interwar period 1919-1939

definitions

diplomacy: the relationships countries have with one another

propaganda: biased and misleading information used to promote a particular point of view. In war it was used as a political strategy to encourage hatred against and enemy, and justify the governments decisions

self-assertion: the confident promotion of one’s self

pacifism: the belief that war is never justifiable (peaceful)

civil war: a war within a country

encroachment: infiltration

empire: a group of countries controlled by a single country

militarism: the belief that a country should have a strong military and use it aggressively

arms race: a competition in the development and accumulation of weapons between nations

expansionism: expanding a country’s territory, power, and wealth through military aggression (side effect of militarism and imperialism)

compound: make something bad, worse

alliance: union formed between countries for mutual benefits or goals

Entente Cordiale: friendly understanding

nationalism: an extreme form of patriotism

patriotism: love for one’s country

jingoism: nationalism in the form of aggressive military action

imperialism: a governmental policy which aims to extend a country’s power and control over other countries (usually done through military force)

colonialism: an imperialist country taking control of a foreign nation

inextricable: unable to be separated

dreadnought: sophisticated and heavily armed battleships made by Britain

nassau: German sophisticated and heavily armed battleships

assassination: the surprise murder of an important person for political/religious reasons

occupy: take control of a country using military

heir: someone who will inherit something, often royalty ranks

annex: to forcibly add another country into one’s own country using one‘s military

The Black Hand: terrorist group that assassinated the Archduke of AH. They wanted freedom from AH control

dominion: self governing territory in the British Empire. ex- Canada controls its internal affairs (taxes, education, elections), but Britain controls Canada’s foreign affairs (relationships with other countries)

gambit: chess term meaning an opening move that sacrifices a piece for a long term advantage

autonomy: freedom from external control

civil liberties: the rights a person holds that are protected from government interference

enemy aliens: citizens from any country at war with Canada

Canadian Expeditionary Force: Canada’s overseas armed forces

No. 2 Construction Battalion: the government allowed black Canadians to join the CEF but only in non-combat roles. Hundreds of black Canadians formed the No. 2 Construction Battalion, they did all the hard hard work and all the officers were white except for one

mobilize: to prepare and organize an army for active service

the fog of war: confusion caused by the chaos of battle

stalemate: a situation in which progress is impossible for all parties

front: the furthest point an army has reached

entrench: to dig trenches as fortifications

The Schlieffen Plan: the German blueprint for the invasion and takeover France.

salient: a bulge that protects into enemy territory

flank: left/right side of an army

tenacious: very determined

frontal assault: an attack directly on the front of an enemy force (go into the enemy’s front trench and kill the soldiers inside)

“over the top”: to send thousands of men out of their trench and across no man’s land

artillery: massive guns that need 3-12 men to work

vickers machine: WWI machine guns

pyrrhic victory: a victory that is won at too great of a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor

strafing: to fly combat airplanes very low and shoot at a defensive lines

synchronization gear: allow machine guns to shoot through the plane propeller

dissuaded: to persuade someone to not take a particular course of action

renege: to go back on a promise

polarized: when something is divided into two sharply contrasting groups

The Military Service Act: the Act that forced conscription on Canadians

fortify: strengthen protection against attacks

The creeping barrage: A attack tactic where artillery would continue to fire as infantry advanced (instead of ceasing fire when men would go over the top because it would let the Germans know they were coming)

mythologized: to promote an idealized (glamourized) image of something

armistice: an agreement made by opposing sides to stop fighting

imposed: to force something unwelcome to be accepted

cede: to give up power/territories

demilitarize: to remove all military forces from a given area

respirations: the making of amends for a wrong one has caused. Often involves paying money to the wronged party

League of Nations: version 1 of the UN, Germany was not allowed to join. It was established to maintain peace and prevent future wars

systematic racism: racism that is embedded as a ‘normal’ practice in an organization (Canada)

self governing: having control over its own foreign affairs

countries

Germany: Germany was aggressive, unpredictable, and powerful but they wanted more power and a larger empire. They felt the need to assert their dominate in Europe — Britain was restricting this because of their powerful navy.

Austria-Hungary (AH): In AH there were so many different ethnicities and each wanted to become their own country, they were constantly facing the threat of civil war. This made AH vulnerable and looking for an alliance.

