Laurier
When was Laurier defeated, and by whom?
- 1911 federal election
- Suceeded by Robert Borden
What was the goal of the Somme offensive and why did it fail?
Goal:
- To divert German troops from Verdun, where Germany was trying to "bleed France white"
Failure:
- Overconfidence in artillery
- Artillery didn't break barbed wire or flatten trenches like expected
- Troops were told they could walk across no-man's land
Who represented Canada, the USA, Britain and France at the Treaty of Versailles?
Canada: Robert Borden
USA: Woodrow Wilson
Britain: David Lloyd George
France: Georges Clemenceau
Which group of minorities had the easiest time getting in the Canadian Army and why?
Indigenous Canadians
- Soldiers respected stalking and hunting skills
What 2 technological advancements resulted in trench warfare and why?
Machine Gun: fast shooting gun
Artillery: shot explosive shells
Trenches were easy to build, and offered safety from bullets and shells
Explain the Boer War Issue and Laurier's response
- British forced Boer colonies to migrate inland so they could control the ports
- British fought with the Boers once the Boers discovered gold and diamonds inland
- Britain asked Canada to send troops to help them in the war
- Laurier decided that Canada would send volunteers, but Britain would pay for them
- Canada planned to send 1000 volunteers, but sent 7300 as the war dragged on
- Canada spent almost 3 million dollars on training and transportation
- English-Canadians felt that they had disappointed the British
- French-Canadians felt that they were overcompensating
Why was the Battle of Ypres significant to Canada?
- First major battle Canadians were involved in
- French and Algerian forces were pushed back due to chlorine gas, but the Canadians filled in and fought fiercely, holding the Germans off until reinforcements arrived
- Showed that Canadians were fierce and formidable fighters
How did French-Canadians and English-Canadians view conscription?
English-Canadians: pro-conscription, as they were loyal to the British
French-Canadians: anti-conscription, as they were not loyal to the British
What were the 2 field punishments?
1. Get shot
2. Tied to a wheel/post for a day (sometimes in a dark room)
How did the government of Canada raise money for the war effort?
- War bonds
- Income tax
Explain the Naval Issue and Laurier's response
- Britain and Germany were competing for the strongest navy
- Britain wanted Canada to contribute funding for its navy
- Laurier introduced the Naval Service Bill, which gave Canada its own navy, which could be controlled by Britain in emergencies, given parliamentary consent
- Poorly received; Borden and the Conservatives called the navy a "Tin Pot Navy"
- English-Canadians felt that Canada didn't do enough for Britain
- French-Canadians did not support Canada supporting Britain
Why was the Battle of Vimy Ridge significant to Canada?
- First major success seen by Allies
- Solidified the Canadians as an elite army, as they suceeded when the other Allies failed
- Canada was seen as more of its own country instead of a British colony
Why was the Halifax explosion damaging to the Canadian war effort?
- Devastated Halifax, a major port used for the war effort
- Decreased morale, as there were a lot of damages and death
What food did Canadian soldiers eat?
- Hardtack: salt, flour, and water baked until there wasn't any more water
- Bully Beef: canned beef with salt; soldier to open it would drink the fat layer on top
- Tea: weak and re-boiled; tea since they needed to boil the water anyways
- Plum and Apple Jam: jam from plum and apples because they were leftover fruits
Why was Sam Hughes good for Canada and why was he bad for Canada?
Good:
- Fought strongly to give Canada its own army instead of making it part of the British army
- Initially organized Canada's army
Bad:
- Prone to nepotism and cronyism; promoted his son to Major-General
- Prone to on-the-spot promotion and demotion
- Corrupt and had financial shares in many of companies supplying Canada's forces
- Racist, and only allowed white Canadians in the Canadian Army
- Supported many bad ideas such as the Ross Rifle and Macadams Shield Shovel
Explain Reciprocity and Laurier's response
- Trade reciprocity is where all parties agree upon trading resources without tariffs; free trade
- Laurier and the farmers supported reciprocity with the US because it limited foreign competition and allowed them to price their good properly
- The farmers were buying equipment at a way higher price than their American counterparts and selling their products at a higher price than their American counterparts
- Everyone else disliked reciprocity
- Borden and the Conservatives, as well as wealthy Liberals, business people, manufacturers, and bankers, felt that reciprocity would increase competition for Canadian businesses
- Borden and the Conservatives also felt that reciprocity would lead to Canada becoming less British and more American
- Railroad companies feared that their east-west railways would become obsolete
- Canadian nationalists feared assimilation into the US
- Laurier worked out a reciprocity agreement with the US in 1911, which made Canadian farm, fishery, forest, and mine products free of tariffs
- Tariffs of certain American items like farm implements, automobiles, building materials, canned goods, etc. were lowered
- As a result of this, Laurier and his Liberal part was obliterated in the 1911 election
Why is the Battle of Passchendaele used as symbol of the WW1's futility?
- The Canadians came in after British and ANZAC forces failed, and fought fiercely, and finally took Passchendaele after hard fighting
- The battlefield was muddy and waterlogged, making movement and fighting almost impossible
- 16,000 Canadian casualties, and there were more Allied casualties than German ones
- German railways were still out of reach from the Allies
- The Allies couldn't hold the land they captured and evacuated it in a couple of months, making all the fighting in vain
What did the Wartime Elections Act and the Military Voters Act do?
