The Land Battles: Eastern Front• The Russian Campaign,

August 1914-16– August 1914 Russian Troops

were invading Germany• This was a surprise to

Germany and they thought this was going to be the other way around

– Germans still were able to have success against Russia, winning numerous battles• But… while they were

focussed on the Russians, the stalemate on the Western front remained strong

• Canadians did not participate in Eastern Front

The Land Battles: Eastern Front

• The Gallipoli Campaign, April 1915-December 1915– The Turks (part of Ottoman Empire) entered war on side

of Central Powers in an effort to keep Russia out straits of Gallipoli• This was part of their sought after warm water port in Balkans

– Furthermore, the British also had interest in this area.• Wanted a supply line to Russia

– Turned into a military disaster, little impact on the war– Demoralized Allied Forces

• Australian Forces took the brunt of this battle…

The War in the Air

• Canadians went on to fight in the British Air Force – See last days info

• Dogfights were the style of choice– Planes would often dive bomb at each

other and fire– Planes were still in their infancy, bombs

were dropped from the laps of the pilots, nor was there legit parachute technology (didn’t have them).

The Role of the Pilot

• Very romanticized occupation– Wasn’t always a great as that sounds

• Reputations were based on kills– Red Baron & Billy Bishop

• Many pilot casualties of the war were caused by mechanical reasons – Late 1916, average lifespan of a pilot = three

weeks

War at Sea

• Germany knew that command of the seas was VERY important to the British– Supplies of raw materials made their way to Great Britain by

sea• At the start of the war, the British navy chased the

German navy out of the North Sea and set a blockade between Denmark and Norway Sweden– German surface fleet did not

enter the Atlantic• But, their Submarines did…

German U-Boats

• In 1915, the German sunk a British passenger ship, the Lusitania– Previously Germans had sunk merchant (freighter)

ships to cut British supply routes• The Lusitania went down – 1,198 people drowned,

of that 128 were rich and influential Americans – this started to sway American opinion on entering the war… see you in two years– This was also the beginning of US involvement in world

affairs…

The German U-Boats II

• The German U-boat was somewhat of an equalizer in regards to the battle at sea– German Navy was no match for British

• Germany warned British they would attack supply ships without warning– By 1917, British home land supplies were running very

low, but Germany was getting impatient, introduced “unrestricted submarine warfare”• Went after any ship approaching Britain, previously only Allied

ships were sunk, no all = fair game• Total British bound ships sunk, 1,000.

Strategy to beat the U-Boat

• Convoy system was introduced– Supply ships were escorted by armed destroyers

• Ended the threat of German U-Boat

The Americans decide to join…• Three Strikes…

1. 1915 the sinking of the Lusitania was the first incident of interest2. 1917 German “unrestricted submarine warfare” made American

ships targets3. Early 1917, Americans learned that the Germans were

encouraging Mexico to attack the US from the south– Zimmerman Telegraph intercepted by British– They could not wait to share info with their

soon to be war ally

• April 1917, United States declared war on Germany…– See you in eight months…