WWIWWI1914-19181914-1918

WWI TIMELINE

1914 1915 1916 1917 1917 1918

Battle

of Ypres

Battle

of Somme

Vimy Ridge Battle of

Passchendaele

UNDERLYING CAUSES OF WWI

MILITARISM

ALLIANCES

IMPERIALSIM

NATIONALISM

SIGNIFICANT PERSONALITIES

M

A

I

N

SImmediate Cause

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo by Terrorist group, “the Black Hand”

MILITARISM

“the policy of building up military forces and weaponry and of threatening armed aggression.”

• Each country wanted a better army than the others.

ALLIANCES

• Agreements/Treaties between nations

IMPERIALISM

• “A nation’s extension of its authority over other lands by political, economic, or military means.”

• Purpose: to gain land and resources

NATIONALISM

• “Devotion to the interest of a nation, sometimes leading to putting the interests of the nation above everything else.”

• Pride in one’s country

• Loyalty

ASSASSINATION

• June 28, 1914

• Francis Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria was assassinated by a member of the Serbian terrorist group called the Black Hand

• This triggered the start of WWI

WHO DECLARED WAR ON WHOM?

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 (Russia supports Serbia)

• Germany declared war on Russia (Germany & Austria-Hungary had an alliance)

• France declared war on Germany• Germany then declared war on France and

Belgium • Britain declared war on Germany – Canada

followed themEtc, etc, etc

The Alliances

The Triple Entente (The Allies)

The Triple Alliance (The Central Powers)

BRITAIN GERMANY

FRANCE AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

RUSSIA ITALY

THE TRENCHES

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/trenches-35th.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Rear-guard_Trenches_NGM-v31-p370.jpg/500px-Rear-guard_Trenches_NGM-v31-p370.jpg

www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/.../trenches/slide09.htm

www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/.../trenches/slide09.htm

LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

• Usually filled with water creating thick mud and slimy water up to their knees.

• Most soldiers were infected with lice

• Many also got trench foot (their feet swelled up, became numb, and in many situations were amputated

THE BATTLE OF YPRESYPRES, BELGIUM 1915

• First chlorine gas attack -- used by the Germans• Germans fired lethal chlorine gas towards the

Western Front (French and the Canadians)• The Germans had the wind on their side, blowing

towards the Canadians• Soldiers suffocated to death many survived by

holding a wet, often urine-soaked, rag over their nose and mouths.

• Over 6000 Canadian soldiers died – but they managed to hold their ground.

THE BATTLE OF THE SOMMEFrance, 1916

• Western Front (French and British) vs. Germans• Allied forces wanted to break through German line• Modern technology and artillery such as machine guns

created a deadly battle – British used tanks for first time

• On the first day alone, the British lost 58 000 troops• Newfoundland Regiment suffers 90% casualties• A total of over 1 million men had been killed• By the end of the Battle, the allied forces gained 12

km of land

The Somme Memorial

Beaumont Hamel

VIMY RIDGEFrance, 1917

http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/vimy/vimy_maps_e.html

• Vimy Ridge was a hump of land that gave the Germans a commanding view of the Allied lines

• The Canadians prepared by creating a replica of the Vimy Ridge, so the soldiers can practice their strategy.

www.archives.gov.on.ca/.../big/big_03_vimy.htm

• Canadians fired hundreds of shells at once creating a wall of mud. Every 3 minutes, new shellfire was launched 90 meters forward.

• It was important for the soldiers on foot to stay at a steady pace behind the creeping barrage of shells. This method blocked the Germans view of the Canadians approaching.•(http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/vimy/)

Vimy Ridge MonumentVimy Ridge Monument

THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDALEBelgium, 1917

• The Allies vs. the Germans• The battlefield was all muddy and swampy

• Their mission was to break through the German line, to get to their submarines on the Belgium coast

• After several attacks, the Canadian troops eventually reached the town of Passchendaele.

• Over 15 000 Canadian soldiers died.

Conscription (The Military Service Act)

• This meant that all men between the ages of 20-45 would be required to register for military service join the army.

• This was made law because there were not enough volunteers enlisting

• There was a severe shortage of troops

CONSCRIPTIONMonth (1917) Enlistments Casualties

January 9 194 4 396

May 6 407 13 457

November 4 019 30 741

CANADA’S HUNDRED DAYS

• August 8 – November 11, 1918• These were the final days before the end

of WWI• The Allied troops attempted to recapture

the territory that had been taken from them by the Germans

• Germans were exhausted and asked for an agreement to stop hostilities.

• This ended WWI

Support for the War

• People on the home front produced as much food as possible for the troops.

• They reduced the amount of food that they ate at home and tried to waste little.

• Women and children worked long hours in the fields harvesting and producing food

• Raised funds• The war was costing over $1000 000 • Victory Bonds were a way to help contribute to

this cost.

AFTER WWI

• The Paris Peace Conference

-Allied leaders gathered to set the terms of peace

-Canada was given 2 seats at the conference

-League of Nations was created to guarantee peace and to punish aggressive nations

-A new Europe emerged after WWI

http://www.dean.usma.edu/HISTORY/web03/atlases/great%20war/great%20war%20%20pages/great%20war%20map%2002.htm

TREATY OF VERSAILLES

• Required Germany to pay war reparations to France, Britain and Russia as compensation for damages

• Germany was forced to surrender rich coal mines

• They were denied a naval and air force and their military was reduced. This was to prevent them from becoming a military power.

• Germany was forbidden from joining an alliance• Also to acknowledge the independence of

Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Home Sweet Home??

• Spanish Flu : 1918 world wide pandemic killed up to 100 million people.

• Battle Wounds: soldiers arrived home with injured or missing limbs, illnesses, psychological problems e.g. shell shock

• After the war, cost of living dramatically

increased. Making it worse, it was difficult to find a job.

THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE

• May 1919• 30 000 working people went on strike• Strikers demanded:

– Better pay– Better working conditions

Higher cost of living (increase in cost for foodand clothes) meant that higher pay was neededto survive.