Canadian History 1201 Unit 2

Canada in the First World War

Student Workbook 2.1

Student Name:___________________ SCO 2.0: The student will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of Canada’s involvement in the First World War.

2.1: Entry into the War: support for Britain, military preparedness, recruitment, attitudes towards war

2.2: War Experiences: trench warfare, tactics and technology, experiences of the various groups 2.3: Canadian Contributions: battles and military operations, Aboriginals, women and specific individuals, casualty rates 2.4: Home front: economic, political and social growth

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Outcome 2.1: Entry into the War: support for Britain, military preparedness, recruitment, attitudes towards war Complete the following questions to help with your understanding of the causes which led to the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914. Your answers are highlight in red on the slideshow.

Part A: Militarism

___________________________: the belief that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

Leading up to the First World War, it was thought that the only way to guarantee ___________ was to prepare for ________________.

The idea was that if a nation is militarily strong, then no enemy would dare to attack it. If war does break out, the ___________________________ nation is able to defend itself.

Militarism led to an arms race before 1914 as many countries tried to build a larger & more deadly war machine than its rivals.

The size of armies & navies would determine who was more powerful. Prior to WWI, ______________ contained Europe’s strongest__________________ while________________ was the world’s strongest_____________________________.

______________________________ constructed large armies because it was surrounded by Russia & France which had formed a common alliance in the early 1890s

The German army was accepted as being the biggest and the best in the world.

As an island nation, _____________________ had traditionally maintained a large navy to protect trade routes & its overseas empire

Germany also wanted an empire & began increasing the size of its navy in order to achieve this goal….this worried the British

By 1910, a naval arms race had appeared between the two. The impact was felt here in Canada with the Naval Service Bill from unit 1.

In 1906, Britain launched the ____________________________, the first all-big-gun battleship, which made all other warships obsolete,

Gaining numerical superiority with this weapon would provide a control with command of the seas so both Britain and Germany launched major battleship programs prior to 1914

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Part B: Alliances

Alliances are formed when countries ______________________________ against a _________________________________________ (they guarantee military assistance if a country is attacked by an enemy nation)

Between 1879 & 1907, the major European powers became caught up in a dangerous system of alliances

While they did provide security, alliances were very dangerous for they raised the possibility that a minor incident between two countries could lead to a general war between all alliance members

In 1914 ,Europe had two main alliance systems:

The ______________________________________ (“The Central Powers”) consisting of

______________________, ________________________________, __________

The _____________________ (“The Allies”) consisting of ____________________,

_____________, and ______________

Politicians at the time called this system of alliances the ’ ________________________________

____________________________________’

They believed that the size & power of the two alliances would prevent either side from starting

a war

Part C: Imperialism _______________________________ is the policy of establishing colonies away from the

homeland & building an empire

It involved the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region

Colonies were important assets to the major powers prior to 1914 because they provided raw materials, markets for goods, & military strength.

Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, the United States all wanted to colonial empires.

____________________________________: a region where one power claims exclusive investment / trading privileges

Imperialism led to frequent quarrels among the great powers of Europe in all parts of the globe.

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Arguments over colonies & trade constantly threatened peace.

Part D: Nationalism

Definition #1: a feeling of deep ___________________________ to one’s people & homeland

Definition #2: Desire of a ___________________________________________ to throw off foreign rule and create their own nation

Strong force in Europe & other areas throughout the 18th & 19th centuries

Nationalism can be a ______________ force in helping unify a people (French Revolution, Canadian Confederation, Olympic Games)

Nationalism can be a ______________________ force for it can threaten existing political structures (ethnic groups in Austria-Hungary & the Ottoman Empires struggled for independence throughout the 19th & early 20th centuries)

_____________________ nationalism was causing problems in the early 20th century. Some people seemed willing to take any action to support their nation, regardless of the effect on others including going to war or conducting terrorist activities to promote the interests of their homelands/ethnic groups

Nationalistic ideals were particularly dangerous within the Austria-Hungarian Empire where

many ethnic groups living there wanted ___________________________ & ________________

____________________________.

One such group, the Serbs, wished to gain more political power in the Balkans & to eventually

unite all Serbs into one nation - Yugoslavia

Serbia was supported by Russia…Russia was the traditional protector of the Serbs (Slavic race)

Nationalism was very strong in _____________ & many Serbs throughout the Balkans / Eastern

Europe _____________________ living under Austrian control.

One area where this resentment was strongest was in _______________ – annexed by Austria in

1908

By 1914, the ______________________________ ( Serbian-Bosnian terrorist group) had formed

with the goal of____________________ Bosnia from Austria &________________it with Serbia

Like most terrorist groups, the Bland Hand was willing to go to the extreme for their cause.

Immediate Cause

This was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. Within a

month following this assassination, all of the major countries of Europe would be at war

The July Crisis The ___________________________________________ refers to the series of events that

occurred in the month immediately following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

which led to the outbreak of war in Europe

The events of this crisis also illustrates the dangers associated with the system of alliances

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Canada in 1914 A very young nation at the outbreak of war (only 47 years old) with approximately 8 million

‘A Nation of Immigrants’….as we discovered in Unit 1

Mainly agricultural country with increased urbanization & industry

Since Laurier’s 1911 defeat, there was an economic downturn with many young men

unemployed in 1914

Limited military experience (1885 NW Rebellion, 1899-1903 South African War) and limited

military forces (Approx 3000 soldiers & little military equipment) with a lack of trained officers.

