The Causes of WWI

The Underlying Causes of WWI Nationalism: Eastern Europe was dominated by the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman empires These empires were destabilized by nationalist movements within their borders (e.g. Pan-Slavism) Alliance System: Goal was to reduce the threat of war in Europe, but it actually increased tensions between rival nations Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy Triple Entente: France, Great Britain and Russia Nationalist groups within Europe desires their own independent nations (e.g. Poles, Serbs); the map of Europe would be redrawn after WWI to accommodate many of these groups Alliance: agreement to come to another nation’s aid if it is attacked by a common enemy Triple Alliance called Central Powers during WWI, partly because Italy does not initially take part in the war. Triple Entente will be known as the Allies

The Underlying Causes of WWI Militarism: Rapid expansion of armies and build up of weapons A tense naval race between Germany and Great Britain Imperialism: Conflicts arose as nations competed for overseas territories in order to expand their empires, especially in Africa Industrialization increased desire for colonies as a source of raw materials to supply their factories & as places to sell manufactured goods Alliance system and increase militarism upset the balance of power in Europe Balance of power: strong nations attempt to remain equal in terms of military strength, alliances, size of empire, etc. Many felt war was the only way to keep a powerful rival nation in check

The Official Cause of WWI The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: On June 29, 1914 the Archduke and his wife were shot by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, in Sarajevo, Bosnia The Archduke was the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary and Bosnia was part of his empire Serbian nationalists claimed Bosnia as part of Greater Serbia because the majority of the population was Serbian The Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist group, targeted the Archduke for assassination First connection to underlying causes: nationalism

The Official Cause of WWI The Alliance System Comes Into Play: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia Serbia’s ally Russia mobilized its troops Austria-Hungary’s ally Germany mobilized its troops Britain declared war after Germany invaded its ally, Belgium Great Britain controlled Canada’s foreign policy, so Canada was automatically at war along with the rest of the British Empire Second connection to underlying causes: Alliance system Essentially tensions had built up in Europe over competition for military and imperial supremacy and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the excuse everyone had been looking for to put their enemies in their place.

Canada’s Response to the War

Enlistment Borden promised 25 000 men, but 30 000 enlist: Promise of adventure Believed war would be over by Christmas Needed job Many English Canadians felt it was their patriotic duty to defend Britain Women accepted as nurses & ambulance drivers in Canadian Army Medical Corps First Nations, African & Japanese soldiers weren’t accepted at first & were rarely promoted once they were Women kept behind front lines because of belief that they couldn’t handle battle Canadian nurses nicknamed the “Bluebirds” because of the colour of their uniforms Enlistment policies reflect the prejudices of the time

Training The Troops Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia, set up a training camp in Valcartier, Quebec Boot camp brought men from diverse parts of the country together for the first time & helped create a sense of national identity Basic training was rushed & troops, known as the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), were sent to Britain ill-prepared for war CEF usually fought as separate units within the British army, further contributing to a sense of national identity Canada had much fewer transportation and communication connections than it has today, so many of the enlisted men would have had no contact with people from other parts of the country before showing up at Valcartier Camp was built in only 4 weeks British had assumed they would absorb the Canadian troops into their more experienced battalions, but for the most part the CEF fought independently (though usually under British command)

War Profiteering Sam Hughes was also in charge of supplying armaments for the war effort Patronage to award contracts & many of these industrialists put profits before quality Shell Committee oversaw the production of 1/3 of the shells for the British, but they often backfired The standard-issue Ross rifle often jammed Some soldiers were issued boots with cardboard soles that disintegrated in the rain The Ross rifle was so unpopular with Canadian troops that they would often take the British Lee Enfield rifles off the bodies of dead British soldiers

The War Measures Act Granted the Canadian government the power to do whatever was necessary “for the security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada.” It gave the government unprecedented power to: Control transportation, manufacturing and other aspects of the economy Infringe on civil liberties (e.g. censor mail, arrests without warrants) Recent immigrants (“enemy aliens”) from enemy nations were treated harshly under this act: Over 500 000 had to carry special identity cards Over 8500 were sent to internment camps Believed this level of control was necessary to win the war Enemy aliens included people from Germany and Austria-Hungary