World War I: Trench Warfare on the Western Front

• World War I's Western Front was over 400 miles between France and Germany where French and British troops halted the German advance.
• Trenches were dug in November 1914 and remained unmoved until 1918, providing protection.
• Most offenses resulted in heavy casualties with little territorial gain.

Trench Conditions

• Trenches were muddy holes reinforced with sandbags, surrounded by barbed wire, and often filled with mud.
• Constant rain in France from 1914-1916 made conditions unbearable.
• Soldiers' feet were constantly wet and cold with no spare socks or dry place to retreat.

Daily Life in Trenches

• The day began with "stand to," an hour before dawn, where soldiers guarded against enemy raids with fixed bayonets.
• Daily chores included refilling sandbags, repairing duckboards, and draining trenches.
• Free time was rare, but soldiers wrote letters, read, prepared meals, played cards, and tried to sleep.

No Man's Land

• Patrols were sent to repair barbed wire or set up listening posts in no man's land
• Encounters between enemy patrols often led to hand-to-hand combat.
• Constant shellfire caused random deaths.

Trench Infestations

• Millions of rats infested trenches, eating human remains and spreading infection.
• Lice were a constant problem, leading many to shave their heads to avoid Trench Fever
• Frogs were commonly found in the base of trenches.

Trench Foot

• Constant dampness led to trench foot, a bacterial infection.
• Symptoms began with tingling, progressing to numbness, swelling, pain, and deformity.
• Trench foot inspections became a critical medical duty.

Indigenous Contributions

• Over 4,000 Indigenous men served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force as scouts and snipers.
• They faced language barriers and limited postwar benefits.

Japanese Canadian Contributions

• Enlisted and fought on the Western Front
• Assisted in expansion of citizenship rights for Japanese Canadians
• Initially rejected from joining the Canadian Army, they were denied voting rights until veterans fought for suffrage in 1920.
• They overcame anti-Asian prejudice and earned military respect.

Ukrainian Canadian Contributions

• Many worked in labour battalions.
• Labelled "enemy aliens" due to Ukraine's division between Russia and Austria-Hungary, thousands were imprisoned and forced into labour projects with unfair pay.

Black Canadian Contributions

• Originally banned from enlisting, they were later placed in the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
• Segregated military training camps led to protests.
• Soldiers faced racism, and their contributions were not sufficiently recognized after the war.

Other Minorities

• Many served in labour battalions despite discrimination.
• German and Austrian Canadians were labeled as "enemy aliens" and faced deportation or imprisonment.
• Their contributions were largely ignored.

Halifax Explosion

• SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship carrying explosives, collided with the SS Imo, a Norwegian vessel carrying relief supplies.
• Neither ship displayed warning flags
• The SS Imo was in the wrong lane, causing the collision and a fire that ignited the Mont-Blanc's cargo.
• It was Canada's largest man-made explosion until the development of nuclear bombs.
• The explosion devastated neighborhoods, leaving many homeless.

Women in World War I

Women in the Workplace

• Women filled jobs left vacant by men, changing gender roles.
• They worked in munitions factories, farms, and hospitals.
• Women were not allowed to enlist as soldiers but supported the war effort as nurses.

Canadian Women at War

• Canadian nurses were nicknamed "bluebirds" due to their blue uniforms and white veils.
• Over 2,800 nurses served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
• Nursing sisters had relative rank and pay equivalent to men. Non-caucasian women were not allowed to train as nurses

Women’s Suffrage

• The Military Voters Act of 1917 allowed women in active military service to vote in federal elections.
• The Wartime Election Act of 1917 extended the vote to female relatives of those serving or who had served.

War in the Air

Joining the Air Force

• Driven by patriotism and the desire to serve.
• Desire to avoid trench warfare conditions
• Flying was a new and exciting opportunity for service
• The life expectancy of pilots was low due to fragile planes.

Billy Bishop

• Billy Bishop was a famous Canadian fighter pilot with 72 victories, becoming the top Canadian and British Empire ace.

Paying for the War / Propaganda

Voluntary Recruitment

• Early enlistments driven by patriotism, adventurism, ties to Britain, and opposition to Germany.
• Propaganda, including posters, newspapers, and speeches, urged enlistment based on emotions.

Propaganda Defined

• Propaganda spreads carefully selected information, rumors, and ideas.
• It aims to persuade people to support an agenda or goal.

Decline in Volunteers

• Decrease in volunteers by 1916 due to increased casualties
• Expansion of munitions factories offered higher-paying jobs.
• Farmers unwilling to leave their homes.
• French Canadians lacked ties to Britain and faced language barriers.

Responses to Decreased Volunteers

• Lowered medical standards for volunteers
• Community groups raised their own battalions.
• Men under 5 feet tall formed bantam units.
• From 1916, the government cautiously accepted visible minorities, including Aboriginal, Black, Chinese, and Japanese Canadians.

Prime Minister Robert Borden and Conscription

• Initially promised no conscription
• The Military Service Act, passed in June 1917, introduced conscription.
• Violent protests erupted.
• By January 1918, 400,000 men were reported for duty, but 94% requested exemption.
• Only 24,000 conscripts fought.

Financing the War Effort

• The Income Tax Act was a "temporary" measure that enacted federal taxes on business profits in 1916 and personal incomes in 1917.
• A Goods Tax was added to certain products like tobacco and alcohol.
• War was financed by borrowing from capital markets (Britain, then the USA) and Canadians through victory bonds.

Major Battles

Second Battle of Ypres

• Fought between Canada, France, Britain, and Germany in Ypres, Belgium.
• Germany aimed to create a gap in the Allied line but Canadians held the line despite being outnumbered.
• Germany introduced poison gas, which soldiers countered by urinating on cloth.
• Resulted in 6,000 Canadian casualties and no significant territorial gain.
• Canada was viewed as brave fighters rather than colonials.

Battle of the Somme

• Fought between British, French, and German forces in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.
• Allies aimed to break through German defenses at the Somme River, but bombardment was ineffective.
• Involved heavy artillery use with little result.
• Over 1.5 million shells were fired, with 60,000 casualties on the first day and 650,000 casualties overall, including 24,000 Canadians.
• Allies gained 545 square kilometers of land.
• It was the bloodiest battle in history, proving "up and over" tactics were ineffective.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

• Fought between Canada and Germany in Northern France.
• Allies needed to capture Vimy Ridge for strategic reasons.
• Canadian forces stormed German machine gun positions with artillery barrages and bayonet charges.
• Resulted in 10,000 casualties but a Canadian victory.
• Canada's greatest victory at the time, where all four Canadian divisions fought together and gained a reputation as an independent force.

Battle of Passchendaele

• Fought between Britain and Germany in Passchendaele, West Flanders, Belgium.
• The British aimed to break through German lines and free seaports.
• Canadian forces attacked from behind artillery barrages.
• Passchendaele was captured but evacuated by 1918.
• Canada gained more recognition, and Canadians were awarded 19 Victoria Crosses.

Extra Notes

• Germany invented the U-Boat to counter the HMS Dreadnought by Great Britain.