The Great WarWHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY?

Video Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPZQ0LAlR4

Timeline leading up to WW11870 - Franco-Prussian War begins1871 - Prussian Empire is unified under the context of German control

- Prussian Empire defeats the French Army - Treaty of Frankfurt signed - Alsace and Lorraine ceded to the Germans - French are humiliated

1873 - German occupation of France ends1882 - Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Italy form the Triple Alliance1891 - France and Russia answer the Triple Alliance with an Alliance of their own

- Would serve as the basis for the Triple Entente 1898 - Arms race between the English and German Empires begins to become prevalent1902 - British/Japanese naval alliance created1904 - France and Britain sign a reactionary alliance

- You hurt them, I’ll hurt you - Triple Entente formed

Timeline leading up to WW1 1905, Jan. - Bloody Sunday occurs in Russia - Revolution is at their doorstep 1905, May - Russia defeated in Russo-Japanese War 1905, Oct. - Continued tension in Russia - general strikes 1906 - British launch the H.M.S. Dreadnought

- This signifies the beginning of a new type of military capacity in regards to weaponry 1908 - Austro-Hungary annexes Bosnia - ethnic Serbs not happy 1910 - German Empire becomes on of the leading economic powers in Europe 1912 - Balkan War (Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria versus Turks) begins 1913 - Turks are pushed out of Europe, but Bulgaria wishes for a bigger share of the area and a second Balkan war begins

1914 - Franz Ferdinand (Austrian Archduke), not the band, is murdered- This is the event that leads to the Great War- So many alliances had been created for preventative measures that almost the entirety of Europe

became involved in a matter of days

Background Time! Franco- Prussian War - 1870-1871

- Leading up to this war the process of German unification was taking place- Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Baden - these states became “Germany” in 1871

- Cause: Leopold, the Prince in Prussia, put his name forward to become the monarch of Spain- Spain was in political turmoil and there was a vacancy in their monarchy

- France was scared of the idea of a Spanish-Prussian alliance, which would leave them surrounded and vulnerable

- They wanted to attempt to embarrass the Prussian Empire to delegitimize their candidacy for the Spanish throne

- Result: The French lost- In an attempt to de-legitimize the Prussian Empire they actually allowed them to complete their

unification of Germany, lost control of Alsace-Lorraine, and were under German occupation until 1873- How do you think the French felt after this defeat?

Austro-Hungary: The Annexation of Bosnia

- In October of 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Empire seized control of Bosnia- Many ethnic Serbians lived in Bosnia, thus were unhappy with this forceful

annexation- At the same time, Bulgaria proclaimed independence from the Ottoman

Empire- These events were not connected, but Bulgaria’s claim to independence

from the Ottoman Empire violated parts of the Berlin Treaty from 1878.

Austro-Hungary: The Annexation of Bosnia

- Serbia, which controlled the Bosnian area 600 years before, still had a yearning for the area, thus tensions grew.

- The Annexation of Bosnia was the result of larger empires adhering to their own personal whims.

- Colonialism did not die until the mid 1950’s, thus many countries were still taking advantage of countries and ethnic groups that were “lesser”

- This applied all over the world including: African nations, Asia, and South Eastern Europe.

- The most important aspect of the annexation of Bosnia and the independence declaration of Bulgaria is the political instability that it created in the Balkan Region

Militarism - The most prominent transition between the 19th and 20th centuries is the advent of militarization

- Having a local militia was always key to defend your town, kingdom, barn, swamp, or what have you, but having a well-kempt military that was employed year round was a rarity

- This began in the late 18th/ early 19th century- By the beginning of the 20th century it was not enough to have a year round

military, but to have the “strongest” military- An arms race began between European powers

- Britain and Germany were the two that came out on top- Imagine that you are in a room with ten other people and you are arguing about

who gets to control each piece of the room. Obviously the “borders” are completely imaginary and arbitrary, but then someone tosses a gun into the room. How would the room feel?

The Balkan War(s): 1912-1913

- Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Greece wish to emulate nations similar to their north western counterparts. To do this they had to cast away Ottoman influence.

- The Balkan League was created in 1912, consisting of Serbians, Greeks, Bulgarians, and Montenegrins

- This loose amalgamation of nationalities were able to defeat the Ottoman Empire and push their influence back into Asia Minor (Turkey).

- After, the Balkan league needed to divide up the new territory that they had gained- This did not go well, the result being the destruction of the Balkan League and Bulgaria fighting against Serbia, Greece,

and Montenegro.- These two wars just furthered the political tension of the area, leading up to the “Great War” that

began in 1914- This political landscape filled with ethnic disagreements, arbitrary border creations, and overall

frustrations with one another led to Europe resembling a pile of dynamite with a short, short, short fuse

Nationalism: My country is better than yours, guy...

- Before WWI many wars were fought in the name of colonialist expansion, religious ideals, and border disputes of regional territories

- People fought for their kings and religions, not for their country- At this point in history Nationalism took hold- People wanted to have independence within a nation

Nationalism: My country is better than yours, guy...

