Events Of War PDF

EVENTS OF WAR - initially 7 countries - 30 involved by the end of the war fighting not limited to European Battles - African jungles, Asia and Pacific and Atlantic Ocean - Europe had 4 major fronts I. Western Front - German wanted to capture Paris before Britain and Russia could fully mobilize...

EVENTS OF WAR - initially 7 countries - 30 involved by the end of the war fighting not limited to European Battles - African jungles, Asia and Pacific and Atlantic Ocean - Europe had 4 major fronts I. Western Front - German wanted to capture Paris before Britain and Russia could fully mobilize - Allies moved faster than Germans expected - using every vehicle, taxi cabs, French troops rushed to front - Britain helped - German advanced stopped at Marne River - Allies drove Germans back to Aisne River - Oct. 1914 both sides decided to strengthen and secure position diggings in before winter - dug rows of deep trenches, protected by machine guns and barbed wire - lines of trenches soon stretched several 100 km from English channel to border of Switzerland - Parallel trenches twisted/turned across countryside separated by only 25 m - corridor between enemy tranche "NO-MAN'S LAND" armed with buried land mines and covered barbed wire - front line trenches dug deep until water began to seep in - zigzag layout helped prevent enemy fire from sweeping along whole length of trench - communciation trenches dug back to a line of support trench - rear command posts and reserve companies of soldiers located here - in wet weather trenches slippery, waterlogged - stood knee deep in water - because men constantly cold, wet, dirty, sickness, & disease spread rapidly (trench foot rotting of flesh between and around toes) - trench mouth - infection of gums) - body lice living in mud-caked uniforms, rats ran through trenches feeding on garbage and human waste - nervous breakdowns - stress - shell-chock - physically unharmed minds / will to fight destroyed. - mid April 1915 - first division of 20,000 Canadian troops took up places alongside Allies on front line.  BATTLES I. BATTLE OF YPRES - Canadian 1st Division assigned to font line near ancient city of Ypres, Belgium - task - hold 3 1/2 km of line in face of heavy German attack - few weeks of action - Germany unleashed 1st deadly poison gas - chlorine - released from canister when breeze blowing towards Allied trenches - chlorine gas burned eyes / throat & destroyed lungs (those who breathed the gas choked, gagged gasped, coughed, died) - during attack French- African troops positioned beside Canadians broke rank and fled from poisonous gas - Germans came pouring through the hole in the line - Canadians with makeshift gas masks (soaked handkerchiefs/gauze in urine and held over their nose) managed to hold their position and eventually closed the gap in the line - Canadians suffered dreadful casualties - 5,200 died 1:5 killed, gassed, missing, and wounded - later in war more deadly poison gas used - worst of all mustard gas this burned skin and respiratory tract, caused blindness more effective gas masks were invented held filter though which air could be purified II. BATTLE OF THE SOMME - July 1, 1916 - 1st day most disastrous the British army every suffered - Canada fought with British forces under General Douglas Haig - Allies pounded the German trenches with heavy gunfire - belief - bombardment would soften Germans for eventual attack - British officer order men to go forward, soldiers faced a hail of German machine-gun firs - British and Canadian attackers mowed down by the thousands - 90% of Royal Nfld Regiment killed/wounded in one day - hardly any ground captured - despite death toll - General Haig insisted attack continued - battle continued for 141 days. - Canadian fought heroically - battle ended 5 months later - both sides exhausted Casualties → 1,250,000 (24,000 Cdns) - British advance no more than 11 km through shell-torn rubble - many blamed General Haig - others blamed politicians - to many soldiers the real enemy was not Germany or Austria BUT war itself - at the Somme - tanks used for the 1st time British invention huge armed "land ships" weighing more than 25 tonnes lumber along at less than 5 km/hr.  - though they often got stuck in the mud tanks broke through barbed wire in NO-MAN'S LAND III VIMY RIDGE - Easter Monday 1917 - Canada won greatest victory - German forces dug in on the height of land at Vimy - vantage point - could control command of all surrounding areas - several unsuccessful attempts by British and French to push out Germans - after months of preparation weeks of heavy preparatory bombardment, 100,000 Canadians launched attack *** 1st time all 4 Canadian division fought together *** - in a blinding sleet storm - forced their way up the hill within a few hours Canadian captured the ridge April 9, 1917 - that day more ground, guns prisoners were taken than in any other Allied offensive on the Western Front in 2 1/2 years of war - 4 Canadian won Victoria Cross Awards at Vimy - Major General Currie led 1st Division granted knighthood from King Geroge V - tragically 10,500 Canadian casualties, including 3,598 dead - victory was morale booster and source of enormous pride - at that moment its first clear cut national success ***** CANADA BECAME A NATION ***** It has often been said that Canada’s sons left their home as young colonials but returned as Canadians. Vimy is indeed the birthplace of “Canadian Nationhood”. IV. Passchendaele (3rd Battle of Ypres) - most bitter disaster for the Canadian - fall 1917 - Canadians ordered to advance in a sea of mud - Belgian land once beneath North Sea: shelling destroyed drainage ditches