Transcript Canada and Latin America in WWI

Sarah Dallo and Dean Montroy
World War I Begins
WWI did not officially begin until
the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June
1914.
He was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a
Serbian nationalist in the military
group known as the Black Hand.
Conflicts were growing well before
this assassination, but but the
Archduke’s death was the final
stroke.
Emerging alliances resulted in
declarations of war across the globe.
Canada
World War I was the bloodiest conflict
in Canadian history
Took 61,000 Canadian lives
Instilled a fear of war in the people
But ignited a sense of national pride for they could now stand apart
from the British Empire
Also deepened the divide between French and English Canada
Going to war
Jul. 29th, 1914: Britain warns Canada of the deteriorating situation in
Europe.
Aug. 2nd, 1914: Canada offers troops to Britain for oversees service.
The Canadian parliament did not want to go to war yet, but Britain’s
ultimatum to Germany to withdraw its army from Belgium expired on 4
August 1914.
Aug. 5th, 1914: Britain declares then war. Canada is automatically at war
with them.
Canada is allied with Serbia, Russia, Britain and France against the
German and Austro-Hungarian empires.
Canada United
The war united Canada at first. The Liberal opposition urged Prime
Minister Sir Robert Borden’s Conservative government to take power
under the new War Measures Act.
Minister of Militia, Sam Hughes summoned 25,000 volunteers to train at
Camp Valcartier and some 33,000 appeared.
Oct. 3rd, 2014: First contingent sailed for England.
Much of their war effort was launched by volunteers. The Canadian
patriotic Fund collected money to support solders’ families. A Military
Hospitals Commission cared for the sick and wounded. Churches,
charities, women’s organizations and the Red Cross found ways to “do
their bit”.
In patriotic fervor, Canadians demanded that Germans and Austrians be
dismissed from their jobs.
Impact on Economy
At first, the war only worsened the already troubled economy.
Unemployment increased and Canada’s transcontinental railways, the
Northern and the Grand Trunk Pacific were in debt. By 1915, military
spending equaled the entire government expenditure of 1913. The
Minister of Finance, Thomas White, opposed raising taxes. Because
Britain could not afford to help Canada, White turned to the U.S. for
assistance.
In 1915, White asked for $50 million and got $100 million. And by 1917
the government’s Victory Loan campaign began raising large sums from
everyday citizens. Canada’s war effort was funded mainly from borrowing
and donations. Between 1913 and 1918, the national debt rose from $463
million to $2.46 billion.
Impact on Economy
This debt of Canada’s would have been much worse if not for the huge
exports of wheat, timber, and munitions.
Before the war, there was a crop failure, but in 1915, a bumper crop made
up for it and prices improved. Many farm laborers had also joined the
army though, and farmers were damaged by a labor shortage.
Many factories shut down at the beginning of the war. But later,
manufacturers formed a Shell Committee and received contracts from the
British artillery ammunition to create a new industry. By the summer of
1915 the committee had orders worth $170 million, but were only
delivering $5.5 million in ammunition. Because it was not very successful,
the British government considered reorganizing.
Impact on Economy
Resulting was the Imperial Munitions Board, which was a British agency
in Canada, and led by Canadian Joseph Flavelle. By 1917 Flavelle had
made the IMB one of Canada’s biggest businesses whith over 250,000
workers. And when the British stopped buying in Canada in 1917, they
made new contracts with the U.S.
Recruitment
Unemployed workers flocked to enlist in
1914 through 1915. This cost the
government very little.
By the end of 1914 the target for the
Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)
was 50,000; and by summer 1915, it was
150,000.
During a visit to Britain that summer,
Prime Minister Borden was shocked at
the struggle and pledged 500,000 soldiers
from Canada’s barely 8-million
population.
This was to show Canada’s commitment
to the war. At the end, they had sent a
total of 640,000 troops to Britain.
Recruitment
Recruiting became fervid and divisive.
English Canadians were complaining
that French Canada was not doing
their share. This was not surprising
however, as most French Canadians
did not feel loyal to Britain nor
France.
Henri Bourassa, a spokesman of
Quebec’s nationalists, initially
approved of the war but later insisted
that French Canada’s real enemies
were not the Germans, but actually
the “English-Canadian anglicisers, the
Ontario intriguers, the Irish priests”
who were ending French-language
education in the English-speaking
provinces.
Expeditionary Force
Canadians in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) became a part of
the British army.
The CEF are troops raised for oversees service brought up by the minister
of militia, Sam Hughes. Most of these men were not trained for fighting,
but were willing to learn in order to serve the cause.
April 1915: At the 2nd Battle of Ypres, the 1st Canadian Division suffered
6,036 casualties and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
suffered 678.
1916: At St. Eloi craters, the 2nd Division suffered a setback due to
unprepared commanders resulting in many deaths and in June, the 3rd
Division was nearly destroyed at Mont Sorrel but the 1st Division came in
to take their place. These failures showed that preparation and discipline
were important to a functioning army.
Vimy and Passchendale
British and French strategists deplored diversions from the main effort
against the bulk the German forces on the European Western Front. It
was there, they said, that war must be waged.
Its skill and training were tested on Easter weekend, 1917, when all four
divisions were sent forward to capture a seemingly impregnable Vimy
Ridge.