Gave the vote to: women with relatives in the military, military nurses and soldier under 21
Took the vote away from: 'Enemy Aliens' (German, A-H, and Russian immigrants), pacifists and conscientious objectors
The government could apply Military votes in whatever riding it chose
Explain the causes of WW1
MANIA
Militarism:
- Belief that a country's worth is tied to its army, and they should use the army
- Developed into a belief that the army should be used to solve problems
- Sparked arms races between powers in Europe
- Citizens expected the armies to be used, as so much time and money was dedicated to them
Alliances:
- Countries allied themselves with other countries for determent or intimidation
- Any fight between the Great Powers would spark conflict between all 6
- The conflict between Russia and A-H over Serbia started the war because members of the Allied Powers and the Central Powers had to support their allies
Nationalism:
- Sense of pride in one's nationality
- Can extend to ethnocentrism, a sense that one's nationality is superior to others
- This led to each of the Great Powers thinking that, if there was a war, they would win because of their nationality
Imperialism:
- The belief that great nations should colonize areas in order to draw resources to enrich the motherland/fatherland
- Britain and France had empires and Germany wanted those colonies and unsuccessfully tried to take those colonies
Assassination:
- On June 28th, 1914, Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo
How did the role of women change during WW1?
- Women took over the jobs that men left when they left for war and contributed to the war effort by working in factories
- Worked as nurses in the war
- Some women (women with relatives in the army) got the right to vote
Explain the Manitoba School Issue and Laurier's response
- When Manitoba was created, it had two public school systems, a French Catholic one and an English Protestant one
- The Government of Manitoba wanted to have an English-only education in its school system with no French Catholic schooling, which would save money
- By 1890, Manitoba passed the Manitoba Schools Act, which created a single school system in English only
- French-Canadians were a large minority in Manitoba and were furious
- Laurier was elected in the middle of this issue
- Laurier made the Laurier-Greenway Compromise, which made French Catholic language and education available to francophone students on a part time basis, given that there were more than 10 French-speaking students in the school
- However, schools were smaller and many schools didn't meet this standard
- English-Canadians were okay with this because they still got what they wanted
- French-Canadians were not okay with this, and argued that it was a violation of the constitution
- Both sides respected Laurier's efforts to accomodate both sides
What techniques were used at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in order to achieve victory? Explain each technique
- Sound Ranging: using sound to triangulate the position of artillery
- Flash Spotting: using gun flashes to triangulate the position of artillery
- Trench Raids: sneaking though no-man's land at night to spy and capture soldiers
- Underground Networks: Engineers (AKA Sappers) dug/expanded 12 underground networks from the rear to the front lines, equipped with water, electricity, air, supply depots, rest areas, first aid posts, command posts
- Infrastructure: Engineers built roads and light railway lines to deliver supplies, communications cable for communication, and water pipes to deliver fresh water to the front lines
- Artillery: A lot of artillery was used (largest ever at that point), with shells equipped with a new fuse that would explode on impact, shredding barbed wire
- Creeping Barrage: Barrage where the soldiers and artillery move in unison, with artillery a little bit in front of the soldiers. The barrage kicked up smoke and dirt, providing a screen for the soldiers. Soldiers practiced in order to move in unison with the artillery. German troops would emerge, expecting a Canadian charge, only to find the Canadians already in their trenches
- Indirect Machine-Gun Fire: Machine gun fire in the general direction of the other army. Similar to artillery. Paralyzed movement like reinforcement transportation and repairs.
- Platoons: groups of ~20 men with specialist riflemen and bombers, armed with a Lewis gun
- Leapfrogging: Platoons would rotate between advancing and providing cover fire
- Briefing: Every soldier was briefed on his objectives, instead of just the officers. Soldiers were given detailed maps and practiced their actions
- Moppers-up: Some platoons were assigned as moppers-up and flushed out pockets of Germans that were hidden. The Germans liked to hide in dugouts and ambush Allied troops that moved on
- Germany had to take responsibility for starting the war and all the destruction that occurred (War Guilt Clause)
- Germany had to reduce their army and navy size, and ground their air force
- The Rhineland would be occupied by Britain, France and Belgium for 15 years
- Germany lost a lot of their mainland territories
- Germany lost their overseas territories
- Germany had to pay a lot of monetary reparations
- Germany had to become a democracy
How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand escalate to a global conflict? (general order is fine; no need for dates)
- (June 28th 1914) Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo
- (July 23rd 1914) Austria Hungary issues an impossible ultimatum to Serbia; either allow A-H officials to investigate or there would be war
- (July 25th 1914) Despite the Kaiser not wanting war, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollwegg sends a message to A-H, encouraging them to attack
(July 25th 1914) Serbia prepares for war
(July 29th 1914) A-H invades Serbia
(July 29th 1914) Britain sends its North Sea Fleet to ‘War Stations’
(July 30th 1914) Russia, in order to support Serbia, and, despite protests from Germany, mobilizes its army
(July 31th 1914) A-H mobilizes to prepare for war against Russia
(August 1st 1914) Germany issues an ultimatum to Russia and France, and when Russia does not comply, Germany mobilizes
(August 1st 1914) France mobilizes for war against Germany
(August 2nd 1914) Germany invades Luxembourg and gives an ultimatum to Belgium
(August 3rd 1914) Germany declares war on France
(August 3rd 1914) Britain reminds Germany of the 1839 Treaty of London, in which France, Britain and Germany were bound to respect Belgium’s neutrality
Britain warns that a German invasion of Belgium would draw Britain into the war
(August 4th 1914) Germany invades Belgium
(August 4th 1914) Britain declares war on Germany
What was the Schieffen plan and why did it fail?
- German plan to knock out Paris and France quickly by going the more lightly defended Belgium and Luxembourg and then turning around to attack the Russians, who they thought would mobilize slowly
- Belgian resistance slowed down the Germans, allowing for the other allies to mobilize and formulate defenses
- The British, who declared that they would join the war if Germany attacked Belgium, got involved almost immediately
- Russia mobilised faster than expected; 10 days versus the expected 2 months
- French and British forces were tougher than expected; Germans thought they were better due to their ethnocentrism