Italy: Italy had just become a country in 1861 and they were also very unstable. Italy and France strongly dislike each other. Italy desired an empire to increase their respect, so their strategy was so join the side of the war that offered more territory.

France: France hated Germany and they were fighting over Morocco

Russia: Russia was huge but weak. After a failed attempt to expand in Asia, Russia seemed allies. Russia also felt threatened by AH infiltration in Africa (Serbia and Montenegro). By 1907 Russia and Britain had solidified their friendship in case Russia needed help fighting AH.

Britain: Britain held the world’s largest empire. They believed it was better if no single country was dominant in Europe. They thought if AH, Russia, Germany, and France were worried about each other, then they would be less of a threat to Britain. Britain realized Germany had begun to dominate so they began to support France and Russia.

long term causes

MANI

the causes for the war were woven into the very fabric of society and were very complex

Militarism

Because militarism stems from the idea of a nation’s power depending on its military strength, Germany began an naval arms race with Britain. By trying to outdo each other, both countries depleted their wealth and increased their reliance on their colonies.

Alliances

There were two competing alliances during WWI:

Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.

• The triple alliance begun with Germany and AH forming a dual alliance in 1879, then Italy joining in 1882.
• Occasionally referred to as ‘the Central Powers’

Triple Entente: France, Britain, Russia

• France felt threatened by the Triple Alliance and Britain was concerned about Germany’s navy growth.
• They signed the Entente Cordiale in 1904 and three years later Russia (fearing the growth of German army) joined.

Nationalism

Nationalism encourages people to be their worst, and then tells them that they are the best

Imperialism

Between 1881 and 1941, European imperialist powers invaded divided, and colonized Africa. They had two major goals: Increase the size of their empire, and steal massive amounts of natural resources.

Competition for colonies created intense rivalries, this led to ‘border wars’ between European powers

short-term cause

MANI-A

assassination

The heir to the AH throne was assassinated in Bosnia, he was the only man in the AH government that could stop the drift towards war.

Why was the Archduke assassinated?

AH had occupied and annexed Bosnia and Bosnians weren’t happy with this.

How was he assassinated? By who?

Garrulous Princip, member of the Black Hand, killed the Archduke and his wife. There were 7 assassins ordered to kill the Archduke. 1-6 failed, 7– Princip— succeeded. The first assassin was beside a police man, second threw a grenade and missed the car, 3-6 could not see the car because of the panic from the grenade. Princip (7) was standing on the wrong street but by chance ran into the Archduke who took the wrong turn.

result

• AH sent an intentionally unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia,
• Serbia pointed out that they had nothing to do with the assasination
• Serbia rejects the ultimatum and AH declares war
• Russia mobilizes their army to defend Serbia
• Germany mobilizes to defend AH
• France mobilizes to defend Russia
• Britain waits to mobilize and Italy refuses to mobilize anywhere
• Germany attacked Belgium and Luxembourg (neutral) to get into France
• Britain defend Belgium, and offers Germany an ultimatum- withdraw form Germany or face war
• Germany rejects the ultimatum and Britain mobilizes
• Canada joins the war as a country of the British Empire

Canada goes to war

Because Canada is a dominion they had to participate somehow in the war, but they could control the nature and extent of the war effort.

Sir Robert Borden

previously a school teacher and lawyer, Borden had been Prime Minister since 1911. He knew that Canada was unprepared for war so he wanted to use wartime sacrifices to increase Canadian autonomy (independence).

The Borden’s Gambit

1. the war measures act- purpose to maintain order and win the war at all costs. The world measures act allowed the government to arrest, deport, confiscate property, and more without reason.
2. recruitment- the first two years of the war, enlisting was voluntary. Most black, Italians, Jewish, Chinese, and Japanese’s Canadians were not assigned to labour battalions.

Schlieffen Plan

Why was the Schlieffen Plan created?

Germany was trapped between France and Russia.