- Austro-Hungary was of the Old Order, thus did not foster independence within its dual monarchy

- This can explain the hot bed that was in the Balkans- Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria were under

constant oppression from the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire's leading to their desire for independence

- The central powers of WWI also used the idea of “Country” as a way to recruit soldiers

The Alliances- 50 years before WWI the likes and dislikes of the Euopean powers were very

different than those of 1914.* Britain, for example, had no ties with other countries and instead

concentrated on building up her empire. * the Emperors of Germany, Austria and Russia were already tied together by

an agreement called “The Three Emperors League”* France had very few friends as was still licking her wounds after her defeat in the Franco-Prussian War

These likes and dislikes began to change in 1879 when Germany quarreled with Russia. To get protection against a possible Russian Attack, Germany agreed with Austria that each would help the other if either of them were attackedThus the DUAL ALLIANCE 1879- Germany/Austria was born (agreement #1)

- Three years later, Italy joined the DUAL ALLIANCE making it the TRIPLE ALLIANCE.- Agreement #2 – THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE, 1882- Germany/Austria/Italy

- This three way friendship worried France and Russia, who both feared they could be attacked and beaten by three powerful countries acting together. Their fears led to a third alliance in 1892 when France and Russia agreed to help each other if either were attacked

- Agreement #3- THE FRANCO-RUSSIAN ALLIANCE, 1892- France/Russia- For awhile, these alliances calmed the fears of both countries

Now it was Britain’s turn to become worried. As you know, Britain had been concentrating on building up her Empire rather than building friendships with other European countries. But when one of her colonies (South Africa) fought a war against the Boers (rebel settlers that wanted to be independent) Britain noticed that Germany showed sympathy and supported the Boers. This made Britain very suspicious of Germany and then began to search Europe for a friend that would support them. Britain found that friend in France. “friendly Understanding”- Agreement #4- THE ENTENTE CORDIALE, 1904 – Britain/France

* Three years later in 1907 Britain made a similar agreement with Russia who, as you can see in AGREEMENT #3, was already in an alliance with France. Thus the ENTENTE CORDIALE expanded into the Triple Entente. Agreement #5- THE TRIPLE ENTENTE, 1907 – Britain/Russia/France

Alliances by 1907

The Powers of EuropeCountries Britain Germany France Austro-Hungary Russia

Population 40.8 mill. 65 mill. 39.6 mill. 50 mill 159 mill.

Number of Colonies

56 10 29 n/a n/a

Size of Colonies 27 mill. sq. km 2.5 mill. sq. km 11 mill sq. km n/a n/a

Pop of Colonies 390 mill. 15 mill. 58 mill. n/a n/a

Size of Army 700,000 4.2 mill 3.7 mill 800,000 1.2 mill

Size of Navy 388 ships 281 ships 207 ships 67 ships 166 ships

Coal output yrly.

292 mill. tonnes 277 mill. tonnes 40 mill. tonnes 47 mill. tonnes 36.2 mill tonnes

Steel output yrly.

11 mill. tonnes 14 mill. tonnes 4.6 mill. tonnes 5 mill. tonnes 3.6 mill tonnes

The Alliance TreeIt can be a bit difficult to understand who the heck was defending one another so here is a quick chart to understand

The Beginning of the End- August 1914

- This was the culmination of several events, a few of which we have covered, the led to destruction of four major empires, and the beginning of the end of colonial dominance.

- In June, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated by a Serbian political group, the Black Hand.

- Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, made a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia- The recent annexation, 1908, still fresh in many ethnic Serbians minds was the cause of this

assassination- First, a bomb was thrown at the Archduke’s motorcade, but exploded underneath wounding

several people, but the Archduke was still alive.- The Black Hand was given a second attempt outside of a sandwich shop, which is where one of

the assassins, Gavrilo Princip, had went for lunch.- Princip seized this opportunity, drawing out two pistols, and murdered the Archduke and his

wife

• On July 23rd, 1914, Austro-Hungary issued a forty-eight hour ultimatum

• One of the ultimatum terms was the Austro-Hungarian Empire demanding an inquiry into the assassination on Serbian soil, but the Serbian government rejected this inquest

• Thus Austro-Hungary was unable to investigate into their Archduke’s death in Serbia, given that the Serbian government deemed this to be outside of their jurisdiction

• Without this inquest the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on the Serbian nation on July 28th, 1914 by bombing Belgrade

• The Russians, who had a pact with the Serbians, mobilized troops to defend Serbia

• Germany then leapt to Austro-Hungary’s defence and declared war on Russia

• Germany then quickly declared war on France, who was Russia’s ally

• When Germany prepared to attack Belgium, England declared war on Germany due to their alliance with the Belgians

• Austro-Hungary then declared war on Russia

• France and England then declared war on Austro-Hungary

• Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Albania, and the USA all declared their neutrality

