Transcript Canada_&_WWI (9)

Canada
&
World War I
Canadian History 11
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Training
• When the war broke out the recruiting offices were
flooded.
• People thought the war would be short, glorious and
exciting; however, it became a war of attrition (a
gradual wearing or weakening)
• A private’s pay was $1 per day
• You first went to Valcartier for a few weeks training
and then sent of to London for additional training
• You were given a Ross Rifle (sporting gun) that was
not an effective weapon, as it kept jamming.
No. 2 Construction Battalion
• When WWI broke out Blacks attempted to join the military but they were
rejected.
• There was a resistance and reluctance on the part of the Canadian military
to accept blacks into the armed forces. They did not think that white
soldiers wanted to fight along side black soldiers.
• The white officers had the mentality that this was a “white man’s war”.
They were in charge of choosing who was allowed in, therefore many
Blacks were not allowed in. “We don’t want a checker board Army”
No. 2 Construction Battalion
• Black Leaders started to put pressure on the government to form an all
black battalion.
• In 1916, The No. 2 Construction Battalion was formed.
No. 2 Construction Battalion
• The No. 2 Construction Battalion was the first
and only all Black Battalion.
• There were approximately 1000 men in this
battalion. 500 of the men were from Nova Scotia.
Later some Americans joined.
• It was based out of Truro/Pictou.
• From 1917-1919 they spent time building
railroads for the final attacks against Germany.
• They were not allowed to fight but rather help
make fighting easier for whites with construction.
• They did meet many important needs of the war.
i.e. providing lumber to reinforce the trenches.
Notable People
• Tommy Ricketts from NFLD was the youngest man to win the
Victoria Cross. He joined the army at 14 years of age in 1916
and was recognized for a battle in 1917.
• Francis Pegahamagabow was the most decorated Aboriginal
soldier in WWI.
Life in the Trenches
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Trench foot = rooting of the flesh between the toes
Trench Mouth = Painful infection of the gums
Body lice lived in the mud-caked uniforms
Rats fed off the garbage and human waste
Men were shell-shocked
Land between the trenches was called “No Man’s
Land”
• 1915 Christmas Eve, Canadian and German soldiers
sang Silent Night across No Man’s Land
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Battle at Ypres: 1915
• Belgium
• The task was to hold 3.5 km of
line in face of German attack.
• Germans used Chlorine gas
• 5200 Canadian deaths
• 1 out 5 killed in action, gassed,
missing or wounded
Battle of Somme: 1916
• Troops from NFLD were involved. 90%
were killed or wounded.
• Faced strong German line that used
machine guns at Beamont Hamel
• 141 days
• Canadians fought so heroically they became
known as Storm Troops
• 24,000 Canadian casualties
• British only advanced 11km
• Tanks were used for the 1 st time
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Vimy Ridge: 1917
• Germans dug into the hills and could control
the surrounding areas
• The British and French failed to push the
Germans out
• First time all 4 Canadian divisions fought
together
• They planned a surprise attack
• They gained more ground, guns and German
POWs than the first 2 ½ years of the war.
• 4 Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross
• 10,000 Canadians killed
• Location of Canadian War Memorial
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Passchendaele: 1917
• Belgium was once under the
North Sea
• Shelling destroyed drainage
ditches and the land became mud
• Boards were used as pathways
• Soldiers and horses could drown
in the mud if they slipped in some
places
• 16,000 Canadians dies
• Only gained 7 km of mud, which
the Germans eventually won back.
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War in the Air
• Germans had the most aircraft (400)
compared to British (113) and the French
(156)
• Manfred von Richthofen (Red Baron) was
the most famous German flyer of WWI.
He was shot down by Canadian Roy
Brown.
• Gas-balloons = Zepplin Dirigibles
(airships) were used as observation
missions and bombing raids
• Most famous Canadian pilots were the
Black Flight, who shot down 10 German
planes in 1 day in 1917.
Billy Bishop
• Canada’s most famous ace (shot down 5
enemy planes) was Billy Bishop.
• He shot down a German plane on his
first day.
• During a 5 day period, he shot down 13
planes.
• He could hardly land, but was known
for his shooting abilities.
• He won the Victoria Cross
• He became the Director of Recruiting
for the Royal Canadian Air Force in
WWII.
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Battles at Sea
• The German U-boat (submarine) was the deadliest
weapon. On average it sank 160 ships per month
• May 1915: The British passenger liner Lusitania was
crossing the Atlantic. It was torpedoed and 1098 people
drowned. There were Americans on board and this
incident brought the USA into the war.
