Canada and World War I

War Begins World War I broke out in 1914, shortly after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914 Because Britain still controlled Canada’s foreign policy, Canada was automatically at war with Germany. Canada’s Prime Minister at the time was Robert Borden

A New Kind of War In the past, wars had been fought by small professional armies with weapons such as rifles, guns and bayonets Artillery – Cannons Cavalry – Men on horses with muskets Infantry – Soldiers with bayonets on the end of their muskets

A New Kind of War War would consist of a few decisive battles – whoever had the most men standing at the end would win Armies would meet on a field, fire one round of shots every 30 seconds or so “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” – close range, very bloody. At the onset of World War I, this is all the world knew of war. This was the type of warfare they were used to: A quick decisive battle Canadian solders were expecting “We’ll be home by Christmas”

A New Kind of War - Technology Technology introduced new weapons capable of much greater death and destruction Machine guns Submarines Tanks Airplanes Bombs

Submarines

Tanks

Airplanes

The Result? High body count / high numbers of soldiers needed to fight Trenches – limited mobility Static warfare (little to no movement) Defensive style war – whomever is defending has the advantage World War I became a war of attrition Attrition: wearing down by friction / A gradual decrease in number or strength because of constant stress

The Numbers By the end of the conflict in 1918, 65 million soldiers from 35 nations had served in the war. Historians estimate that over 30 million people died 15 million due to battle related causes and an equal number due to pandemics such as the Spanish Influenza which followed the movement of troops around the world

Canada’s Human Toll With just 8 million people, Canada was one of the smallest of the combatant countries by population, yet it contributed 600 661 soldiers to the war effort Over 1/3 of all eligible combatants in Canada signed on, most voluntarily Over 61 000 men and women died Almost 173 000 more were wounded In cities, towns and rural areas there was hardly a family that had not been touched by the loss of a brother, a son, a father, an uncle, or a cousin In some communities, an entire generation of young men were lost creating long term effects on demographics

The Home Front No one was exempt from “military service” at home. Canadians who could not serve directly in combat were expected to participate in smaller, but still significant ways Women volunteered for service overseas as nurses and ambulance drivers Women knitted socks, wrapped food parcels, and packed medical kits Women and young boys picked up the slack on the farms to keep food production going Women began to work in factories and take over other jobs for the men who were away at war

STATIONS

Canada Goes to War