THE FIRST WORLD

WAR 1914-1918

Main players in WWICentral Powers

GermanyAustria-HungaryItaly (joined Allies in 1915)BulgariaOttoman Empire (Turkey)

Allied PowersGreat Britain and it’s coloniesFranceRussia (left Allies in 1917)Serbia

United States (joined war in 1917)

The Schlieffen Plan To avoid a two front war, Germany planned to move first against the French and then turn east and fight Russia.

The plan was to invade through Belgium and avoid the French defenses along the German border.

The plan was flawed. The left flank was to thin. The French stopped the Germans at the Battle of Marne (Sept 1914).

The result, a race to the channel and “Trench warfare”. The stalemate had begun.

Stalemate: Trench Warfare

A continuous trench lines, 1000 km long in total, stretched from the English Channel to the Swiss border.

Most offenses resulted in heavy casualties but gained little territory.

An aerial photograph of the opposing trenches and no-man's land in Artois, France, July 22, 1917. German trenches are at the right and bottom, British trenches are at the top left. The vertical line to the left of centre indicates the course of a pre-war road.

Stalemate: Trench Warfare

British trench, France, July 1916

Stalemate: Trench Warfare

German soldiers resting in a trench near Ypres in Flanders.Picture made in the beginning of the trench warfare.

Stalemate: Trench Warfare

These terrible conditions caused the condition known as “trench foot”, when a foot started to rot, turned black and eventually it had to be amputated. Typhus and a disease named “trench fever” (a high fever for five or so days), killed some soldiers. Many soldiers went weeks without a good wash and this caused skin diseases and meant most front line soldiers caught lice.

Stalemate: Trench Warfare

Trench foot

Trench fever

Louse

Western Front: Canadian BattlesWe have to remember that when Britain declared war, Canada was automatically at war. (Lack of sovereignty.)

Battles that Canadians participated in and how these battles changed Canada’s image both internationally and nationally. (increase of nationalism and patriotism)

Ypres (April 1915): First German use of chlorine gas (chemical warfare was used to try and get by the trenches).

Stopped the German advance through Belgium but with 6000 casualties.

Gave Canada the image of tough fighters.

Somme (July 1, 1916):4 month battle along the Somme River valley. Ended in November 1916.

Plan was to bombard German lines with heavy artillery for 7 days, then walk in and take trenches but it was not effective since the Germans went underground and were not affected by artillery.

Extremely heavy casualties. The British lost 420,000 casualties, the French 200,000 and the Germans 450,000. 20,000 Allied dead on the first day alone.

Entire Nfld. regiment wiped-out (710 dead or wounded out of 750 men) at Beaumont Hamel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZmqVxSB2pk

Brought the reality of war losses home

Battle of the Somme: Destroyed Forest (left)and Destroyed Soldiers (above)

Recruiting Sergeant by Great Big Sea

Two recruiting sergeants came to the CLB,for the sons of the merchants, to join the Blue PutteesSo all the hands enlisted, five hundred young menEnlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me

They crossed the broad Atlantic in the brave Florizel,And on the sands of Suvla, they entered into hellAnd on those bloody beaches, the first of them fellEnlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me[Chorus]

So it's over the mountains, and over the seaCome brave Newfoundlanders and join the Blue PutteesYou'll fight in Flanders, and at GallipoliEnlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me

Then the call came from London, for the last July driveTo the trenches with the regiment, prepare yourselves to dieThe roll call next morning, just a handful survived.Enlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me[Chorus]

The stone men on Water Street still cry for the dayWhen the pride of the city went marching awayA thousand men slaughtered, to hear the King sayEnlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me[Chorus x3]

Above: Nfld. Regiment at the Somme 1916.

Below: Somme in 2004 (Beaumont Hamel)

Vimy Ridge (April 1917): Canada is said to “have grown up here”.

Canadians took the ridge in a matter of days after several months of other Battalions of other nations fighting there.

It was our greatest victory and in the view of many historians, made this colony a nation…..separate from the British Empire.

The cost ……10,000 casualties

Above: Soldiers returning from Vimy Ridge.Below: “Over the top” at Vimy.

Vimy Ridge today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymvjpoBoyrs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI3UsybMZXk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCnN6FFmQVU

Passchendaele (3rd battle of Ypres-Nov. 1917).The battle was fought for control of the village of Passchendaele near the town of Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.

Passchendaele has become synonymous with the misery of fighting in terrible conditions (rain, cold, mud, etc.)

Canadian generals recommended against it because of impossible odds, but Canadians did win the battle.

16,000 Canadian dead.

We viewed our forces with intense pride.

Village of Passchendaele before and after pictures.

Amiens (Aug. 1918 – Nov. 1918): Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August, 1918,to 11 November, 1918 beginning with the Battle of Amiens.

Allied offensive later known as the Canada’s Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately led to the end of World War I.

Amiens was one of the first major battles involving armored warfare and marked the end of trench warfare on the Western Front.

During this period the Canadian corps fought and won nine major battles.

In terms of numbers, during those 96 days the Canadian Corps' of roughly 100 000 men, engaged and defeated or put to flight elements of forty seven German divisions, which represented one quarter of the German forces fighting on the Western Front. Affirming its reputation as the British Army’s best.

However their successes came at a heavy cost, the Canadians suffered 20% of their battle-sustained casualties of the war during this period..

United Canadians at home and changed our international image.

The length of the front in the East was much longer than in the West.