Weeks of rehearsals, stockpiling, and bombardment paid off. In five days
the ridge was taken.
The able British commander of the corps, Lt-Gen Sir Julian Byng, was
promoted; his successor was Lt-Gen Sir Arthur Currie, who followed
Byng's methods and improved on them.
Vimy and Passchendale
Currie questioned orders, but he
could not refuse them. When
ordered to finish the disastrous
British offensive at
Passchendaele in October 1917,
Currie warned that it would cost
16,000 of his 120,000 men.
Though he insisted on time to
prepare, the Canadian victory
on the dismal and water-logged
battlefield left a toll of 15,654
dead and wounded.
Conscription Crisis
During the early years of the First World War, huge numbers of
Canadian volunteers, 330,000 overall from 1914–1915 willingly went to
fight against the Germans in France and Belgium.
The federal government decided in 1917 to conscript young men for
overseas military service. Voluntary recruitment was failing to maintain
troop numbers, and Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden believed in the
military value, and potential post-war influence, of a strong Canadian
contribution to the war.
Conscription Crisis
The crisis was mainly the dispute between English Canadians and French
Canadians over who was helping out in the war more. People thought
that the French Canadians were lacking.
The French Canadians did not want to help because they felt no
particular loyalty to either Britain or France. Led by Henri Bourassa, they
felt that their loyalty was only to Canada.
The English Canadians supported the war effort because they wanted to
prove their loyalty to Britain. This crisis deepened the line between the
Anglophones and Francophones.
May 1917: After a meeting of First Ministers, Borden announced that he
would introduce the Military Service Act on August 29th, 1917. The act
passed, allowing the government to conscript men across the country if
the Prime Minister felt it necessary.
The Final Phase
The war had entered a bitter final phase. On 6 December 1917 the
Halifax Explosion killed over 1,600, and it was followed by the worst
snowstorm in years.
Workers joined unions and struck for higher wages.
Food and fuel controllers now preached conservation, sought increased
production and sent agents to prosecute hoarders.
Public pressure to "conscript wealth" forced a reluctant White in April
1917 to impose a Business Profits Tax and a War Income Tax
An "anti-loafing" law threatened jail for any man not gainfully employed.
Federal police forces were ordered to hunt for sedition. Socialist parties
and radical unions were banned.
The Final Phase
So were newspapers published in the "enemy" languages.
Canadians learned to live with unprecedented government controls and
involvement in their daily lives.
Food and fuel shortages led to "Meatless Fridays" and "Fueless
Sundays.”
The United States entered the war in the spring of 1917, sending
reinforcements and supplies that would eventually turn the tide against
Germany.
To help restore the Allied line, Canadians and Australians attacked near
Amiens on 8 August 1918.
The Final Phase
In September and early October the Canadians attacked again and again,
suffering heavy casualties but making advances thought unimaginable.
The Germans fought with skill and courage all the way to Mons, the
little Belgian town where fighting ended for the Canadians at 11 a.m. 11
November 1918. More officially, the war ended with the Treaty of
Versailles, signed 28 June 1919.
Latin America
Latin America is a group of republics including Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The Latin American’s were not prepared for the eruption of WWI.
They hoped to stay out of the conflict, but by 1918, many Latin
American countries had sided with the Allies.
Suppliers
There were four main countries contributing supplies to the war:
Mexico: oil
Argentina: wheat
Chile: nitrates and copper
Brazil: food (particularly beef, beans and sugar)
Brazil also had the use of seized German ships.
Brazil vs. Germany
Oct. 26th, 1917: While Latin America was officially pro-Allies, it was
Brazil who was the only Latin American country to declare war on
Germany.
Brazil was very large in size and very active in the trading market at the
time. But they were continually being threatened by Germany’s
unrestricted submarine warfare over the course of the first two years of
WWI.
Germany had paused this act of violence only temporarily in February
1917 due to pressure from neutral nations such as the U.S. However,
Germany resumed their warfare and President Woodrow Wilson broke
diplomatic ties with Germany, causing the U.S. to join the Allied Powers
on April 6th, 1917.
Dollar Diplomacy
President William Howard Taft and
Secretary of State Philander C.
Knox followed a foreign policy
characterized as “dollar diplomacy.”
The goal of diplomacy was to create
stability and order abroad that
would best promote American
commercial interests.
Knox felt that not only was the goal
of diplomacy to improve financial
opportunities, but also to use private
capital to further U.S. interests
overseas.
Dollar Diplomacy
Dollar diplomacy was evident in extensive U.S. interventions in the
Caribbean and Central America, especially in measures undertaken to
safeguard American financial interests in the region.
References
"World War I Regions Latin America." Historical Boy's Clothing. 6 Apr.
2009. Web. <http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww1/cou/reg/la/
w1rla-neu.html>.
"First World War (WWI)." Historica Canada. Web. <http://
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-world-war-wwi/
>.
Genini, Ron. "Latin America in World War I." Special Feature. Web.
http://www.worldwar1.com/sfla.htm.
"The War Is Over. The Drama Is Played Out." The Guardian. 13 Nov.
2008. Web. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/14/
first-world-war-armistice-end>.
"William H. Taft Biography." Wo 2 Biographies. Web. <http://
www.who2.com/bio/william-h-taft>.