A Nation Emerges

War before war- Boer War Throughout history,

Britain spent time and energy constructing a vast empire. Britain had colonies in countries around the world including:

Canada Australia and New

Zealand India Hong Kong South America Egypt Many places in Africa

Due to the increasing population density in Europe Dutch/French and German settlers also came to South Africa in the mid 1600’s (1652) who became known as Boers. South Africa contains some of the world’s largest diamond mines and gold fields…. The Boers wanted to free themselves and gain independence from Britain, but Britain did not want to give up their potential source of wealthy resources.So the Boer War began (1899)

HOW DID THE BOER WAR AFFECT CANADIANS?

Many people in Canada were willing to help “Mother Britain” and so people volunteered to fight on behalf of Britain.  However, most of the French Canadians did NOT want to fight in a British led “Imperialist” war. Henri Bourassa argued that the Canadians had no issues or problems with the Boers, and therefore should not get involved.  PM Wilfred Laurier was caught in the middle of a debate…. Should he force people to fight for Britain and side with the English Canadians? OR Not get involved in the Boer War and make the French Canadians happy.

War before war- Balkan wars

 Ottoman Empire:50,000 killed100,000 wounded115,000 captured75,000 dead of diseaseTotal: 340,000 dead, wounded or captured

 Bulgaria8,840 killed4,926 missing36,877 wounded10,995 deceased

 Greece:2,373 killed in action or died of wounds9,295 wounded~1,558 dead of disease or accidents (incl. 2nd Balkan war)

 Serbia:5,000 killed18,000 wounded[10]

unknown dead of disease

 Montenegro:[7][11]

2,430 killed6,602 wounded406 dead of diseaseTotal: at least c. 108,000 dead or wounded

The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League (Serbia, Greece , Montenegro and Bulgaria) against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success.As a result of the war, almost all remaining European territories of the Ottoman Empire were captured and partitioned among the allies. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent Albanian state. Despite its success, Bulgaria was dissatisfied over the division of the spoils in Macedonia, which provoked the start of the Second Balkan War.

Canada’s response to World War I In 1914 Canada was still a

dominion of Great Britain Great Britain still controlled it’s

Dominions foreign policy This meant that when Britain went

to war Canada, along with the rest of the British Empire, also went to war.

Vimy Ridge

Canada’s Support

Canada offered Britain a force of 25,000 men

Newfoundlanders joined the Newfoundland regiment not the Canadian forces

10,000 Canadian men volunteered to join the forces because they felt proud to fight for their country, still had ties to Britain, and wanted the adventure.

Training and Fighting Many Soldiers trained at a camp at Valcartier, Quebec

set up by Sir Sam Hughes

Once Trained they were sent the Western Front and fought as the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) led by British General Julian Byng.

From 1917 onward they were led by Canadian Lieutenant General Arthur Currie. This meant that for the first time in history Canadian soldiers fought as their own units (not mixed with British ones anymore)

The people’s response

Responses to Canada’s involvement in the war varied.

Those Canadian’s of British decent were enthusiastic, while the Francophone (native French speaking) and population and the Maritime provinces were far less interested in Canadian involvement in a war overseas.

Why would the Canadiens and the Maritime provinces be less interested in going to war in Europe than those Canadian’s of British heritage?

The War Measures Act The War Measures Act gives the government the authority to do

everything necessary for the “security defense, peace, order and welfare of Canada”

Under this act Cabinet does not have to submit its proposals to parliament for approval

This means that once the War Measures Act has been approved, an order paper, created by cabinet, can be enforced without going through the lawmaking process in the legislature.

This allows the government to intervene directly in the economy of the country for the first time.

Gave the government the right to strip ordinary citizens of their civil rights. Mail could be censored and Habeas corpus was suspended.

The government also used the war measures act to limit the freedom of “enemy aliens” recent immigrants from the countries we were now at war with

What is your opinion of the War Measures Act?

Canadians at war At the start of WW I Canada had a population of 8

million people During WW I approximately 619,636 men and

women, of whom 66, 655 were lost in battle served in Canada’s armed forces.

Canada’s navy expanded to more than 100 warships 1600 Canadian pilots lost their lives and pilots like

Billy Bishop, Raymond Collishaw and W.G. Barker left a record of bravery and honour that gave Canada an international reputation for fearlessness

Billy Bishop

W.G. Barker

A brief account of Billy Bishop's exploits

Raymond CollishawRaymond Collishaw Billy BishopBilly Bishop

CambraiCambrai

The Canadians Continued Canada’s outstanding contribution to the

War effort allowed Canada a separate place at the peace table at Versailles.

Canada was granted a separate signature on the peace document, marking international recognition that Canada was no longer simply an extension of Britain.

Time line of World War I

1912-1913: Balkan Wars 28 June 1914: Archduke of Austria-Hungary assassinated 1 August 1914: Germany declared war on Russia 3 August 1914: Germany declared war on France 4 August 1914: British ultimatum to Germany 26-30 August 1914: Battle of Tannenberg 5-10 September 1914: Battle of the Marne 6-15 September 1914: Battle of the Masurian Lakes February to November 1916: Battle of Verdun 31 May 1916: Battle of Jutland June to November 1916: Battle of the Somme 6 April 1917: USA declares war on Germany January 1918: Wilson’s 14 points made public March 3 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 11 November 1918: Armistice signed 18 January 1919: Peace of Paris convened 28 June 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed

The Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (originally conceived of by General

Schliefen), but carried out after his death by Moltke. Called for a quick strike of annihilation against France before turning all of the German forces on Russia

In the first weeks of the war 8 German armies pushed through Belgium and attacked France.

