Canadians Fighting in Europe Most Canadian soldiers fought as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), a part of the British Army. They even had British officers commanding them. As Canadians began to distinguish themselves, they were used as shock troops in difficult battles; they were that good. In 1917, Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie became the first Canadian in a command position.
Canadians Fighting in Europe 1915: Ypres (Flanders, Belgium) Soldiers of the First Canadian Division held their position in spite of the first poison gas attack More than 6000 died defending a gap in the trenches, through which the Germans tried to reach the English Channel **See pp. 77-78 of your textbook**
Canadians Fighting in Europe The Somme - Beaumont Hamel July 1, 1916 marks a special day for Newfoundlanders The Allies wanted to break through a German line 40km long near the Somme (river). For 7 days before the battle, the Allies threw 1.7 million shells on the German positions BUT, the shells failed to eliminate the barbed wire and did not destroy the German trenches.
Unfortunately at 9:00am when 801 men of the Newfoundland Regiment got the signal to attack, they were the only soldiers on the battlefield... and even worse the Newfoundlanders had cut holes in their barbed wire so they could more easily enter no mans land. Therefore, the German machine gunners had a target.
684 casualties resulted from the 30-min battle, including 310 dead. Only 68 of the original 801 answered roll call next morning The Newfoundland Regiment lost 91% of its men.
Canadians Fighting in Europe 1916: The Somme (Somme River, France) An offensive to take the town of Courcelette bogged down in August Canadians were called in to help, and captured Courcelette on September 15 Over the course of the battle, the Canadians advanced a total of 10km, and suffered over 24,000 casualties. The Allies lost over 650,000 men; both sides with over 1,200,000 dead. **see p. 78
Canadians Fighting in Europe 1916: The Somme "The Canadians," wrote Lloyd George, "played a part of such distinction that thenceforward they were marked out as storm troops; for the remainder of the war they were brought along to head the assault in one great battle after another. Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst."
Over the Top:Canadians Charging on the Somme, France, October 1916 The Battle of the Somme typifies the tragic futility of trench warfare. For a stretch of a few square kilometres, Canadian troops lost over 8,000 dead and 16,000 wounded soldiers. The British and French suffered combined losses that numbered in the hundreds of thousands
Canadians Fighting in Europe April, 1917: Vimy Ridge (France) The Canadian Corps fought for the first time as one unit here, and captured the ridge by directly following an artillery barrage After four days of fighting, the Canadians captured all of their objectives, losing 10 602 men in the process **See pp.78-79
CThe Taking of Vimy Ridge, Easter Monday 1917, by Richard Jack. CCanada's victory at Vimy Ridge took on enormous symbolic importance, not only for the military, but also for the nation at large. The event may even have played a direct role in Canada's constitutional evolution by providing the cause of greater independence additional moral authority. Some seven days after the battle, Sir Robert Borden pushed through a resolution at the Imperial War Conference declaring Canada and the other dominions "autonomous nations of an Imperial Commonwealth."
Vimy Ridge Memorial, France
Canadians Fighting in Europe After Vimy Ridge Canadians were sent to a variety of trouble spots that other units had trouble with At Passchendale (Belgium) on Oct 30, 1917, General Currie argued that muddy conditions would make the attack impossible. He was overruled, the Canadians attacked and were successful - but lost 16 000 of their original 20 000 men in the process
Canadians Fighting in Europe 1918: Canada s 100 Days (Aug 4-Nov 11) This coincided with the Allies final offensive of the war, which led to the defeat of the German Army. 46 000 Canadians died or were wounded during this period, in battles at such places as Arras and Cambrai. Canadians led Allied troops into Mons, Belgium on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, the end of the war.
Tommy Ricketts Born on April 15, 1901 in Middle Arm, White Bay, Newfoundland, Ricketts enlisted aged 15 and 4 months into Royal Newfoundland Regiment during WW1 He received the Victoria Cross for gallantry in battle and returned a hero
Tommy Ricketts A plaque in downtown St. John s commemorates his heroism and a road has been named after him.