The Pieces in MotionUp to this point of warfare history, wars had been generally short, but fought slowly, the scale was small, and the offensive was the tried and true way to win a war. This changed with WWI The Germans were able to taking an advantage in France with the Schlieffen Plan, but eventually led to a four year long stalemate which changed the view of war forever; what was once a whimsical mix of beautiful uniforms, gallantry, and bravado was now a landscape of war torn countryside covered with barbed wire, artillery shells, poisonous gases, and bodies

New technologies also widened the scope of battle Although these technologies had been developed for years and utilized in various ways no one really understood their capabilities fully, thus they were relegated to the side by the majority of nations

• Machine Guns• Biological Warfare• Tanks• Artillery• Airplanes

The Schlieffen Plan- Developed by Alfred von Schlieffen in 1905, the Schlieffen Plan was a code of conduct

that the German army would enact to quickly encircle the French- Essentially, the German army would take a quick offensive against the French, rather than

adopting a stagnant defensive position, while simultaneously having a contingency plan for eastern deployment against the Russians

- The Germans would go through Belgium, making use of their extensive railway system, thus avoiding the French fortresses along their border

- They take the majority of their army through this passage, go around Paris routing the French defences, rendering French’s surrender imminent

- This needed to be done quickly to allow the Germans the ability to mobilize forces against other nations in a multi-front war

- Schlieffen warned that if the Germans lost momentum or if the French were able to escape the campaign would become an endless struggle

- This plan was used partially by the German general Helmuth von Moltke the Senior

- The Schlieffen Plan was used in part, where the Germans attempted to outflank the French, thus putting them into a trap, but unlike Schlieffen, Moltke was tentative and planned to send far less troops through Belgium than Schlieffen had recommended

- Schlieffen recommended a seven to one ratio of troops in the centre of Germany, while Moltke opted for a tentative three to one ratio, thus staving off French invasion in the south west of Germany

- This plan was daring because they needed to defeat the French in less than six weeks so that they had ample time to make it to the eastern front to take on and defeat the Russians

- Regardless of this plan, the German army was outnumbered by the French- 1.7 million Germans versus 2 million French, plus the Belgian and British intervention while they

attempted to pass through Belgium to rout the French- The French, too, had a plan under Joseph Joffre

- Plan XVII outlined that the French would take an all encompassing coverage of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Lorraine

- This was later regarded as a grave mistake since they did not expect the Germans to take such a large sweep into Belgium

Stalemate in France- As we look back in history we can see that the execution of the Schlieffen Plan was

inadequate, but why?- The plan itself was sound in nature, but the confidence from Moltke the Senior and other

German generals was not there- von Kluck, a German general, felt too “exposed” out in the north west flanking position,

so he changed his formation, thus ruining the execution of the plan- It was this lack of confidence that led to the German’s plan failing

- Moltke was demoted for this failure of the Schlieffen Plan- Although the plan to conquer France in six weeks had failed, the Germans controlled 90%

of French iron ore reserves and 40% of their coal- The reasons for general stalemate comes from the lack of knowledge around the new technology, how to

deal with massive mobilized armies, and lacking adequate rations/ammunitions for a long war- Everyone believed that this war would not last longer than six months, which they were sorely mistaken

Oh, those Belgians...- One of the main reasons why the Schlieffen Plan failed is two-fold

- 1. von Moltke the Senior was too tentative and did not send a large enough force

- 2. The Belgians, led by King Albert I, put up a hell of a good fight regardless of their poorly equipped and trained infantry

- If the Germans had sent the amount of troops the Schlieffen had originally predicted through Belgium, they would have conquered Belgium and France in less than six weeks allowing them to confront the Russians on their eastern border

- This could have had a large impact as England may have been hesitant to enter the war if Germany quickly took control of Belgium and France

- Although the Belgian force was untrained and unequipped, behind their fearless leader, Albert I, they fought with gumption for their nationhood

Battle of Marne: I’ll Race you, Buddy.- Although the Schlieffen Plan “failed” the Germans were twenty one kilometres

from Paris on the Marne river- The citizens of Paris began to leave in droves to try and escape German occupation

- The British army was suffering from retreat in Belgium towards Paris- The next few days highlighted Germany’s press towards Paris, but the French staved

them off- At this point, the Germans now had the British and French in front of the; desperately in need of a new

position they began their race to the sea- The British/French also attempted to reach the sea- The result was miles and miles of trenches, and the creation of the trench stalemate on a grandiose scale- http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/history20/unit1/outflank.html

Christmas Day, 1914- Something odd occurred on December 24th, 1914

- A cease fire has been called and for an entire day there was no fighting between the Alliance and the Entente

- What is even more peculiar is that these groups of soldiers actually met in “no man’s land” and shared food and gifts

- Some reports came back stating that there were friendly matches of soccer taking place between warring enemies- Generals from both sides were furious over these actions and called for an immediate

abandonment of such gatherings"I think I have seen one of the most extraordinary sights today that anyone has ever seen. About 10 o'clock this morning I was peeping over a parapet when I saw a German, waving his arms, and presently two of them got out of their trenches and some came towards ours. We were just going to fire on them when we saw they had no rifles so one of our men went out to meet them and in about two minutes the ground between the two lines of trenches was swarming with men and officers of both sides, shaking hands and wishing each other a happy Christmas.

