Part II: World War I (1914 - 1918)

Canada's role in World War I.

                World War I is probably one of the most influential periods in Canadian history, because Canada officially became known as its own country, rather than just an extension of Britain. A force to be reckoned with. This report will talk about the four long-term causes, the short-term cause, the battle of Ypres, the battle of the Somme, Vimy Ridge, and the Treaty of Versailles and the restrictions it put on Germany and the rest of The Triple Alliance.

                World War I took many years to fully develop. There were four long-term causes and one short-term cause. The long-term causes were nationalism, alliances, imperialism, and military. Nationalism means being proud enough of your country to fight for it. Countries like Britain, France, and Germany tried to make their people believe that their country was better than any other. Britain had the most powerful navy in the world, and Germany wanted to gain colonies overseas to build up its empire (imperialism), but Britain would not allow it. Britain also created the Dreadnaught and made alliances with Germany’s neighbours to restrict them. This caused ill feelings between the two countries. The French despised Germany for taking their two provinces, Alsace and Lorraine in the 1870 war. They vowed to get them back, and another war was expected. The Russians were powerful, but felt ignored by the other countries, and knowing that Serbia and Austria-Hungary were at each other’s throats, unofficially allianced themselves with Serbia, hoping that there would be a war between them so they could prove themselves. Alliances means to support another country in war. There were two major alliances: The Triple Entente and The Triple Alliance. The Triple Entente was made up of Britain, France, and Russia, and The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. These alliances were made to avoid a war, but in reality, helped create it, because one misunderstanding would force all the countries to go to war with their alliances. Imperialism means to gain colonies to build up your empire. Many countries felt they were being denied their rights, because of Britain’s control over the seas and the colonies. The Kaiser (German ruler) tried to take British colonies in Africa, but Britain protected them fiercely. This created animosity between the two countries. Military strength means investing money to improve your military (weapons, soldiers etc). Britain built a huge state-of-the-art battleship called the Dreadnaught. In retaliation, Germany built three more, and so the race for the most ships began. By 1914, Britain had 29 battleships, and Germany had 17. Not only did they not have as many ships as Britain, but Germany also had no money left.

                The short-term cause started with the assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. Austria-Hungary had taken part of Serbia, known as Bosnia in a previous war. Bosnians were furious and wanted to return to Serbian control. They created a terrorist group called The Black Hand to launch regular attacks on the Austrian people to make them relent. The archduke knew that his only hope of being a successful ruler was to unite the Bosnians and the Austrians. Against his advisor’s wishes, he went to Bosnia with his wife to restore peace, but when his driver missed a turn, and went to turn around, he and his wife were shot dead by a member of The Black Hand, Gavrilo Princip. The Austrians were furious, and demanded a public apology from Serbia, the handing over of all The Black Hand members, and permission to allow Austrian troops into Serbia to make sure they “stay in line”. The Serbians refused, saying that Bosnia wasn’t their country anymore, and therefore not their problem, and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and because of previous alliances, Germany and Italy jumped in to help Austria-Hungary, Russia jumped in to help Serbia, and Britain and France jumped in to help Russia. That is how World War I began.

                Many Canadians were still loyal to Britain so we decided to go to war to defend our “mother country”. The battle of Ypres was a huge part of Canadian history. It was Canada’s first battle, and also the first time they were exposed to the German’s deadly weapon, chlorine gas. Surprised by the attack, the French abandoned their posts to get away, but the Canadians stood their ground until reinforcements arrived. 6000 Canadians lost their lives in this battle. Another important battle was the battle of the Somme. This is the battle in which Canadians earned the title of capable soldiers.

                Possibly the most important battle for Canadians in World War I was Vimy Ridge, because it was the first battle in which Canadians fought as their own country. There was a ridge looking over the battlefield, under German occupation. The French and British had tried unsuccessfully to obtain it for years, and finally decided to let the Canadian troops have a shot at it. Their leader was Arthur Currie. Currie ran through drills of the attack before actually performing it, and decided, rather than sending the barrage of shells and then the troops afterwards, he would send them at the same time. Although this sacrificed many lives (10 602), it caught the Germans by surprise and won Vimy Ridge for the Triple Entente.

                On November 11th, 1918, at 11:00 am, World War I ended. Germany had surrendered. The victors met in Paris to discuss the terms of the peace treaty. Canada was reluctantly given two seats in Parliament, and the peace treaty which was created (The Treaty of Versailles) was very strict on Germany. Many people still argue today that this treaty was the cause of World War II. The restrictions on the Germans included:

Limit army to 100 000.
Ban submarines and major battleships.
Disband the air force.
Return Alsace and Lorraine to France.
Allow the French occupation of the Ruhr coalfields for 15 years.
Demilitarize the Rhineland.
Give up the African colonies.
Pay a large reparation equivalent to $35 billion Canadian today.
Admit guilt as the aggressor of the war.

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Bibliography

Bolotta, Angelo. Hawkes, Charles. Jarman, Fred. Kierstead, Marc and Jennifer Watt. Canada: Face of a Nation. Toronto: Janice Schoening, 2000.

 

Canadian Encyclopedia, The. Accessed 2005. <www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com>

 

“Canada History: Canada and World War I”. Links North. Accessed 2005. <www.linksnorth.com/canada-history/ canadaandworldwar1.html>

Francis, Douglas, and Donald Smith. Readings in Canadian History Post-Confederation Second Edition. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data: Anthony Luengo, 1986.

“Canada History: Canada and World War I”. Links North. Accessed 2005. <www.linksnorth.com/canada-history/ canadaandworldwar1.html>