At Sea WWI s Other Fronts Despite the huge naval arms race there was only one, inconclusive naval battle in WWI The Battle of Jutland. Submarines (U-Boats) remained the biggest threats to Allied shipping for much of the war Germany used them to blockade Britain
In the Air WWI s Other Fronts Canadians distinguished themselves as pilots Billy Bishop won the Victoria Cross for shooting down 72 enemy planes. The Red Baron, Germany s most famous ace was shot down by Roy Brown, a Canadian
Canada s Home Front Fighting the war at home
The Role of Government in Wartime Gov t had to keep running the country AND keep the homeland safe AND pay the cost of the war In 1914, it passed the War Measures Act which gave the government control over many areas of life in Canada
1. Treatment of enemy aliens gov t could arrest and detain anyone suspected of being an enemy Suspected enemies did not have usual protections under the law Sometimes just being a German or Austrian descendant was enough... The gov t took progressively harsher steps against enemy aliens :
1. Forbidden to own weapons 2. Required to register with the police 3. Outlawed German newspapers 4. Recent immigrants lost right to vote 5. 8500 were interned in camps
2. Dictating food production Wheat production went down as many farmers enlisted to fight Gov t placed quotas on farmers and recruited women and teenagers to move west and work on farms Canadian wheat fed Canadian, British and French troops
3. Dictating industrial production Canadian metals (copper, lead, zinc and nickel) were in high demand The WMA allowed the gov t to tell companies what to make to fill their wartime needs
By war s end Canadian factories were supplying 35% of all British and Canadian ammunition They also produced ships, aircraft and explosives Canadian industry made HUGE profits from the war
The Cost of War To help pay for the war the Government: Placed special taxes on business and brought in a temporary personal income tax
They also temporarily taxed:
The gov t sold Victory Bonds short term loans from Canadian citizens which would be cashed in (with interest) after the war Idea is that the gov t would borrow money from Canadians and repay them later...
The Conscription Crisis 1917 By 1916 war casualties were growing Enlistment was shrinking because: Many French did not support the British/European war Pacifists (people who oppose war as a means of settling disputes) and some religious groups refused to fight Farmers (male and female) needed their sons to work the fields
PM Robert Borden and his Conservative gov t passed the Military Services Act which conscripted single men between the ages of 20 and 35 Conscription = forced military service
In 1917 Borden was up for re-election The Liberal party (under Laurier) opposed conscription but many English speaking Canadians still supported the war Borden suggested that the war-supporting Liberals join with the Conservatives to form a Union government (joining both parties) for the election French Canadians (under Henri Bourassa) opposed the war and conscription
The nation was very divided as the election became about whether or not you supported conscription Borden and the Union gov t won, but the results showed that MANY Canadians did NOT support conscription The war ended before most conscripts saw combat but it reinforced the bitter divide between French and English (sound familiar?)
Women s lives changed dramatically! They helped the war effort both at home and overseas in many ways Women and WWI
1. Overseas 1000s served as: Ambulance drivers Food service providers Office personnel Nurses: both in British and French hospitals AND in close proximity to the trenches!
Largest role was replacing men in the workforce: Making munitions in factories Working in gov t jobs Farming 2. At Home
Women also did the majority of volunteer and unpaid work: Knitting socks and sending parcels to soldiers Collecting money Rationing (reducing consumption of food and fuel) Buying victory bonds
War and the suffrage movement WWI was the biggest reason women gained the right to vote Why?
Working and volunteering with other large groups of women made it easier to share ideas and organize demonstrations Women began to argue that if they could do the same jobs as men they should be given the same rights as men They began to pressure the government and had a stronger voice...
To gain votes in the 1917 election, Borden promised to give women the right to vote In 1917 the Union government passed the Wartime Elections Act which allowed mothers, daughters, sisters and wives of soldiers the right to vote By the end of the war, women over 21 had the right to vote in most federal and provincial elections
Two steps forward, one back... In spite of the amazing progress made by women because of WWI: They earned less than men for the same work They were expected to give up their jobs to men after the war Native and Asian women (like Native and Asian men) did not get the right to vote
What do you think? Look at the map on p. 94. Who was the first to get the vote? Who was the last? Why might that be so? Was WWI good for the women s movement?
Legacy of war Britain had drawn Canada into war in 1914 In 1916 PM Robert Borden was invited into the Imperial War Cabinet Here he helped pass Resolution IX which stated that all British dominions, including Canada, would be recognized as autonomous nations after the war.
Treaty of Versailles Signed in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference Canada signed as an independent country
Treaty of Versailles The peace terms were designed to weaken Germany Germany had to accept total blame for the war Had to give up its weapons, ships, air force Had to give back all conquered land, colonies Had to pay extremely high reparations Had to allow Allied troops to be stationed on its territory