Second Lieutenant Dougan Chater

Aquatic Warfare- While the Western front was grinding to a halt, the war at sea was raging

- By the end of 1914 the British, who were the naval superiors of the world, were able to sink every German civilian ship

- This is important because this caused a disconnect between Germany and her colonies, thus they could not be supplied from outside forces

- Any German frigates or dreadnoughts were simply chased back to Germany, thus for the first year of WWI the British still owned the ocean

- Germany was slowly losing the ability to properly supply their army, and the British were simply exacerbating that issue

- This was the beginning of a glimpse into what Total War would be- Entire economies were controlled by the war effort, millions of men were needed,

supplying those men was a logistical nightmare, and war weariness hit an all time high

Mud, Blood, and TB- The defining feature of WWI, other than the total control it had around the world

in the scale of involvement, would be the trenches- Before this trench warfare was an unknown

- There had been sieges waged upon castles/ fortresses, and it was common practice to dig a small hole to hide yourself from incoming cannon shots, but trenches of this scale and staying in them for days on end was unheard of

- Attrition: the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure

- Trenches began like their distant counterparts used for cannon warfare, simply as shallow holes

- The Germans were well planned in their placement of trenches, usually at beneficial vantage points and upstream, while the English and French were relegated to sitting in wet, muddy, and exposed positions

- The issue with trenches, especially for the British and French was that where the trenches were position they took on large amounts of water

- Soldiers would then stand in mud and water for days on end- This led to something known as “trench foot”

- The mud also affected soldier’s weaponry and food- Rations were ruined, and weapons began to jam

- Rats were also an issue in the trenches- Rats were able to feast on the numerous dead bodies found in

the trenches, thus they produced like wild fire- They spread disease, stole food, and even endangered soldiers

that were injured because they became bold enough to attack!- Five day fever - Caused by lice

"I saw some rats running from under the dead men's greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat."

Technological AdvancesThe Machine Gun: this weapon, prior to WWI, was viewed as lacklustre. Many believed that this weapon would be ineffective in war, especially the “well-trained” armies of Britain or France- The Germans took advantage of this new technology and utilized it in such a way that it

became a staple in warfare- By placing machine guns in specific positions on hills, the Germans were able to create

an interlocking spray of machine gun fire- This system allowed for maximum defence with minimal effort

Artillery: with advancements in the range of artillery fire, the scope and the way battles were fought changed completely.- Barrages of artillery fire prior to battles were now common place

- The issue with such barrages were the lack of planning, communication, and effectiveness- At the Battle of the Somme, before the initial attack, the British used a barrage of artillery to

weaken the German defences; the issue was that the types of shells used were not explosive enough - defences were left intact and a massacre ensued as the British left their trenches

Grenades: this technology was not new at the advent of WWI, but the usage became widespread as they were effective in clearing out enemy trenches

Tanks: this was a new technology for all generals in WWI. No one truly understand how to utilize them in the battlefield properly, but they were effective in surpassing “No Man’s Land”. - the tank was basically engineered out of a tractors husk with armour plating welding on to it- this of course changed as technologies advanced

- originally tanks were just simple machines with tracks, equipped with machine guns and in some cases cannons

- these were cumbersome units that could only travel four to six kilometres an hour and weighed over thirty tonnes

German Granade Allied Granade

Biological warfare: this was not a new weapon, but the types of biological warfare used was.- Chlorine: a bluish, green gas that would suffocate those that were infected by filling the

lungs- First used by the Germans in 1915 in Ypres, but was generally ineffective as those infected

would cough the gas out of their lungs- Phosgene, a clear gas, was then developed as an alternative to chlorine, which was much

more effective than its bluish, green counterpart- Mustard gas: a musty, hay smelling gas that would develop blisters on the body and burn

the inner lining of the lung.- This was one of the most terrifying weapons used- It was a slow acting acid where symptoms would not develop for twelve hours in some cases

Airplanes: this was a weapon that came into its own as the war progressed- Originally, they were simply used for the purposes of observing enemy positions, which

was very successful- When the French mounted machine guns as weapons on the airplane it then became the

cavalry of the sky- Planes at this point were not the fast, fancy, aerodynamic machines that we know- They were wooden, static, covered in canvas, and lacked maneuverability

Barbed Wire: yes, the thing that is used to prevent cows from leaving their desired area was used as a weapon.- Developed in the USA as a tool for farmers/ranchers, it was soon used to cover “No

Man’s Land” and to defend the trenches- Soldiers would become entangled in the wire, thus leaving them exposed and swiftly

shot- This weapon, couple with crisscrossing machine gun fire led to the demise of many

