped fighting
operation michael - huge offensive thrust on western front, managed to be stopped just short of paris
fails : too many enemies, including usa
they went on offensive and began pushing germans back
food and supplies run out for german troops
allies blockaded germany
their citizens were surviving on preserved turnips
november 11, 11:00am 1918 germany surrenders
had riots, king abdicated/kaiser fled to holland, new government wanted to end the war and asked for peace
the peace treaty
big three meet in paris (bitain, france, united state)
usa only fought recently but now recognized as a world superpower
canada had own representative
germany was not invited (unusual)
common goals:
lasting peace - no war ever again, they truly believed
reward the winners
punish the losers (no punishment, they won;t learn)
two conflicting philosophies
usa - dignity in defeat - punish but allow germany to rebuild (respect)
president thomas wilson ran into trouble - idealist, wanted fair peace @ better world
14 points program for peace aimed at peace without victory
germans supported it
britain/france - humiliate and cripple, make them pay so they can never do it again
the treaty of versailles
attempt to compromise
severe punishment of germany
$33 billion penalty paid to victors
lost land and territory (alsace and lloraine), strategic and resource rich, borders germany and france, lost colonies overseas, france took over german mines for 15 years
war guilt clause - accept responsibility that they were the sole cause of wwi (schlieffen plan)
western border with france was now permanently demilitarized, preventing surprise attacks on france
1/8 of pre war territory surrendered (france, denmark, poland, czechoslovakia0
navy reduced to few surface ships, no air force, army max 100 000
germany refused to sign at first, but caved in. bitter about it
lasting peace
broke up old empires and imperialism, austria hungary, russia
new countries created via national self determination - letting the people decide based on language and culture - Austria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Turkey
league of nations
wilson’s dream - fought hard for it, supposed to be place for nations to settle problems peacefully
issue : usa didn’t join and the lon didn’t have the military force to stop aggressors
council of the league - small committee of mainly european countries that made the important decisions
general assembly - met once a year, all member nations had one vote, regardless of size
international labour office - each country sent two officials one employer and one worker to try and get better working conditions, now part of united nations
court of international justice - 15 judges to settle quarrels over territory, fishing grounds, and other things, now part of united nations
war transformed a nation
1914 - 1918 → canada gained a true sense of pride
we were played into a state of TOTAL WAR - every aspect of society was affected and directed
all aspects of life impacted by war
all natural/human resources were directed at war efforts
industrial production/food war focused
canada was steeled or hardened by war and became a nation
forced into battlehardened, growth
war programmes and propaganda → government promotion of policies
the government needed citizens to rally behind war in europe
an extensive set of programmes were created to supply the war
use of propaganda to promote/advertise
ugly numbers of 1917
approximately 400 000 troops volunteered, 1914-1917
however, the war was dragging on and the horror of war was no longer a secret
recruitments<casualties(dead/injured)
enlistments - 64, 339
casualties - 122, 946
2 to 1
why was recruitment a problem?
small nation (8 million)
willing volunteers had already stepped forward
high wages in factories and on farms
many french canadians refused to fight
simple solution: conscription
1917 introduction of military conscription act
this made military service mandatory for
men ages 18-25, up to 43 if needed
it’s not that simple 😋
conscription was a touchy subject
many canadians were against it (especially the french)
in 1914, borden had PROMISED no conscription
borden was stuck, he promised the allies more troops but there weren’t enough, many were against conscription, he couldn’t break his promise
how can this be reversed?
conscription became an election issue in 1916
people decide - a vote for the unionist government of borden means the support of conscription
two new laws are introduced
wartime elections act
women related to soldiers can vote, my son died why isn’t your son over there? make sacrifice
n 1918, Prime Minister Borden passed a bill to give women the vote
military voters act
gave soldiers overseas the vote - come help us
exemptions
soldiers brothers (you already gave one child, don’t need to sacrifice your favourite!)
farmer’s son -essential for war effort and economy - grain
results in unionists winning election and conscription getting passed!