• 1917 Germany introduced a policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare. This meant U-boats would sink any
allied or neutral ship; not just warships.
• Convoy system = ships sailed in fleets and escorted by
armed destroyers.
• Canadian shipyards built ships and 1000s of Canadians
joined the British Royal Navy and Royal Naval Canadian
Volunteer Service and Royal Naval Air Service
HALIFAX EXPLOSION 1917
•Halifax was an important naval base during WWI
•In Bedford Basin, at the upper end of the harbour, convoys
assembled for the dangerous trip across the North Atlantic
carrying troops and supplies.
•At 8:45, on Dec. 6 th, 1917, the French munitions ship, the
Mont Blanc collided with the Imo, a steamer heading out to
sea with supplies for Belgium.
•The Mont Blanc caught fire. Unable to sink the ship, the
crew abandoned it and made for the Dartmouth shore.
•At 9:05, the Mont Blanc exploded with such force that the
northern part of the city was flattened and the air was filled
with flying glass and debris.
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HALIFAX EXPLOSION 1917
•Windows were broken in Truro and the sound reached
Sydney and Charlottetown.
•A column of smoke, fire and steel bits rose to a height of
3km., then rained down on the harbour and parts of the city
with the force of gunfire.
•The explosion unleashed a tidal wave that demolished ships,
docks and buildings.
•The number of deaths was 2000.
•Thousands more were injured.
•A citizens’ committee, including members of the Halifax and
NS governments, the police and the army, was set up to
coordinate the relief effort.
Conscription
• In 1917, there were many causalities in
France.
• It was clear that the troops overseas needed
more reinforcements and Ottawa passed
the Military Service Act.
• The Military Service Act became law, which
was conscription.
• Conscription is the compulsory enlistment
of citizens for military service.
• This act made every British subject between
the ages 20 – 45 liable for service in the
Canadian Military, black or white.
• Was seen as a slap in the face to Blacks as
they had previously tried to enter the
military but were not allowed. Now they
were being forced to enter.
PROPAGANDA
•To wage a war successfully, a country needs
the support of its people
•Propaganda is a technique for influencing
people’s minds and shaping public opinion.
•More than any earlier war, the news media
were used to spread propaganda to win WWI.
•Newspapers, magazines, telegraphs, cable
and early radio.
•It encouraged citizens to enlist in military
service and work for the war effort.
Propaganda
PROPAGANDA
PROPAGANDA
PROPAGANDA
PROPAGANDA
•Sometimes men who did
not volunteer for the army
were considered cowards.
•Some received white
feathers, symbols of
cowardice, in the mail.
Last 100 days
• Germany decided to launch an offensive on the
Western Front before the USA arrived.
• Canadian & allied troops launched a counter
attack
• US tanks arrived and Germany fell back
• Eventually the Allies recaptured all of France
and Belgium
• On the 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour (Nov.
11th, 1918), there was an armistice (temporary
agreement to stop fighting.
• Germany formally surrendered
Stats
• More than 30 nations
• 8 million deaths
• 24 million wounded, gasses,
blinded, crippled or paralyzed
• At one point the war cost $10
million an hour
• By 1918, the total war cost was
$186 Billion!
Versailles
• Peace Treaty
• Big Four = Woodrow Wilson (USA);
George Clemenceau (France); David
Lloyd George (England); Vitoria
Orlando (Italy)
• Wilson proposed a 14 point plan to
bring peace and future security to the
nations of the world. These were high
goals – too high to be acceptable to
most nations
• The Big Four did not consult the
defeated countries.
Versailles
• The central powers found it extremely difficult to accept the terms of this
treaty.
• The Germans did not want to give back to France the province of AlsaceLorraine
• The treaty blamed Germany for starting the war and ordered it to make
reparations, or payments for war damages, to the countries it had fought.
• Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire lost large parts of their
former land areas.
• National groups in the former Austria-Hungary Empire now formed the new
nations of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
• The Ottoman Empire lost all of its possessions in the Middle East, keeping only
Turkey.
• The League of Nations was established, whose work was to keep peace in
Europe.
League of Nations
• The basis of the League of Nations was an
agreement in which nations pledged to avoid war and
deal frankly with one another.
• Membership grew from 29 nations to 62 nations,
each of which had one vote in the league’s assembly.
• This body could investigate and discuss disputes and
vote on admitting states into the league.
• The council met at least once a year and dealt with
any matter affecting world peace. Chief meeting
place was Geneva, Switzerland.
• The league set up the World Court, made up of 15
judges who were chosen to serve 9 year terms. They
met had The Hague.
• It was a pioneer for the Untied Nations