and waterlogged - soldiers frustrated in attempt to advance - narrow duckboards place in pathways over the mire - thousands of soldiers and many horses slipped, sucked in and drowned in the mud - 15,654 Canadians sacrificed their lives in this insane enterprise  - offensive gained 7 km of mud which Germans soon won back LAST HUNDRED DAYS - spring 1918 German leaders realized crisis - good supplies funning short, submarine attacks on food ships failed to force British to surrender - U.S. entered war 1917 - Austria-Hungary and Turkey on point of collapse - only hope for Germans - might offensive on western front before US arrived to Europe - last desperate gamble - German general launched devastating attack all along Western Front - thousands of Germans poured into France - stopped only 80 km from Paris - swift advance exhausted German troops - supplies failed to keep up - soldiers undisciplined (looting, heavy drinking) - August 8, 1918 counterattack Canadian & Allied forces - French, American troops arrived and greatly encouraged Allies - NO STOPPING THEM !!! - supported by 500 tanks Allies swept North, East & toward Germany - Germans fought well but fell back st4eadily - eventually France then Belgium liberated - by November Allies reach German frontier - Germans formally surrender - ARMISTICE -- 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month NOVEMBER 11, 1918 - hostilities ceased WAR IN AIR & SEA - when war broke out 1914 airplanes still new & unproven invention - few military leaders had confidence in airplane as weapon of war - Canada had NO air force BUT 25,000joined British Royal Flying Corps - single seater planes (95 - 125 km/hr) stayed airborne for only one hour without refueling - Germans started the war with several advantages in Europe they had the most aircrafts:  Germans 400 French 156 British 113 - superior plane - Fokker - armed with machine guns - gas-filled balloons - Zeppelin (airship ) used as observation mission & bombing raids - by 1917 allies develop fighting techniques aerial "dogfight" duels maneuvering light planes to dive on enemy from rear - pilots usually very young, daring & brave - 1916 - average life of airman 3 weeks - no parachute to save unlucky ones - great air aces: Baron von Richtofen (Red Baron) Billy Bishop WAR AT SEA - May 1915 - British luxury liner LUSITANIA crossing Atlantic Ocean on calm sea - unarmed ship carried approximately 2000 passengers - torpedoed, hitting hull of ship - moments latter explosion, panic, chaos, death - a sinister and deadly weapon added to naval warfare - U BOATS - British command seas - country depended on navy to keep sea lanes open for supplies of food & raw material - British naval policy - make sure supply ships got safely to British ports, navy tried to blockade German coast, controlled everything going in / out, so food and war supplies could NOT get into GERMANY by sea - German naval policy - try to blockade British trade by means of submarines - all waters around Britain declared a war zone The sinking of the Lusitania caused great controversy, which persists to this day. In the aftermath of the sinking, the German government tried to justify it by claiming in an official statement that she had been armed with guns, and had "large quantities of war material" in her cargo. They also stated that since she was classed as an auxiliary cruiser, Germany had had a right to destroy her regardless of any passengers aboard, and that the warnings issued by the German Embassy before her sailing plus the 18 February note declaring the existence of "war zones", relieved Germany of any responsibility for the deaths of American citizens aboard. While it was true that the Lusitania had been fitted with gun mounts as part of government loan requirements during her construction, to enable rapid conversion into an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) in the event of war, the guns themselves were never fitted. However, she was still listed officially as an AMC. Her cargo had included an estimated 4,200,000 rounds of rifle cartridges, 1,250 empty shell cases, and 18 cases of non-explosive fuses all of  which were listed in her manifest, but the cartridges were not officially classed as ammunition by the Cunard Line. Various theories have been put forward over the years that she had also carried undeclared high explosives that were detonated by the torpedo and helped to sink her, but this has never been proven. BATTLE OF JUTLAND (May 1916) - British & German warships head on - one of the most dramatic nights of war - few hours British suffered greater losses both in ships & men - Germany claimed victory - Germany recognized superior size of British fleet & headed for port - After Jutland - Germans risked NO more major sea battles - fleet remained in port - by 1917 war on Western Front still NOT won - Germany decided on drastic e action - introduced naval policy of "unrestricted submarine warfare" this meant German U-Boats would sink any Allied or neutral ship approaching Britain - policy disastrous for Britain : an enormous amount of much needed cargo & human lives were lost - answer - convoy system - instead of cargo ships sailing alone from Canada and US to Britain they sailed in fleets escorted by armed destroyers (kept constant watch) - necessary supplies got through - 2 other methods used: 1) underwater mines explode on contact with sub 2) employ Q-ships actually battleship disguised as unarmed harmless merchant vessels - U-boat surface Q suddenly opens fire from hidden guns - policy of "unrestricted submarine warfare backfired on Germany - sinking of American ships by U-Boat brought US into war against