MAIN Causes and Outbreak of War
The four long-term causes of World War One represent this explosive 4-letter acronym.
What is M.A.I.N.? (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism)
The state that the war was in for much of the time as the result of trench warfare.
Defense weapon set up on a tripod that fired 400–600 rounds per minute and required a crew of 4 to 6 men to operate.
What is a Machine Gun?
Voluntary reduction of food consumption (like meat, butter, sugar, and bread) at home so supplies could be sent to troops overseas.
What is Honour Rationing?
The coalition party formed by Robert Borden combining Conservatives and pro-conscription Liberals to win the 1917 Election.
What was the Union Party?
The pre-war military alliance made up of Great Britain, France, and Russia.
What is the Triple Entente?
The April 1915 battle in Belgium where Canadian troops earned a reputation for toughness after surviving the first chlorine gas attack using urine-soaked rags.
What is the Battle of Ypres?
The 1925 international agreement, the Geneva Protocol, officially banned the use of this type of weapon in warfare.
What are chemical weapons and poison gas?
Over 3,000 Canadian women served overseas with the military medical corps in casualty clearing stations, earning this colourful nickname from their uniforms.
What are "Bluebirds"?
The 1917 law passed by Prime Minister Robert Borden forcing eligible men to enlist in the military when voluntary numbers dropped.
What was the Military Service Act?
The 19-year-old Serbian nationalist from The Black Hand who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo.
Who was Gavrilo Princip?
The brutal 1916 battle where 60,000 Allied soldiers became casualties on Day 1 alone, gaining only 8 kilometers of ground over five months.
What is the Battle of the Somme?
The top Canadian flying ace of WWI who was credited with shooting down 72 enemy aircraft.
Who was William "Billy" Bishop?
The race of Francis Pegahmagabow, who became the deadliest sniper of WWI, credited with 378 kills and capturing 300 enemy prisoners.
What is Ojibwe (or Indigenous)?
The 1917 law that granted voting rights to female relatives of overseas soldiers while disenfranchising conscientious objectors and recent "enemy alien" immigrants.
What was the Wartime Elections Act?
Germany’s military strategy designed to quickly invade France through neutral Belgium before turning back to fight Russia, avoiding a two-front war.
What is the Schlieffen Plan?
The historic April 1917 battle where all four Canadian divisions fought together for the first time, using the "creeping barrage" tactic to capture the ridge in 3 days.
What is the Battle of Vimy Ridge?
German naval technology used to sink Allied merchant ships, which was eventually countered by Allied destroyer ships and depth charges.
What are U-Boats (Submarines)?
The race of Canadian hero Jeremiah Jones, who lied about his age (claiming to be 35 when he was 58) and single-handedly captured a German machine-gun nest at Vimy Ridge.
The acronym summarizing the four main conditions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles (Blame, Reparations, Army, Territory).
What is B.R.A.T.?
The term for a person who refuses to fight or participate in war based on deeply held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.
What is a Conscientious Objector?
The late 1917 battle notorious for its "bottomless mud" and terrible weather, where Canadians suffered 15,600 casualties to capture 10 km of land that was lost the following year.
What is the Battle of Passchendaele?
The primary source enlistment documents completed by recruits in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) recording details like age, trade, physical traits, and religion.
What are Attestation Papers?
The tragic December 6, 1917 disaster caused by a ship collision in the harbour, resulting in the largest pre-atomic man-made explosion in history.
What was the Halifax Explosion?
The financial penalty ($33 Billion US) imposed on Germany under Article 231 (the "War Guilt Clause") to pay for Allied damages caused during WWI.
What are Reparations?