The Unterseebooten (U-boats): although the submarine had been around since 1620, the Germans were able to perfect its usage in WWI- Submarines were used as a stealth weapon against the naval superiority that the

British possessed over the Germans- Germans were now able to silently and secretly attack the British enemy - In 1917, the Germans sunk the Lusitania

- This led to the death of over 1100 civilians, including 139 Americans- This is what caused the USA to join the war- The convoy system of accompanying unarmed ships with

destroys was soon adopted to stave off German attacks

Canadian Involvement in WWI- Canada, at this time, was still closely tied to Britain; when Britain declared war on

Germany, we were also at war with Germany- It was not until William Lyon Mackenzie King, who was insane, that we became more

independent as a nation- In WWI we attempted to supply Britain through the war effort with munitions, food, and

soldiers- In certain cases, Canadians were used as “expendables”, thus many battalions were given

dangerous and risky missions- Although Canada was under British dominion, the size of the war effort was hotly

debated- Remember: Canada is a country that has three different nations represented within it - the English, the

French, and the First Nations People of Canada- The French, not seeing the relevance of being a part of the war, debated on whether or not they should be a

part of it - why should the French population of Canada fight in a British war?

First Nations Involvement in WWI- around 4,000 First Nations people from across Canada joined the military to fight the

Germans and Austro-Hungarians- The view on soldiers at this time was that “a soldier is a soldier is a soldier”- Regardless of this, there were still racially inspired issues that many had to deal with

- They also had to overcome the exclusive use of English in the army - many First Nations people did not know how to speak fluent English

- Despite all of these barriers, the First Nations people who were apart of the army served honorably and their talents were noticed

- Due to the lifestyles of hunting, many First Nations people were well trained with rifles- Corporal Francis Pegahmagabow was the most decorated First Nations soldier that fought in WWI; he was

known as an excellent marksman, and was also able to single handedly capture a large number of German soldiers circa 1916.

- http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/in-uniform/first-nations-soldiers/- When many of the soldiers returned to Canada though, they still faced the same prejudice

Major Canadian Battles- Second Ypres - April, 1915*- Festubert - May, 1915- St. Eloi Craters - April, 1916- Mount Sorrel - June, 1916- The Somme - July - Nov. 1916*- Courcelette - Sept. 1916- Vimy Ridge - April, 1917*- Hill 70 - July-August, 1917- Passchendaele - October, 1917*- Siberian Expedition Force (Russian Civil War) - 1918 - 1921- Amiens - August, 1918- Arras and Canal du Nord - August, 1918*- Mons - November, 1918

Second Ypres- Ypres was the last major town that the Allies had control of; they needed to ensure

control of it at all costs as this was a route where the Allies could protect French ports on the English Channel

- this was the first battle where biological warfare was used on the battlefield by the Germans- Three brigades of Canadians were present that day: two were in the front lines, and the other

in the reserves near Ypres- The French were fighting on the left of the Canadian brigades where they were gassed with

chlorine- Many abandoned their posts fleeing the bluish-green gas with their lungs and eyes burning

- Much of the gas missed the Canadians, but left their flank exposed- Over the next four days the Canadians fought tenaciously, but at the cost of 6,000 men- The Canadian army now had a new found reputation because of their dependability and

toughness in the heat of battle

The Somme - 1916- by 1916 the British had trained a massive force of new soldiers

- this was necessary because the original, small, professional force at this point of the war had been eliminated in battle

- Now the British had a new, revitalized force, but they were not battle ready due to a lack of experience

- The French at this point were willing and able to launch a full offensive to effectively “end” the war

- Under French command, both the British and French were to launch a massive offensive at the Somme, but this was ruined by the Germans launching a counter offensive at Verdun

- The Somme was then left in the hands of the British under General Haig

- The plan was simple, as the British government and General Haig had little confidence in the newly trained soldiers

- A barrage of over 1.5 million artillery shells was to knock out much of the German defence network

- The soldiers would then go in four waves, one after the other, march to the German trenches and take control of the new positions

- This offensive was supposed to be a short one…- The artillery barrage began on July 1st and for five days straight shells

rained down upon the German defences- When came time to go up and over soldiers were eager, as many of them had

not fought in an actual battle before- What occurred was chaos

- At the end of the first day the British had suffered 56,000 casualties: 21,000 dead and 35,000 wounded

- Some divisions, such as one from Newfoundland, suffered almost ensured destruction; 810 men went over, and only 100 lived

- Why did this occur?

