Transcript File
The End of the War Counterpoints, Ch. 2, Canada and the First World War Lesson Objective and Outcomes Today we will look at the events the contributed to the end of the war, and the peace treaty that came out of it. • you will learn: o o o o How Russia betrayed her allies How Canada influenced the peace process How Canada grew in stature on the world stage Casualties to Canada The Russian Revolution • In 1917, Bolsheviks in Russia overthrew the Czar of Russia. • The USSR was established under a Communist Government. • V.I. Lenin led the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Union. • Russia withdrew from the war, signing a peace with the Germans. • The Allies saw this as a betrayal. After three long years in a stalemate on the Western Front, two important events changed the direction of the war. 1. Russia’s internal politics caused them to negotiate with The Central Powers to end the war, weakening the Allies on the Eastern Front. o Central Powers- the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. 2. On April 2, 1917 the United States joined the war, strengthening the Allies on the Western Front. Hundred Days Campaign •On March 3, 1918, Russia and The Central Powers signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. •This truce on the Eastern Front freed German troops to fight on the Western Front. •Germany quickly pushed deep into France, only 75 kilometers from Paris. •Americans arrived and stopped the German advance. •Allies launched a series of attacks, known as the Hundred Days Campaign. • Canada’s offensives were among the most successful of the Allied forces during this campaign, which lasted from August 8 to November 11, 1918. • And that might have been due to an incident that happened in June 1918. HMHS Llandovery Castle • On June 27, 1918, Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle is torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. • When people on board abandoned the sinking ship, the crew of the U-boat rammed lifeboats and machine gunned survivors. • Out of the 258 souls who had been on the Llandovery Castle only the 24 in the Captain's life boat survived. • Canadian troops were aware of the sinking as it was the most significant Canadian naval disaster of the war. • Firing at a hospital ship was against international law as well as the standing orders of the German navy. The Battle of Amiens • Canadian and Allied troops won a major victory against Germany at the Battle of Amiens between 8 and 11 August 1918. • Used surprise attacks- night time raids, false moves, bogus communications etc. • Allied commanders switched from defence to offence. • Combined arms Assault- air and land. • Germans unprepared for the scale of the attack. • In two days: o 37 kms of territory gained o 27,000 German casualties o 15,000 German POWs o 5000 Canadian dead o Halted German Spring offensive o Kaiser orders an initiation of peace negotiations o German Military Chief Erich Ludendorf , • “Black day for the German Army” Central Powers Collapse • After the Hundred Days Campaign, Germany and the Central Powers were exhausted and running out of men and supplies. • An armistice, or truce to end the war, on the Western Front was finally signed in a railway car in France at 5:00am on November 11, 1918. • The war was to stop at 11:00am. This corresponds to the date and time of our modern day Remembrance Day ceremonies. Last Casualty • At 10:58am, Nov. 11, 1918 Private George Lawrence Price was killed by a sniper’s bullet. He was the last Canadian killed on the battlefields of the Great War. Canada’s Emerging Autonomy • The Armistice was only a cease fire. It would take months to negotiate the terms of peace. The Paris Peace Conference • After signing the armistice, leaders of the Allies that won the war met in Paris in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference. • The Paris Peace Conference lasted for 6 months and resulted in a number of treaties that defined new borders and established compensation for losses suffered during the war. • Over 30 countries attended, each with their own agenda. • Because Canada had contributed so much to the war, Canada got it’s own seat at the conference, independent of Britain. • For the first time, Canada gained international recognition as an independent nation. • A number of treaties relating to the settlement of Europe after WW1 • Most important was the “Treaty of Versailles” • The treaty was a diktat (dicated settlement) in which Germany had no voice. • Each of the three Major Powers at the Conference had different ideas of how to treat Germany. France • Georges Clemenceau • Revenge and Security • Reparations were very important to the French. They wanted to be compensated for the damage done to France. • Ideally, they wanted the German nation to be completely dismantled into independent states so it could no longer threaten France Britain • David Loyd George • Initially wanted to revenge and called to “Hang the Kaiser” • Mainly wanted the German High Seas Fleet and merchant navy, reduction of her army, and for Germany to give up her colonies. The United States • Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points • He and many others believed that the 14 points would be the basis of the peace. • Major issues: o o o o Reorganization of states along lines of self-determination European disarmament Collective security (League of Nations) End to secret diplomacy (Alliance system) Self-Determination? • What is self-determination? What did this mean? • With so many groups in Europe, to whom should it be granted? • Generally it meant that each nationality/language/ethnic group should be given its own country and set of borders so that ethnic conflict would be avoided in the future. The Results • Neither destroyed Germany nor welcomed her into post-war Europe. • Harsh enough to anger Germany but not harsh enough to destroy it’s ability to wage war. • For France it was not harsh enough, Britain too harsh and US did not get their 14 points widely accepted. Treaty of Versailles • One of the treaties to come out of the Paris Peace Conference was the Treaty of Versailles. • This document laid out a 14 point plan for “just and lasting peace.” • Germany was punished harshly in the treaty. Germany had to agree to a War Guilt Clause, meaning it had to accept full responsibility for causing the war. League of Nations • The Treaty of Versailles included the formation of the League of Nations. • US President Woodrow Wilson’s idea. • The League was based on the principle of collective security. • If one member came under attack, all members united against the aggressor. • PM Borden won the right for Canada to become a member of the newly formed League. • The Leagues founding member nations met in Paris on January 16, 1920. • Not everyone welcomed the idea of a League of Nations. • Britain and France initially had doubts and wanted the freedom to pursue their own agendas. • Ultimately realized that its basic concepts were sound and had propaganda value. • Ironically, Wilson had powerful opponents at home, who rejected the principle of collective security which might involve the US in world affairs. (Isolationist) League’s Limitations • More idealistic than practical. • Refusal of the US to join greatly undermined its effectiveness to resolve disputes following WWI • It forced nations to cooperate with each other, something they had never done very effectively in the past. • The League had the capacity to punish with economic sanctions which restricted trade, but these were never easy to impose. • It did not have a military force of its own to impose decisions against aggresor nations. Europe 1920 Prophetic Words… • “The peace, when it comes, must last for many many years. We do not want to have to do this thing all over again in another 15 or 20 years. If that is the be the case, German military power must be irretrievably crushed. This is the end we must attain if we have the will and guts to see it through. o Gen A. Currie • “What bloody fools! We had them on the run,. Now we shall have to do it all over again in 25 years! o Canadian General a. McNaughton Carnage of WWI Military • Deaths: 9.7 million • Wounded: 21.2 million • Prisoners of War and Missing Soldiers: 7.5 million Civilian • Deaths as a result of direct military action: 950,000 • Deaths caused by disease and famine: 6 million WW1 Casualties by Country Canadian Casualties •Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war •Another 172,000 were wounded. • Many more returned home broken in mind and body. •Shell Shock- PTSD Canada After WWI • After 4 years of fighting, Canadian soldiers returned home. • Many returned to find that there were no steady pensions for veterans, no special medical services for those wounded and few jobs. • Aboriginal soldiers were also disappointed that they still faced prejudice and received even less support than other veterans after the war. Flu Pandemic of 1918 • During the winter of 1918 to 1919 a deadly outbreak of Spanish Flu, the influenza virus, swept across Europe, killing millions. • Many returning soldiers carried the virus home to North America. • Young people were especially susceptible. • Estimated 21 million people died worldwide. • From 1918 g 1920- 50,000 Canadians died during the epidemic. • Some Aboriginal communities were completely wiped out. • In certain provinces, schools and public places were closed for months. • And in other communities people were required to wear breathing masks in public. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial • • • • • In 1922, use of the land, for the battlefield park which contains the Vimy Memorial was granted for all time by the French nation to the people of Canada. Designed by Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the Vimy Memorial stands on Hill 145, overlooking the Canadian battlefield of 1917, at one of the points of the fiercest fighting. It took eleven years and $1.5 million to build and was unveiled on July 26, 1936 by King Edward VIII. Inscribed on the ramparts of the Memorial are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were posted "missing, presumed dead" in France. The grounds are still honeycombed with wartime tunnels.