wwi waged largely on european territory, canada utterly remote from it
canadians still expected the worst
british premier richard mcbride purchased two submarines from the usa at the outbreak to protect bc
throughout canada, guards watched bridges, railway stations, and the welland canal
burning of parliament buildings in 1916 and halifax explosion of 1917 was falsely but immediately blamed on german agents
germans did no direct damage to canada at al, yet the war left almost nothing in canadian daily life, governments, or business untouched
if the war ended as quickly as predicted, there would have been little changes
as the struggle dragged into 1915 and 1916 borden and the conservatives tried to avoid deep changes
as much of the war effort as possible was left to volunteer groups
military hospitals for sick/wounded were left to a committee of private business people
when the british looked for help from canada with ammunition, sam hughes summoned industrialist friends to forma shell committee
canadians wanted to do their part for the war
soldier’s pay was not raised from $1.10 for a private
businessmen and school children collected money to buy machine guns
women spent any extra hours knitting socks and rolling bandages for the war effort
many of these efforts were failures
hughes himself cancelled the machine gun fund since governments had already ordered all the guns that north american factories could produce
shell committee received 170 million in orders, but only delivered 5.5 millions worth on time
prices for the shells were high, quality low
some manufactures faked inspection stamps, filled pinhole faults in shells with paint
ignored fact that faulty shells could blow up guns and the soldiers who used them
britain needs for armaments grew desperate
a welsh radical, david lloyd george, took over munitions supply
by end of 1915, imperial munitions board had been set up in Canada under british control
millionaire bacon exporter joseph flavelle was put in charge, and he collected able managers who had learned their skills during the laurier boom, and backed them up when they slashed the prices of shells and enforced quality standards
when western canadians demanded more contracts, flavelle claimed that they had not even met the orders that they had already received
flavelle claimed that unions were lucky to have jobs
imperial munitions board was the largest business that canada had ever seen by 1917
had quarter million workers, 40 000 women, 400 factories
canadians could run a huge complex industry, but it took a war to show this
older industries also profited
conflict ended western europe’s wheat imports from russia, cut off lumber and paper supplies from scandinavia
canadian fields and forests could fill both these voids
in the prairies over-cropping and grain mining created the conditions that would lead to the dust-bowl of the 1930s
financing wore strained canada
federal government’s total expenditures were 184.9 million in 1913, by 1917 it was 573.5 million, with 344 million going towards the war effort
if the finance minister sir thomas white had tried to raise such sums through taxes, both rich and poor would have protested
he borrowed the money, through victory bonds
victory bonds paid back the citizens through interest
government found itself reluctantly more involved in more areas of business and family life
not enough business to make either profitable, two new transcontinental railways were verging on bankruptcy
they didn’t want to let them fail as it would have frightened investors away and given the CPR a monopoly
solution : public ownership
prohibition finally became laws, ottawa used war measures act to impose nation wide prohibition
women received vote in alberta, bc, manitoba, sasaskatchewan, and ontario in 1917
not directly related to war effort, but created atmosphere of change and expectation
canadian expeditionary force had 425 000 canadian men and women serve overseas, 35 000 joined british services
1914 still carried some victorian era beliefs and values
women/non white people were considered inferior, women belonged in the home, women were considered too frail and emotional
canada didn’t have the same communications connections and canada’s regions had little contact, and we weren’t efficient, this didn’t help us at start of war
war measures act “enemy aliens” had rights removed : mail could be censored, and the right to a fair trial was violated, detaining without a charge laid was allowed, imprisoning/deporting people on suspicion of being an “enemy alien”/threat to government was also allowed
enemy aliens - turkish, german, austrian hungarians
the rights of those from “enemy” countries were suspended for the good of canada
couldn’t have newspapers or books in their home languages, no driver’s liscense
8597 sent to work in remote camps
forced to register with local police and report regularly for inspection
concentration camps in canada - paid as low as 25 cents a day for long days of work
propaganda was used to gain the support of citizens of the war and the government’s position in the war
women organized letters and food to be sent overseas, became involved with organizations like the Red Cross, also god hired for all kinds of work. strengthened suffrage campaign
factories back then would be considered loud, lots of machinery, scary at first, probably unsafe to today’s standards
wwi issues
war profiteering : companies overcharged the government for war supplies → huge profits
hoarding or controlling supply
awarding contracts to friends/family or accepting bribery
french and english split
wwi → increased split
french canadians see the war as “britain’s war”
british canadians see the french as disloyal, resent them for not volunteering for the war
conscription → can you force people to fight in a war?
called a draft in the USA (mandatory military service)
1914 - Canada is asked to contribute rifles, bombs, shells
problem : we have a lack of factories/poor quality
the main economy was natural resources
even now, we don’t mass produce
labour cost due to minimum wage is too high, and we don’t have enough people
imperial munitions board was founded - government, private companies, politicians
organized and improved production
basis of industrial network is created
results in massive growth in production : 600 factories, 250 000 workers, $2 million in daily production
this steels canada and we become war-hardened
to grow, you need to overcome a problem
before canada was divided
were we a failure? this made us realise our potential
felt like canadians not british subjects
imperialism vs nationalism
the invisible army : women in world war 1
thousands of young men were overseas, and there was an increasing need for workers and production
women filled the void : offices, factories, on the forms
raised millions of dollars for the war effort and the support of soldiers’ families
managed farms and harvested crops
made thousands of dressings for battlefield wounds
organized knitting clubs and sent warm clothing to the soldiers shivering in the trenches
sent packages of soap, candy. and cigarettes to the soldiers
carefully rationed food and manufactured goods so that more products were available to the armed forces
bore the loss of loved ones and attended to the needs of soldiers
wanted to work
“if women in war factories stopped for 20 minutes, we should lose the war.” general joseph joffe, french commander-in-chief
problems : lower pay
women taking on a greater rolein society helped strengthen the women’s suffrage movement
women working out of the home → demand a voice in the government and the vote, along with prohibition (later passed)
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