The Failure- The reason that the Somme offensive was such a complete failure is because of the

insufficient use of proper artillery shells- Most of the shells that were used were the air explosive type, rather than a high impact

contact explosion- The Germans were able to simply hide from much of the shrapnel, thus their defences

were left intact- The barbed wire was also to be destroyed, but the air explosive shells were not able to

destroy such defences; they needed to use high impact explosives to have that effect- With the German defences intact many soldiers were trapped in the barbed wire and shot- The medical staff was completely overwhelmed and little could be done for the majority of those wounded

- Many of those that were shot in the stomach area were just left to die, because nothing could be done for them other than be given a shot of morphine http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/history20/unit1/smSim.html

The Continuation- By the end of the FIRST MONTH of battle over one million people were

dead on both sides- Allies - 620,000 - German - 450,000

- The ground gained was minimal, just a few kilometers, for the amount of dead that had succumbed to the horrors of fights

- General Haig was undeterred by such numbers and continued day after day with the onslaught

- The battle actually lasted until November 18th, 1916 = FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS

- This type of military engagement highlights the style of warfare that was typical of the WWI landscape

Vimy Ridge- This battle, and its resulting success, were defining moments for Canada and her military

- This position was integral because its seven kilometre expanse making it a strategic vantage point for operations

- The British at this point had minimal success, and the French had suffered great losses, but when the Canadians were instructed to take Vimy Ridge they did it in a spectacular fashion

- Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, the Canadian Corps commander, learning much from the Battle of the Somme, used new tactics with his soldiers

- Instead of having the soldiers led by their commanding officer, all soldiers were given the plan so that they could make independent decisions to ensure the advancement of the line

- An artillery barrage was used to isolate the German defences from one another- At 5:30 AM, April 9th, 1917 over 1000 guns fired upon the German positions and 15,000

Canadian soldiers came out of the trenches to advance to their new position with thousands more soldiers behind them

- This battle is important in Canadian history because of the unprecedented victory that neither the French, nor the British, could complete

- This was also the first time all four Canadian divisons fought together

Passchendaele - Similar to the situation at Vimy Ridge where the British were unable to effectively

defeat the German held position, General Haig had little success at Passchendaele with the British

- He then ordered the Canadians to bring victory home for the Allies- Sir Arthur Currie, commander of the Canadian Corps, was instructed by General Haig to

take Passchendaele, but Currie refused initially- He felt that the battle could not be won, but Haig insisted, thus he began to prepare- The landscape of Passchendaele was a murky bog filled with bodies and a shell shocked landscape- The Canadian troops arrived to relieve New Zealand and Australian soldiers from their positions and begin

their offence- Currie began by building new roads, creating new defence positions, and repair railworks- With the new infrastructure in place the Canadians began a four set piece attack, where they would be

victorious

Arras and Canal du Nord- Following a victory at the battle of Amiens, the Allied generals wanted to have a

joint attack against the seemingly weak German Western front- What resulted became known as the “Hundred Days” which lasted from August until

November of 1918- The Canadians took the lead on the attack on August 26th with the use of artillery

bombardment- The German defences were shell shocked, but heavily losses were incurred on both sides- More than 11,000 Canadians died by September 2nd when they finally broke through the Drocourt-

Quéant Line- After a month of planning, the Canadians took on another risky operation against the

Germans at the Canal du Nord- Due to proper planning and magnificent execution, the Canadians were able to break through and take

the key positions Bourlon Wood and Cambrai

The Home Fronts- Remember, while all of this warfare was going on in mainland Europe some

sort of “normal” life still needed to be sustained- While the country was rallying behind their army to supply their troops they

also needed to supply themselves with food, clothes, and other amenities- This was the introduction of “Total War”

- Nations were at a stand still supporting the entirety of the war effort- No one had anticipated a war that would last longer than a year

- As the war continued to drag on and resources expired, countries were at odds with how to properly supply their armies

- Germany was the best prepared out of all nations that entered WWI, and they even reached resistance with supply issues

Deutschland- Food was one of the major issues in Germany during the war

- The best food was sent to the front lines to ensure the soldiers would have the proper amount of energy to conquer those before them, while those at home were left with little to eat

- Kriegsbrot became a staple for the German people, which is a type of bread that is made with potatoes instead of wheat

- As the war began to take longer than initially expected, the Germans turned to science to feed those who were at home

- Margarine, artificial honey, gravies, puddings, and other edibles were created to deal with the lack of food

- Winter of 1916 - Turnip Winter - potatoe harvest was destroyed by frost- Due to the war effort needing so many men, there was a shortage of men to work in the

factories- Prisoners of war, children, and women were used to keep up the production needed for those abroad and

those at home

The Brits- Like the Germans, the British did not expect the war to last as long

as it did, thus their economy was strained- DORA (Defense of Realm Act) was passed to allow the government to do

WHATEVER IT TAKES to defeat the enemy- When the Germans began their unrestricted submarine warfare the civilians

of Britain suffered- Before this, the British were able to access their colonies for extra food stuffs- Shortages then became more common as this practice of unrestricted warfare began

- Unlike Germany, the British did not suffer from a lack of raw materials, but did suffer from a lack of workers

- Women stepped up and began to work “Traditional” jobs that were generally occupied by men at the time

The French Mutiny - 1917- After three years of solid fighting and hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded the

French army had had enough- The food was poor, the soldiers had not been on leave for the entirety of the war, and they began to

lose faith in their commanding officers- One disastrous battle was the tipping point

