Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, June 28th, 1914

August 2nd, 1914 Canada offers Britain troops for overseas service

August 5th, 1914 Britain declares war. Canada is automatically at war

August 19th, 1st volunteers arrive at Valcartier October 14th, 1st Canadian Expeditionary

Force arrives in England

Trenches Stalemate Artillery Flanders Fields Ypres Poison Gas Vimy Ridge Somme Passchendaele

Use the Passchendaele and Artillery worksheet to complete and identify the key terms.

Why was the battle of Passchendaele considered a necessary endeavour?

Was the battle of Passchendaele a success or a failure? Justify your answer.

By the end of the war, The Royal Canadian Navy had grown to about 100 ships.

Atlantic convoys shipped Canadian troops, food, and munitions to Europe.

The German navy wanted to stop goods reaching Britain. They declared a war zone in the waters around the British Isles

The Germans used submarines to attack ships on their way to Britain

A German submarine sank the Lusitania, a British passenger liner, in 1915.

Over 1000 people died, including 128 Americans. This contributed to the United States entry into the war.

The British started to put ships into large groups called convoys.

Convoys sailed together from Quebec, Halifax, or St. John’s.

They were protected from submarines by warships. This reduced the number of ships sunk.

The Halifax harbour was crowded with convoys of ship during World War I

They were loaded with war supplies of food, munitions, and troops ready for the voyage to Europe

New railway lines and terminals were being completed to handle pressure of extra traffic.

Halifax population was growing and included a large number of troops.

Thursday December 6, 1917.

The Mont Blanc, a French freighter started to move through the Narrows of Bedford Basin, the city’s inner harbour.

It was loaded with benzene, picric acid, and TNT.

At 8:00 am, the Imo, a Norwegian steamer carrying relief supplies headed out through the Narrows.

Mont Blanc and Imo signalled their intentions. The Mont Blanc sailed across the Imo’s bow. At 8:43 they rammed into each other.

At 9:06am, the Mont Blanc’s cargo of high explosives blew up.

Schools, factories, stores, and houses in 5km area were completely destroyed.

Over 2000 people died and 9000 were injured.

At night 10,000 people were homeless, the temperature dropped to -8C

Within days relief supplies came as far away as Jamaica and New Zealand.

Reflection

How did the Halifax Explosion bring the horror of the war home to Canadians?

Documentary: The Great War: Land Warfare Technology

Read and the Weapons Package

Canadians were suspicious of those people who had recently entered Canada from enemy countries

The Act had the power to take away freedoms and to arrest and detain “enemy aliens.”

Over 8000 men were sent to remote camps across Canada.

War was expensive and Canadians paid no tax

on income or profit.

To raise money Canadians were urged to buy victory bonds to help the war effort.

After the war they could cash in their bonds

and get their money back with interest

Two new “temporary taxes” were introduced including business profits tax (Corporate Tax) and Income Tax

Is this poster effective? Would it convince you to buy Victory Bonds? What imagery or symbols are used to make this poster effective?

What is the message of this poster? Is this poster effective? Why or why not? What symbols suggest that Canada is still influenced by Britain during this time?

Canadian soldiers were often chosen for the toughest and most dangerous missions overseas.

During Vimy Ridge 1917 more than 10,000 Canadian soldiers died, and fewer than 5000 enlisted.

The volunteer system couldn’t recruit enough soldiers to replace the losses.

Borden promised that he would not introduce Conscription.

He had to break his promise and called an election to win approval for conscription.

French Canadians

The Royal 22nd Regiment “the Vandoos” was a French-speaking unit.

Sir Sam Hughes did not understand the French

Canadians

Many French Canadians felt that they were asked to defend Britain not Canada

Settlers in the West also opposed Conscription

Borden was convinced conscription was necessary.

Borden approached English-speaking Liberals who joined the Conservative Party to form the Union Party

Many English speaking Canadians did not want conscription and the votes of the Election did not come from the people

For (Pro): Borden, Conservative government, English speaking Canadians

Against (Con): French-speaking Canadians, Wilfred Laurier, Settlers in the West.

The Union Party won the election with 153 seats

The Liberals had 82 (Only 20 of those 82 seats came from outside

of Quebec)

Read: Textbook pages 50-51

Armistice Day was signed on November 11, 1918 at 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month, the war came to an end.

Over 9 million soldiers had died. More than 20 million more would live out their lives with wounds and shell shock.

Civilians were also victims from the war.

Geographical Terms

Military Controls Reparations War Guilt Clause (Article 231)

-Alsace-Lorraine was transferred from Germany to France -Part of Eastern Germany was given to Poland and Czechoslovakia

-The German Army was restricted to 100,000 people, no tanks or heavy guns. -Germany not to have any air force

-Germany was to pay money and goods to Great Britain, France, and Belgium

-Germany was forced to sign a statement that it had been the primary cause of the war

Location: Vimy Pas-de-Calais, France Unveiled: July 26, 1936

Do you think that a monument like Vimy Ridge is important to help remember and represent the people that sacrificed their lives during war?

How would you design a monument to signify the people who fought in World War I?

Draw or write a description of the monument that you would create.

Why did Canada join a conflict that began in Europe?

How did the nation contribute to the war?

What impact did the war have on Canadians?