WWI

CANADA GOES TO WAR; MAJOR BATTLES

FIRST

Let’s check-in

CANADA GOES TO WAR

Canada automatically entered the war as part of the British Empire

Prime minister Robert Borden

(1911-1920)

• Sent a force of 25,000 men

• Called for volunteers

• 10,000 men did• And hundreds of women

CANADA GOES TO WAR

Why did Canadians volunteer?

Patriotism Adventure

Most volunteers were recent immigrants from Britain

War was the “great adventure”

TRAINING

Sir Sam Hughes

• Minister of Militia and Defense

Hughes was responsible for overseeing/coordinating the training and outfitting of Canadian troops

Training Camp set-up at Valcartier, Quebec

EQUIPPING

The Ross Rifle

• One of the best rifles for accuracy!

• Canadian made!

• Terrible in trench warfare

SAM HUGHES

The Ross rifle is an example of one of the major criticisms of Sam Hughes

Others included:

• Poor administrator

• Inefficiency and confusion

• Profiteer

• Allowed patronage• E.g. boots, shells

He was dismissed in 1916

THE CANADIAN CORPS

When Canadian soldiers arrived on the Western Front in 1915:

• They were formed into the Canadian Corps

• Canadians fought as one unit alongside (not within) the British units

• Pride at home; unity amongst the troops in Europe!

• What about Newfies? • Newfoundland was not part of Canada yet• Newfoundlanders joined the Newfoundland Regiment

• At first commanded by a Brit, General Julian Byng

• In 1917, command was given to a Canadian (!)

• Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie

SCHLEIFFEN

Didn’t work!

Germany made it through Belgium (with heavy resistance) but were stopped in Northeast France. Neither side could breakthrough.

One result:

• A two-front war

One outcome:

• A STALEMATE: The war would remain in Northeast France for the next three years!

STALEMATE

Trench warfare was the result of this stalemate

Protected from: machine gun fire

Vulnerable to: artillery, bombs, gas

Let’s look at the anatomy of the battlefield

BATTLE OF ATTRITION/TOTAL WAR

Two things that made WWI unique in world history

Battle of Attrition (or War of Attrition)

The name of the game (like Survivor) was OUTLAST

Grinding the other side down

Total War

All resources went towards the war. The home front (a new term to describe civilian society during the war) was

becoming as important as the battle front

FIVE BATTLES

Ypres, 1915

Somme, 1916

Vimy, 1917

Passchendaele, 1917

Last Hundred Days, 1918

GAS

FRONTAL

CANADIAN CORPS

MUD

WORN OUT