CANADA AND THE GREAT WAR

The Story So Far June 28 th The Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated July 28 th Austria Declares war on Serbia August 1 st Germany declares war on France and Russia August 4 th, 11pm Britain declares war on Germany

How will Canada respond to the war and the call for recruits? VS

Where might you place the following people on the scale For War Against War Imperialist Nationalist A French Canadian An English Canadian A Pacifist

Sam Hughes Minister of Canadian Militia in 1914 Participated in the Boer War Initially promises to send 25,000 men to Britain By 1916, Hughes has promised 500,000 men

In 1914, 3,000 members of the Canadian army 2 battleships BUT, by the end of 1914, more than 59,000 had volunteered In 1915, 159,000 had volunteered

WHY WOULD YOUNG MEN JOIN THE WAR EFFORT? Military

Those men who signed up for the effort would be given a uniform; a visible sign of masculine honour and pride. Women respected men in a uniform The war was presented as a great ADVENTURE! Propaganda posters encouraged Canadians to enlist in order to protect the British Empire

Training at Valcartier Recruits trained at Valcartier in Quebec. Camp Valcartier was hurriedly built in only four weeks to provide a place for the training and mobilization of Canadian troops in World War One.

Soldiers first left in Oct They were to be further trained in England upon arrival. When they arrived they were placed on Salisbury Plain in winder It rained EVERY DAY but one – on that day: It snowed

Why would this rifle NOT be suitable for trench warfare?

Canadian Militia Faulty Equipment #1 Ross Rifle: Marketed as a great target and sporting weapon. However, it was out of place in trench conditions Rifle jammed when covered in mud Canadians would steal guns off dead British soldiers and disposed on Ross Rifle

#2 Macadam Shovel Invented and patented by Sam Hughes Shovel has hole for shooter to put gun through BUT – where do you look?!?! ALSO – not bulletproof! Entire shipment of 22,000 shovels which had cost the gov’t $29,000 was sold off as scrap in 1917 for $1,400.

Think about it…. What do you as a Canadian living in Northern Ontario expect from your winder boots?  Warmth  Dryness  Durability

Cardboard Boots?!? Canadian Soldiers complained that their boots were not fit for the trenches. They were cheaply made, cold and thin In effort to cut costs, Canadians equipped boots with soles made from cardboard

By the end of August the Allied armies were in retreat. The French ordered a counterattack and halted the German advance. Unable to break through to Paris, the German army was given orders to retreat to the River Aisne.

Stalemate (A deadlock) In the West, the Germans decided that they must hold onto those parts of France and Belgium that they still occupied. They were ordered to dig trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing French and British troops.

Trenches were usually about seven feet deep and six feet wide and often possessed deep underground dugouts that housed large bodies of soldiers. miqzY_yDKyg miqzY_yDKyg

The Germans were the first to decide where to dig, they had been able to choose the best places to build their trenches. The possession of the higher ground not only gave the Germans a tactical advantage, but it forced the British and French to live in the worst conditions.

German French

No Man's Land is the term used by soldiers to describe the ground between two opposing trenches. Its width along the Western Front could vary a great deal but generally averaged about meters.

The German Army first used chlorine gas cylindersin April 1915 against the Allies at the Second Battle of Ypres. The use of Chlorine gas was soon followed by more potent chemical weapons like Mustard Gas. Although these new weapons did not help one side win the war, they did increase the level of suffering for both sides. It has been estimated that the Germans used 68,000 tons of gas against Allied soldiers. This was more than the French Army (36,000) and the British Army (25,000).

Conditions in Trenches Apart from being cold, hungry and wet most of the time, soldiers in the trenches suffered from a variety of problems during the war. Rats, lice, dysentery (disease of large intestine), trenchfoot, and a host of other hardships made life in the trenches horrific and impossible to forget.

Men in the trenches suffered from lice that left blotchy red bite marks all over the body. As well as causing frenzied scratching, lice also carried disease. This was known as trench fever. Although the disease did not kill, it did stop soldiers from fighting and accounted for about 15% of all cases of sickness in the British Army.

Shell Shock By 1914 British doctors working in military hospitals noticed patients suffering from "shell shock". Early symptoms included tiredness, irritability, lack of concentration and headaches. Eventually the men suffered mental breakdowns making it impossible for them to remain in the front-line.