- 100,000 French soldiers died in a major battle and the replacements “bleated like sheep” to symbolize the generals herding them to their deaths

- Discontent continued to spread culminating in 30,000 men simply getting out of their trenches and walking home

- 54 divisions, over half of the French army, began to disregard their commanding officers orders and panic quickly set into the high command

- General Petain made some changes to the conditions of the army, and after six weeks the army was working cohesively again- This did not occur before mass arrests, exiles, and executions

- 24,000 arrested, 400 sentenced to death, 50 shot, the other 350 sent to Devil’s Isle

Slow Uncle Sam joins the fight- Remember, the USA did not join the war initially, instead they declared their

neutrality- Special note: the Americans supplied Germany with nickel, a metal used in creating

bullets, plating armour upon ships and tanks, and other general military applications- Capitalism knows no bounds…

- In 1917, the Germans had stepped up their unrestricted submarine warfare policy and consequently the Lusitania, a civilian ship, was sunk

- One board were 128 Americans, and public outcry led for Woodrow Wilson to declare war on April 6th, 1917

- The Germans now had to scramble to defeat those left on the Western front before the Americans could arrive

- The American army was was well equipped, refreshed, and ready to fight as they had not been in a major war since the Spanish Civil War in 1898

Der letzte Angriff Deutsch (The Last German Attack)

- With the Americans soon arriving, the Germans needed to make one last push to take victory on the Western Front

- The war on the Eastern front had mostly subsided due to the Russian Revolutions that occurred in February and October of 1917, thus the Germans could now solely focus on one front rather than two

- Under General Ludendorff the Germans launched a massive assault- With 200 divisions of soldiers and a massive artillery backing the Germans broke

through and pushed all the way to Paris, but lost momentum- The Allies then banded together - the French, British, and newly arrived Americans -

and began a counteroffensive which slowly pushed them back to their original trench lines

- The end was now near, but not before thousand more were killed on both sides...

The Final Days- The end was now insight for the Allies

- The British took an initiative of a number of offensives to take the pressure off the war weary French

- The problem with this was the lack of adaptations the British High Command made in their battle plans

- Little knowledge was used from the prior battles, thus high casualty numbers plagued the last few endeavours

- Hundreds of thousands of men died in battles like Passchendaele for little to no actual gain- The German home front at this point was beyond war weary and the soldiers

felt an imminent defeat- Beginning with a mutiny at sea, riots quickly spread across Germany and the war effort

completely fell apart

Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen pointsOn January 8th, 1918 Wilson delivered a speech outlines the demands of an Armistice with the USA1. Open, public peace talks2. Free sea passage, outside territorial waters3. Removal of trade barriers for all those that agree to peace4. Guarantees that armaments will go as low as needed for national safety5. An open minded, impartial re-adjustment to colonial claims6. Evacuation of Russian Territory7. Evacuation/ Rectification of Belgium8. Evacuation of French Territory, including Alsace-Lorraine9. Italy’s borders readjusted10. Austro-Hungary should be reassured of their independence11. Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated12. Turkish portion of Ottoman Empire given autonomy, but other areas should be allowed to grow, as well as

the Dardanelles should be left open for all to use13. Poland should be granted independence 14. Equality amongst all nations

The Armistice- On November 11th, 1918 General Foch, commander of the French

army, met with politicians sent by General Ludendorff to reach terms of peace

- The terms were harsh on Germany, as someone needed to be blamed- It has been noted that one of the politicians broke down in tears because of

the severity of the terms that had been imposed upon Germany - After the signing of the agreement Foch stood up from his chair and walked

out of the train car where the meeting had taken place- The war would effectively end on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918

- Although the armistice had been signed there was a long road ahead for Germany as they were to be blamed for the entirety of WWI…..

Simulation……….I will need five volunteers for this part…

The French Position- The French people wished for revenge upon the German people - most of the battles

occurred on French territory, thus the cost of rebuilding would be exorbitant - This was not just because of WWI, but also other embarrassing instances

- Alsace-Lorraine- The Franco-Prussian War- WWI destruction

- The French President, George Clemenceau, wished for strict limitations upon Germany1. A buffer country is to be created between France and Germany2. Germany is to be demilitarized forever3. Germany needs to pay the victors all large amounts of money because they started the war

a. It was eventually agreed to at the Treaty of Versailles that Germany would pay 22 billion pounds in reparations

i. When did Germany finally pay this back? Take a guess…..

Final Negotiations- Clemenceau, Wilson, and David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, negotiated for months over the

terms that should be imposed on Germany- Clemenceau pushed for strict and harsh conditions to be put upon Germany, which the Americans and

British did not agree with- Eventually, Wilson was so fed up with Clemenceau he pack his bags and went back home

- It was at this moment that Clemenceau relaxed his rage, vengeful grip upon the defeated Germans and agreed to other terms- The terms were still astronomically harsh upon war torn, economically crippled Germany

- On June 28th, 1919, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the treaty was finally signed by the Germans- The instigation of another counter attack was improbable from Germany during this long period of negotiations, because the

Allies continued the trade embargo with Germany causing the nation to starve

The Conditions of the Treaty - Versailles

1. The German Army was limited to only 100,000 men of all ranks.2. No large artillery pieces, tanks or aircraft were allowed for the German military.3. Limits on German Army Reserves. Men who joined the German Army had to stay in for twelve years and

officers had to stay in for twenty-five years. This meant that only a limited number of men in Germany would have military training.