The strategy was to knock France out of the war before Russia could attack in the East.

major flaws

• The Schlieffen plan had retired in 1906 and the plane was not updated prior to 1914
• Germany still though Russia was weak and disorganized but they weren’t anymore
• The plan was created to fight one enemy then the other, not both at once.

the plan

1. once Russia mobilized their troops, Germany would invade France

   1. the assumption was that Russia would take 6 weeks to mobilize and in that time Germany could beat Russia

2. Germany would invade via Belgium and Luxembourg

3. after destroying France, Germany would move their troops to the East to fight Russia

what actually happened

• Germany invaded Belgium and Luxembourg
  • Britain defended Belgium’s neutrality
• Russia mobilized its army in 10 days- not 6 weeks
• Germany was forced to split their army and fight a two-front war
• France defended intelligently with the help of Britain and defeated Germany at the Battle of the Marne
• A stalemate began

Battle of Ypres

the battle of Ypres is significant for two major reasons:

1. it was Canadas first engagement in the war
2. it was the first battle to use poison gas as a weapon

why did the battle take place at Ypres?

Ypres was the last city remaining in the triple entente hands. Canada defended Ypres because it provided access to all of the French ports and the English Channel

what happened in the battle of Ypres?

• Britain, Canada, France, Belgians and other colonies of Britain defended while Germany attacked
• Germany chlorine gas-bombed the defending armies
• this allowed the Germans in, however Canada counterattacked through the gas and stopped them from advancing

what was the outcome from the battle of Ypres?

• the battle lasted 4 days
• the CEF gained a new reputation that they were fearless, tenacious, and courageous
• The CEF’s new reputation came at a heavy cost (many injures and deaths)
  • Canada’s victory over Germany was the first time ever that a colony defeated a colonizer
• it was a pyrrhic victory

Battle of the Somme

The stalemate continued into 1916 so both sides began frontal assaults attack to beat the trench system. The problem with this was that when the attacking soldiers went over the top, they would be killed by the barbed wire and enemy guns.

What was the Battle of the Somme?

An attempt to break the stalemate.

Problems with the Battle of the Somme?

The Battle of the Some was everything wrong with WWI. There was a massive cost for almost no gain for either side. It was a pyrrhic victory for the Allies (triple entente).

Conscription Crisis

• Men weren’t enlisting after the massacres of Ypres and the Somme.
• The army needed a lot more men in the army then they had.
• Borden broke his promise not to conscript and it tore the country apart

Who was pro-conscription?

• the prime minister
• English speaking Canadians and British immigrants
  • Why? The Prime Minister spoke English
• Families of the soldiers
  • Why? They see this as more help for them
• Older Canadians
  • Why? They weren’t fighting in the war and patriotism

Who was against conscription?

• French speaking Canadians
  • Why? The Prime Minister doesn’t speak French
• Non-British immigrants
  • Why? They don’t really care
• Farmers
  • They provide the food for the soldiers- which is a lot of work

What was the argument for conscription?

• without conscription Canada would have to withdraw from the war and without Canada Germany would win the war
• it is Canada‘s patriotic duty
• those against it are disloyal and cowards

What was the argument agains conscription?

• Borden broke his promise
• Canada had already contributed enough in the war
• Canada was throwing away lives for nothing and forcing people to kill against their will
• Those for it were bloody thirsty imperialists

What happened?

• parliament passed the Military Service Act
• Quebec rioted and the country split

Battle of Vimy Ridge

in order to avoid another massacre, like at the Somme, Canadians were more prepared and used the new creeping barrage attack.

What was the outcome of Vimy Ridge?

• Canada captured Vimy Ridge at a terrible cost
• the stalemate continued
• Vimy Ridge became mythologized in Canada and was seen as where Canada moved from ‘colony’ to ‘nation’. The counterargument was that people make nations not wars
• All Canadians agree that Vimy was important

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles is the agreement that brought the war to an end

The Terms of the Treaty of Versailles: The terms were technically negotiated but in reality Germany had no choice but to accept no matter how difficult.

The Treaty covered gout major areas; TMRW

1. Territory-

   1. Germany had to accept the independence of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland
   2. Germany was forced to cede its colonies
   3. Germany’s mainland was reduced and given to its neighbours

2. The Military-

   1. Germany has to demilitarize its border with France
   2. The German army could have a maximum of 100,000 men and no tanks or artillery
   3. they weren’t allowed an air force
   4. they were only allowed 6 Nassau battleships, 30 light ships, and no submarines

3. Reparations-

   1. Germany had to pay back the costs of the war to GB, France, and Belgium

4. War Guilt-

   1. Germany was forced to accept 100% of the responsibility for causing the war

What were the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles?

• Germany was humiliated
• Germany’s economy crashed
• Borden Gambit was a pyrrhic success
• The conscription crisis shattered Canada internally
• the war had exposed systematic racism in Canada