Their plan was to take France before troops from England could join the ally forces

The plan failed By November the western front was locked in trench warfare which would remain for the next 3 years

Halifax explosion December 6 1917What happened? French merchant ship Mont-Blanc

loaded with munitions explodes 2,000 dead; 9,000 wounded

Why its important? troop ships to Europe from Canada and

the United States and hospital ships returning the wounded

Its overall significance:

First effect of war that happened on the home front.

The War Over Seas The Western Front The response by the public to WWI was almost

universally popular. People cheered in the streets. Every one (Canadians included) believed the war would be over by Christmas.

Both the Triple Alliance and The Triple Entente’s war plans were based on gaining a quick victory. This was not to be.

Canada received the call to arms on August 4, 1914. By the time Canadian’s sailed for Europe in October,

the French alone had lost ½ a million soldiers, and the Germans had captured France’s richest industrial region.

By November the French and English were locked in combat on the Western Front against German forces in trenches that ran from Switzerland, through France and a corner of Belgium, to the English Channel

The War Over Seas The Eastern Front The Eastern Front was just as

difficult. The Russians were suffering devastating losses against the Germans and when Turkey joined Germany in December, it blocked Russia from her supply of arms and equipment. The war would not be over by Christmas.

“Boo hoo” says santa.

Boo hoo, indeed.

The Russians

Russia managed to cross the eastern borders of Germany earlier than the Germans expected, but were unable to defeat the Germans.

They were more effective against the Austro-Hungarians in Galicia, and the Germans were forced to begin a general offensive along the Eastern Front in May of 1915.

In 1916 the Russians mounted an offensive in the east against the Austro-Hungarians which threatened the German capital of Berlin and the Austro-Hungarian capital of Vienna. The Germans were forced to move troops from Verdun to the Eastern Front.

From this point on the Germans would keep constant pressure on the increasingly demoralized Russian army, until Russia withdrew from the war in 1917.

In 1917 the Russian Revolution began, ultimately ending in the destruction of the Russian Empire and the death of the Tsar and his family.

The Russians Continued The provisional government that replaced the

Tsar was destroyed in the October Revolution The Bolsheviks (communists) under Vladimir

Ilyich Lenin seized power in Russia (renamed the Soviet Socialist Republic)

Lennin immediately pulled Russia out of the war by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending German-Russian hostility

Leninin

Treaty of Brest-LitovskTreaty of Brest-Litovsk

The United States Russia’s surrender was balanced by the US entering

the war. The sinking of the Lusitainia in 1917 ( the result of a

German submarine attack) gave President Woodrow Wilson the public support he needed to declare war against the Germans

The real catalyst to the Americans joining the war effort was a secret plan the Germans were hatching with Mexico to support a Mexican invasion of the US if Germany won the war.

The Americans Continued The US chose not to send troops

immediately upon their entrance to the war, however they did act as an arsenal for the allies.

The results of World War I

The retreat of the German army after it’s defeat at the hands of the allies caused political upheaval in Germany and Austria-Hungary. The result was widespread anarchy and revolution.

The Austro-Hungarian empire dissolved into a number of successor states

The Russian and Turkish empires disintegrated The Kaiser abdicated on 17 of October and went into

exile, and Germany became a republic. The War had cost 10 million dead and 21 million wounded.

It was the mass extermination of a generation of youth Financial costs were estimated at $330 billion. The war had seriously disrupted Europe’s agricultural

sector, which helped the influenza epidemic that winter attack an already weak and malnourished population.

Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points We entered this war because violations of right had

occurred which touched us to the quick and made the life of our own people impossible unless they were corrected and the world secure once for all against their recurrence. What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us. The programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme; and that programme, the only possible programme, as we see it, is this:

Woodrow Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles. This is interesting because

not only is this account incredibly biased in favour of the Americans, but it

shows us the Treaty in a whole new light.

1-5 I. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which

there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.

II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.

III. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.

IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.

V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.

6-7

VI. The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and national policy and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will, of their comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.

VII. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired

8-11 VIII. All French territory should be freed and the invaded

portions restored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.

IX. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of nationality.

X. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity to autonomous development.

XI. Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan states should be entered into.

12-14

XII. The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.

XIII. An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.

XIV. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.14!

There are 14 points!

In conclusion In regard to these essential rectifications of wrong and

assertions of right we feel ourselves to be intimate partners of all the governments and peoples associated together against the Imperialists. We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.

For such arrangements and covenants we are willing to fight and to continue to fight until they are achieved; but only because we wish the right to prevail and desire a just and stable peace such as can be secured only by removing the chief provocations to war, which this programme does remove. We have no jealousy of German greatness, and there is nothing in this programme that impairs it. We grudge her no achievement or distinction of learning or of pacific enterprise such as have made her record very bright and very enviable. We do not wish to injure her or to block in any way her legitimate influence or power. We do not wish to fight her either with arms or with hostile arrangements of trade if she is willing to associate herself with us and the other peace-loving nations of the world in covenants of justice and law and fair dealing. We wish her only to accept a place of equality among the peoples of the world, -- the new world in which we now live, -- instead of a place of mastery