4. No General Staff was allowed. The purpose of a General Staff was to plan for war. This was were Von Schlieffen had developed his plans, therefore, no General Staff equals no war plans, then no war.

5. The German Navy was limited to six cruisers, two old battleships and some smaller ships for port duties.6. Submarines were completely forbidden. The threat of these weapons during the war caused serious problems

for the Allies.7. The Allies were to occupy the Rhineland for 15 years in an area called the “demilitarized zone.” Germany was to

pay for the cost of the Allied troops stationed in this area. This condition was to help limit French fears of fighting on French soil.

8. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France. This was a sore spot for France because Bismarck had taken the provinces away after the Franco-Prussian War.

9. Parts of Germany that were occupied by Polish people were given to the new country of Poland. This was part of Wilson’s Fourteen Points to create countries made up of ethnic groups, not run by foreign powers.

10. All German overseas colonies were divided up and given to France, England and in the Pacific to Japan.

Note: these were only the German conditions; there were seperate treaties written up for Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire

The Other Treaties- Who bombed Belgrade? And because of this action all the other nations

declared war on one other was caused by whom?- That’s right! Austro-Hungary did it! Their eager need to expand their territorial

boundaries while Kaiser Wilhelm II attempted to backtrack and stop the inevitable war seems to be all but forgotten.

- The conditions that were placed upon Austro-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire who fought with Germany, were not as severe as the German conditions

- Both empires were to be broken up and independence given to the ethnic minorities within those nations

- Austro-Hungary became Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia- The Ottoman Empire was broken up into a number of countries, thus the only piece remaining was

Turkey

The Situation after Versailles- The document of the treaty was riddled with favouritism, but some parts were beneficial for a relatively

“peaceful” Europe- The idea of national self-determination allowed countries to exist on their own, not occupied by foreign

powers. It was hoped that situations like in Serbia would not occur again as a spark to future wars.- Germany had been punished, but had not been destroyed or broken into smaller states. Several countries

wanted Germany wiped out and returned to the many small states before Bismarck unified them.- The League of Nations was established along with several defensive alliances to limit future problems in Europe

and the world.The problem that occurred was the American Congress rejected the Treaty of Versailles…

- They also rejected the defence treaty with France, which in turn led Britain to also abandon the French treaty- The USA began their practice of isolationism once more, because they felt that European matters did not affect

them- Thus the Americans did not join WWII until December of 1941 when Pearl Harbour was

bombed by the Japanese

“War. War never changes.” Mobilized Dead Wounded Missing/PoW

Russia 12,000,000 1,700,000 4,950,000 2,500,000

Germany 11,000,000 1,773,700 4,216,058 1,152,800

Great Britain 8,904,467 908,371 2,090,212 191,652

France 8,410,000 1,375,800 4,266,000 537,000

Austria-Hungary 7,800,000 1,200,000 3,620,000 2,200,000

Italy 5,615,000 650,000 947,000 600,000

US 4,355,000 126,000 234,300 4,526

Turkey 2,850,000 325,000 400,000 250,000

Canada sent 424,000 men overseas. Just under 60,000 men died and 172,000 were wounded.

14% of the Canadian force died in WWI10% of the British over all died14% - Russia16% - Germany16% - France15% - Austria11% - Italy2% - USA11% - Turkey7% - Bulgaria

Bulgaria 1,200,000 87,500 152,390 27,029

Japan 800,000 300 907 3

Rumania 750,000 335,706 120,000 80,000

Serbia 707,343 45,000 133,148 152,958

Belgium 267,000 44,686 34,659

Greece 230,000 5,000 21,000 1,000

Portugal 100,000 7,222 13,751 12,318

Montenegro 50,000 3,000 10,000 7,000

Mobilized Dead Wounded Missing/PoW

The Financial Cost- Because this war was “Total War” the cost was weighed heavily upon all of those

who participated all four years of the war- Britain, whom before the war was a financial staple in Europe, was the on the verge of

ruin- Germany, now under the rule of the Treaty of Versailles, was worst off out of all the

countries involved- The Germans were to pay 2.5 billion gold marks a year until 1961- The first payment occurred in 1921, but in 1922 the economy collapsed

- Hyperinflation ensued because the government kept printing money

ECONOMIC STORYTIME WITH MR.SPENCER!!!! - This eventually came to be one of the factors that led to WWII

Why War’s like this were impossible, and still are ...

- Technology- Alliances- Scale- Economy- Mutually assured destruction