The theatre of war was roughly a distance of more than 1,600 kilometers.

This had a drastic effect on the nature of the warfare.

While World War I on the Western Front developed into trench warfare, the battle lines on the Eastern Front were much more fluid and trenches never truly developed.

This was because the greater length of the front ensured that the density of soldiers in the line was lower so the line was easier to break.

The sparse communication networks made it difficult for the defender to rush reinforcements to the rupture in the line

There was also the fact that the terrain in the Eastern European theatre was quite solid, often making it near impossible to construct anything resembling the complicated trench systems on the Western Front

Differences – Eastern vs. Western Fronts

The Russians were effective early in the war due to sheer numbers.

This early Russian success in 1914 was a reason for concern to the Central Powers and caused considerable German forces to be transferred to the East to take pressure off the Austrians.

By May 1915, the German and Austro-Hungarian troops in the Eastern Front functioned under a unified command.

They began an offensive which soon turned into a general advance and then a strategic retreat by the Russian army.

The Russian retreat was not so much a tactical error, but they suffered heavily from a lack of supplies, particularly in artillery and ammunition.

Eastern Front Con’t.

Changes on the Eastern FrontIn June of 1916 many people were very unhappy with the state of the Russian war effort………3.6 million dead.

Spring of 1917- Riots protesting the shortage of food leads to abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

Instability in Russia allows the Germans to advance quickly on the Eastern Front.

Revolution in Russia (Oct. 1917)Led by Vladimir Lenin, the communists seized power in Russia.

Lenin, as well as most Russians, no longer wanted to be in the war. Too much suffering by the people.

The entire royal family was executed by the new communist government in 1918.

The Royal Family became scapegoats (a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place) for the Communists, blaming them for Russia being in the war as well as the problems and suffering in Russia.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Mar. 1918)

The new communist government wanted out of WWI.

Peace treaty signed between Russia and the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk

Soviets renounced all claim to and affirmed the independence of

FinlandBaltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania)BelarusUkraine

In all, the treaty took away a third of Russia's population, half of her industry and nine-tenths of her coal mines.

ArmisticeArmistice:

is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace.

Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918 at 11am.

On November 11th l918, at 10:58 a.m. – two minutes before the armistice, George Price, 28th Canadian Battalion, was shot and killed by a German sniper. Likely the last allied soldier to be killed in that war.

Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I.

It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I were dealt with in separate treaties.

Although the armistice signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty.

Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles separately from Britain and we were viewed as an equal ally to Britain.

Treaty of Versailles con’t.Germany was forced to sign (diktat…no negotiations) otherwise hostilities would be renewed.

Main provisions of the treaty:

1. Germany had to accept sole responsibility for the War (one of the most important and controversial ……later known as the War Guilt clause)

2. Germany had to disarm• No draft, no air force• Army limited to 100,000 men• Navy limited to 15,000 men

3. Germany had give up substantial territories in Europe and in their colonies• Lost all colonies in Africa and Asia

4. Germany had pay reparations to certain countries• $ 33,000,000,000• saddled with unimaginable debt that would plunge the country into economic hardship

5. Germany and Austria could never unify into one nation

The new government called the Weimar Republic replaced the 2nd Reich (formerly led by Wilhelm II who was now holed up in the Netherlands). The new gov’t did not want to sign the Treaty but in the end did not have a choice.

A legacy of bitterness would be left that would pave the way for the rise of Hitler and the Second World War.

Land Taken from Germany

New Destructive Weapons

CHANGED FOREVER: EUROPE (1914)

CHANGED FOREVER: EUROPE (1919)

Conscription Crisis of 1917Conscription:• the draft; compulsory, mandatory

service in a nation’s armed forces

After the Battle of the Somme (1916), Canada was in desperate need to replenish its supply of soldiers; however, there were very few volunteers to replace them. The recruiting effort in Quebec had failed, and Canada turned to its only unused option: conscription.

Almost all French Canadians opposed conscription: they felt that they had no particular loyalty to either Britain or France. They felt their only loyalty was to Quebec.

English Canadians generally supported the war effort as they felt stronger ties to the British Empire.

The Conscription Crisis of 1917 caused a considerable rift along ethnic lines between Anglophones and Francophone. This became a problem again for Canada in WW II.

VS.

The Human Cost Of WarOf the 65 million men who fought in World War 1:

• 8 million men were killed in battle.• 2 million died of illness and disease.• 21.2 million were wounded.• 7.8 million were taken prisoner or went missing in action.• 6.6 million civilians were killed.• 65,000 Canadians lost their lives

The Financial Cost of War

The war took its toll on the whole of the European Economy, financially Europe was on it's knees.

Many industries that were thriving in peace time were retooled for war production . When the war was over, governments didn't help them retool back to what they used to produce , therefore many went broke.

Also, because of the high death and wounded toll, many villages, towns and cities were robbed of skilled laborers, skills that took a long time to learn and rebuilding required many of these people. This ruined the economic infrastructure and crippled many rural and urban areas.

Estimated costs for each nation are listed belowin US DOLLARS

United States : 22,625,253,000

Great Britain : 35,334,012,000

France : 24,265,583,000

Russia : 22,293,950,000

Canada : 1,665,576,000

Italy : 12,413,998,000

Germany : 37,775,000,000 (does not include rep. payments)

Austria-Hungary : 20,622,960,000

Turkey : 1,430,000,000