Over naval comprised only 2 ships with 350 men…(Britain assumed responsibility for defended

the sea approaches to Canada)

Canada was a self-governing dominion within the British Empire (Britain controlled our foreign

affairs / defense including our decision to go to war )

Britain’s entry into the First World War against Germany legally brought Canada into the conflict

as well

In addition to Canada, other dominions of the British Empire immediately entered the war to

support Britain

Canada’s Response to War

The announcement of war brought great __________________________________________

_______________ across our country as 1000s of young men rushed to the recruiting offices

War was suppose to be over by Christmas, so young men joined before they lost their

opportunity to participate unaware of the horrors that awaited them

Unlike the professional armies of Europe, our army would be a _____________________ citizen-

soldier army initially comprised of over 70% British born recruits

They eagerly volunteered hoping for a free trip to visit relatives or areas they lived in prior to

their arrival in Canada

The percentage of native-born Canadians would increase throughout the war until, by 1918,

more than half of the Canadian Expeditionary Force would be Canadian-born.

Motivation to Fight Here are some things that motivated many Canadians to fight in the First World War

Germany's brutal invasion of Belgium had ____________________ many Canadians.

War was also viewed as a ___________________________________________ involving honour

and glory

Many viewed war as a ____________________________________________ from the

monotony of work and civilian routine.

Men sought to escape the economic recession that plagued Canada, but many gave up good

jobs in order to serve.

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Recruitment Restrictions

Despite the rush to sign up in 1914, not all potential recruits were welcomed.

Potential soldiers were subjected to ________________________________________________

at least five feet, three inches tall, between 18 and 45 years old, Good eyesight, arched

feet, and healthy teeth were essential.

Because of the initial surge of recruits, many eager volunteers were turned down

Early in the war, recruiters also rejected most visible minorities, black, & Asia Canadian

volunteers for military service.

While racist feelings ran deep, and the war effort overseas would be carried out largely by white

Canadians, many units did embrace First Peoples for their skills, real or imagined, as snipers and

scouts

Government Reaction / Response

Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden and his Cabinet quickly agreed to meet Britain's request for a

Canadian contingent of 25,000 troops.

The government also passed the _____________________________________________ (WMA),

giving it the authority to do whatever it thought necessary for the "security, defence, peace,

order and welfare of Canada."

Here are some examples of the WMA

_________________________ could be told what to produce (ammunition instead of

farm tools).

Immigrants who had come from what were now enemy countries, like Germany, had

their movements controlled

Allowed the government to put anyone in _____________________________________

Strict ____________________________ was introduced

Sam Hughes

Canadian _____________________________________ in 1914 responsible for raising Canada’s

new army in 1914

He was nationalistic / patriotic and very controversial

He scrapped the training grounds at Petawawa, Ontario & moved it to ___________________,

Quebec

He _____________________________ French Canada by placing a Baptist minister in charge of

recruiting in Quebec, providing all military instructions in English rather than in French, and

placing all French recruits into English speaking regiments

He promoted inferior Canadian made equipment produced by political cronies who were more

interested in profit than quality. Examples include:

Boots turned to mush in heavy rains

MacAdam Spade (Army bought 25, 000 @ $1.25 each. All were sold for scrap)

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________________________ (Canadian replacement for the British Lee Enfeld, it was a

great target weapon used by snipers but it jammed easily when fired rapidly)

Recruitment in 1914

In the days before the information age & mass media, recruitment posters were prominent in

stimulating military enlistment

These posters would be found in newspapers & posted at various locations within cities

They highlighted symbols of patriotism & nationalism

Due to the recruiting campaign, approx. 32,000 men had signed up & were assembled at

Valcartier Camp near Quebec City for organization & military training

By October, 1914 the First Contingent, Canadian Expeditionary Force was going to Europe, not

to fight, but to train for a few months on England’s ____________________________________.

Newfoundland’s Response to War

With Britain at war, so too was her vast empire including us here in Newfoundland

Much like in Canada, the response here was immediate

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In reality, our colony was unprepared for war, lacking both military materiel & supplies for the

new recruits

In response, the _______________________________________________________________

was formed to deal with organizing the war effort & raising troops for overseas fighting

The government at the time promised the British a initial force of 500 men…these would

become known to history as the ‘________________________________________________’

The volunteers were immediately assembly at Pleasantville (St. John’s / Quidi Vidi Lake) for

training

Because our colony was unprepared for war, lacking both military materiel & supplies for the

new recruits, donations of all types were accepted (tents, uniforms, weapons)

Due to a shortage of khaki material traditionally used by soldiers as leg wrappings (puttees), our

soldiers were forced to use a navy blue material.

This is origin of the ‘_________________________________________ referencing the 1st five

hundred to head overseas in the Great War

These “First 500” left St. John’s in October 1914 and like many other recruits from the Empire,

they headed to Britain & Scotland for training before entering front-line service

2.1 Section Review

1. Describe the two alliance systems had existed in Europe by 1914?

2. Analyze the cartoon to explain how alliances make the likelihood of a large-scale war more

probable?

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3. What is militarism and why was it a factor leading to the outbreak of World War 1?

4. Define nationalism and explain how it contributed to the outbreak of war in 1914

5. Who was Franz Ferdinand and how did his assassination trigger World War 1?

6. Explain how Canada became involved in World War 1.

7. How did each of the following Canadian elements react to the outbreak of war in 1914?

a. General Population

b. Federal Government

8. Who was Sam Hughes and what role did he play in the formation of the Canadian Expeditionary

Force that sailed to Europe in October 1914?

9. How did Sam Hughes infuriate French Canada?

10. Explain Newfoundland’s entry into World War 1

11. What was the purpose of the Newfoundland Patriotic Association?

12. Explain how soldiers from Newfoundland acquired the name “the blue puttees.”