Germany - turned the tide in favor of Allied victory - Canada's main contribution to war at sea lay in provision of men and ships for the Royal Navy - Canadian shipyards built more than 60 anti-submarine ships and more than 300 smaller anti-sub motor launches WAR ON THE HOME FRONT - total war - involved civilians almost as much as soldiers - war had affect on everybody - many people planted "victory gardens" in order to produce as much food as possible. - Canadians sent large amount of food to feed fighting forces & civilian population of other Allied countries - at home - no waste & reduced own food consumption - schoolboys in Prairies dismissed early from school to replace farm workers who were overseas - groups of women met regularly to knit socks for soldiers Y toll bandages - during 1918 war cost Canada over $1 million / day workers helped to pay enormous costs of war by purchasing VICTORY BONDS - private & commercial investors loans over $1 billion to government - paid back with interest when war was over - at this time Canadian government introduced practice of income tax - was to be temporary measure to finance war - never abolished - agricultural & industrial production reached dramatic new heights - especially important for war effort was production of munitions' plants manufacturing air planes, shells, ships sprang up across the country - by 1918, 300,000 men & women employed in Canada in factories almost 1/3 of shells fired by armies of British empire made in Canada - munitions industry brought war dramatically close to home for citizens of Halifax - Dec. 6, 1917 a terrible explosion rocked the city - Mount Blanc, French munitions ship carrying cargo of time bomb explosives collided with the Belgian vessel Imo in the harbor - blast leveled large sections of Halifax, killed 2,000 & heard all over the province - worst disaster of Canadian history ROLE OF WOMEN - demanded greater involvement by women outside the home - shortage of manpower in Canada - number of women employed dramatically increased - important step forward taken in Canada for women's rights - organized movement to gain vote for women: suffragettes - Britain suffragists - Canada  - main purpose to win rights and opportunities that men enjoyed - getting vote was first step NELLIE McCLUNG - suffragist - great Canadian social reformer "Certainly women belong in the home, but not 24 hours a day" - W.W. I proved her right - male jobs performed by women did them as well - proved women were as capable of working as men - 1916 women gained right to vote in Manitoba - Dec. 1917 federal government granted vote to mother, sister, wives of servicemen - by end of war, all women in Canada over 21 could vote CONSCRIPTION - initially war welcomed with great enthusiasm everywhere - Britain at war therefore Canada at war - country flooded with patriotic appeal - by 1916 war dragged on death list mounted volunteers dwindle - early 1917 PM Robert Borden left to attend an Imperial Conference - Britain on brink of disaster due to U-boat menace; casualties mounted daily on Western Front - Britain urged Borden to send more troops - Canadian volunteer enlistment not keeping up with number of men killed/wounded - Borden returns, asked Parliament to pass CONSCRIPTION BILL - compulsory enlistment in Armed Forces for all able -bodied men in Canada - storm of protest from parts of Canada especially French-Canada - French-Canadians felt no real tie to Britain or France - Borden realized conscription dangerous idea - would divide French & English - realized shortage of manpower so severe that he had no other choice - Military Service Bill passed in summer of 1917 - compulsory service for all males between 20 - 45 years - Men in vital wartime production jobs, sick or conscientious objectors (people refusing to fight on grounds that war went against moral & religion belief) were exempt - French Canadian opposing conscription were led by Henri Bourassa - nationalist, believed Canada should be independent from Britain  - General election December 1917, government passed two further bills: 1) Military Voters Act - soldiers' vote 2) Wartime Elections Act - vote to female relatives of soldiers - took right to vote away from immigrants of enemy counties who became citizens since 1902 - Conservative & Liberal who believed in conscription formed UNION government - election 1917 bitter - Union govt. returned with overwhelming majority in English-speaking Canada & only 3 seats in Quebec - when war ended Nov. 1918 Canada unhappy - divided nation - call up for conscripts did not begin until new year 1918 - thousands of men (French & English Canadian) claimed exemption: essential occupations such as farmers, clergyman, physically handicapped - by Nov. 1918 only 45,000 conscripts reached battle field - success? FAILURE - NATIONAL UNITY destroyed: English vs. French Farmers vs. City Dwellers Majority vs. Minority Protestants vs. Catholics Civilians vs. Soldier NATIONAL UNITY HIGH PRICE TO PAY --- 45,000 MEN COST OF WAR A NEGATIVE 1. 60,6661 lives lost 173,000 wounded / gassed - thousands lived in veteran hospitals 2. deepening differences over conscription (hurt, pain, & distrust) 3. sudden unemployment after W.W. I 4. Prohibition - no drinking establishments B. POSITIVE 1. independent nations 2. earned prestige among other countries 3. outstanding contribution won respect & separate seat for Canada at peace conference (Britain would have signed previously on behalf of ALL Empire) 4. Economic boom in industry - steel & munitions production & manufacturing grew fantastically 5. Employment 6. Women wage earners 7. Right to vote - women as full & equal citizens of Canada