The First World War 1914-1919

Short Term

Long Term

Trench warfare in Belgium

Millions of lives lost

Chlorine gas released by Germans

French retreat: eyes burn, tongues swell

Canadians hold ground, soak rags in muddy water and urine for protection

6000 Canadians dead, missing or wounded

Battle of Somme

Somme River

57, 000 British soldiers killed in a single day

790 Newfoundlers went over the top

68 answered roll call following morning

Key High Ground in Northern France

Germans were well established

French and British troops lost in failed
attempts to take this stronghold

To train, Canadians built a mock hill

Also learned how to use German artillery

April 9, 1917 they swept the Germans from
the Ridge

3,600 Canadians died taking the Ridge

Arther Currie – key strategist behind Vimy Ridge
– one of the greatest General of the war

Considered a nation-making moment

Passchendaele

Marshland in Belgium

British artillery had
pockmarked the ground, destroying
drainage

Heavy rains made it worse

Currie was appalled at the conditions and
insisted that with the best preparations, it would
still cost 16,000 lives

British insisted battle go forward

15, 654 lives were lost to capture 5
square kilometres of mud

In the beginning of the war many people volunteered

By late-1916, people stopped volunteering

Borden Conscription

By 1917, conscription appeared to be the only means of finding sufficient troops to fight overseas

In May 1917, Borden announced to Parliament his plan to introduce conscription

His statement divided Parliament along French and English lines and had a similar effect across the country

Borden ultimately won the election with 153, 000 seats

Pros and Cons

Pros

It would help our Allies win the war

It would allow soldiers that have been fighting for a long period to come home safely

It would force French Canadian men to play a role in the war effort

It would ensure that Canada would keep the strong reputation they had gained by fighting in the war to this point

Cons

French threatened to riot if this happened because they did not want to fight for the British Empire

They also felt that the military did not treat them equally because officers did not speak French to them

Farmers felt that they were playing an important role by being at home, producing food for the Allies

Pacifists did not want to be forced to fight in a war because they felt that violence wasn’t the solution to this international problem

End of the War

Post War Canada:

Closing of War Industries

Winnipeg General Strike 1919

Prohibition & Bootlegging

Death was a constant companion to
those men in the line

Trench Cycle

Trench Foot

No Man's Land

Canada's Contributions at Home:

When making the ships there were many empty spots, some given to the women

Government encouraging Canadians to give victory bonds

Canada provided food

Propaganda posters made by government

Introducing income taxes

Contributions Overseas:

33, 000 Canadians coming to Britain to help fight in war

Canadians defeating the Germans during Ypres battle

Canada made many ships for the wars

66, 000 Canadians died in the war

Canadians fought bravely

By the end of the war 1 million Canadians helped out in the war some way

Militarism: A massive buildup of armed forces to deter rivals

Nationalism: Pride and patriotism in one's nation/national identity

Imperialism- All of the great powers were competing for colonies/territory

WW1 fighting stopped on 11 November 1918

Time period men would spend in the line

This amount of time would vary from weeks to months

These death was a constant companion to
those men in the line

Area between the opposing trenches

Off limits during the day

After a battle many bodies would be left in No Man's Land

June 28, 1914

Fungal infection of the feet that would cause gangrene and possibly amputation

Even in areas where there was no action there was constant shellfire