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

Canada was a self-governing dominion

within the British Empire (Britain

controlled our foreign affairs / defense

including our decision to go to war )



Britain’s entry into the First World War

against Germany legally brought

Canada into the conflict as well



In addition to Canada, other dominions

of the British Empire immediately



So, what caused Britain to declare

war on Germany which brought

Canada into the conflict?



The causes of the war will be out

Short term

cause (The

spark that

set off the

explosion)

By 1914, these 4 long term



Militarism:

the

belief that a country

should maintain a

strong military

capability and be

prepared to use it

aggressively to



It was thought that the

only way to guarantee

peace

was to prepare

for

war

.



Based on the idea that

if a nation is militarily

strong, then no enemy

would dare to attack it.



If war does break out,



Militarism led to an arms

race before 1914 as many

countries tried to build a

larger & more deadly war

machine than its rivals.



The size of armies &

navies would determine

who was more powerful.



Prior to WWI,

Germany

contained Europe’s



Germany

constructed

large armies

because

it was surrounded by

Russia & France

which had formed a

common alliance in

the early 1890s



The German army

was accepted as



As an island nation,

Britain

had traditionally

maintained a large navy to

protect trade routes & its

overseas empire



Germany also wanted an

empire & began increasing

the size of its navy in order to

achieve this goal….this

worried the British



By 1910, a naval arms race



In 1906, Britain launched

the

Dreadnought

,

the

first all-big-gun

battleship, which made all

other warships obsolete,



Gaining numerical

superiority with this

weapon would provide a

control with command of

the seas



Both Britain & Germany



Alliances are formed when countries band together

against a

common

threat

(they guarantee military

assistance if a country is attacked by an enemy

nation)



Between 1879 & 1907, the major European powers

became caught up in a dangerous system of

alliances



While they did provide security, alliances were very

dangerous

for they raised the possibility that a



In 1914 ,Europe had two main

alliance systems:



_The

_Triple

_Alliance

_{(“The Central}

Powers”) consisting of

Germany,

Austria-Hungary, & Italy



_The

_Triple

_Entente

_{(“The Allies”)}



Politicians at the time called this

system of alliances the ‘Balance of

Power

’



They believed that the size & power



Imperialism

is the policy of

establishing colonies away from the

homeland & building an empire



It involved the domination by one

country of the political, economic, or

cultural life of another country or region



Colonies provided raw materials,



Great Britain,

France, Russia,

Germany, the

United States all

wanted to colonial

empires.



Spheres of

Influence: a region

where one power

claims exclusive

investment /



Imperialism led to

frequent quarrels

among the great

powers of Europe

in all parts of the

globe.



Arguments over

colonies & trade

constantly



Definition 1: a feeling of deep

loyalty

to

one’s people & homeland



Definition 2: Desire of a

subjugated

people to throw off foreign rule and create

their own nation



Strong force in Europe & other areas



Nationalism can be a

positive

force

for it

can help unify a people (French

Revolution, Canadian Confederation,

Olympic Games)



Nationalism can be a

negative

force for it

can threaten existing political structures

(ethnic groups in Austria-Hungary & the

Ottoman Empires struggled for

independence throughout the 19

th

& early



Extreme

nationalism was causing

problems in the early 20th century.



Some people seemed willing to take any



Nationalistic ideals were particularly dangerous

within the Austria-Hungarian Empire



Many ethnic groups living within that empire

wanted

freedom

&

self government



One such group, the Serbs, wished to gain

more political power in the Balkans & to

eventually unite all Serbs into one nation -

Yugoslavia



Serbia was supported by Russia…Russia was



Nationalism was very

strong in

Serbia

& many

Serbs throughout the

Balkans / Eastern Europe

resented

living under

Austrian control.



One area where this



By 1914, the

Black

Hand

( Serbian-Bosnian

terrorist group) had

formed with the goal of

separating

Bosnia from

Austria &

uniting

it

with Serbia



Like most terrorist



With an analysis of our four long

term causes now completed,

lets look at the spark which

triggered the First World War



The assassination of Austrian

Archduke Franz Ferdinand on

June 28, 1914



Within a month following this



The

July Crisis 1914

refers to the series of

events that occurred in the month immediately

following the assassination of Archduke Franz

Ferdinand which led to the outbreak of war in

Europe



The events of this crisis also illustrates the

dangers associated with the system of alliances



Complete your outbreak of WW1 timeline sheet



1. June 28, 1914

- Archduke Franz Ferdinand is

killed



2. The Austro-Hungarian (A-H) govt blamed Serbia for

the archduke’s death & attempted to crush Serb

nationalism



3. July 6 - The German government announces its full

support for A-H if it decides to take reprisals against

Serbia



4. July 23 - With the support of Germany, A-H sent the

Serbian govt an ultimatum of 15 demands (A



5. July 24 - The Serbian government appeals to

Russia for help against the proposed attack by

the A-H army



6. July 26 - Russia promises to aid Serbia if it is

attacked by A-H



7. July 28 - Austria refused the Serbian reply to

their ultimatum & attacked



8. July 31 - Russia mobilized its armed forces in



9. August 1 - Germany declared war on Russia



10. August 3 - Germany declared war on France



11. August 4 - Germany marches into neutral

Belgium in order to attack France



12. August 4 - Britain comes to Belgium’s

defence & declares war on Germany



13. With Britain at war, Canada & Newfoundland



Construct a timeline

of events,

beginning with the

assassination of

Archduke Ferdinand

and ending with

Canada’s initial



A very young nation at the outbreak of

war (only 47 years old) with

approximately 8 million



‘A Nation of Immigrants’….as we

discovered in Unit 1



Mainly agricultural country with increased

urbanization & industry



Since Laurier’s 1911 defeat, there was an



Limited military experience (1885 NW

Rebellion, 1899-1903 South African War)



Limited military forces (Approx 3000 soldiers

& little military equipment)



Lack of trained officers



2 ships with 350 men…(Britain assumed

responsibility for defended the sea



Canada was a self-governing dominion

within the British Empire (Britain controlled

our foreign affairs / defense including our

decision to go to war )



Britain’s entry into the First World War

against Germany legally brought Canada

into the conflict as well



In addition to Canada, other dominions of



The announcement of war brought great

excitement & celebration

across our

country as 1000s of young men rushed to

the recruiting offices



War was suppose to be

over by Christmas, so



Unlike the professional armies of Europe, our army

would be a

volunteer

citizen-soldier army initially

comprised of over 70% British born recruits



They eagerly volunteered hoping for a free trip to

visit relatives or areas they lived in prior to their

arrival in Canada



The percentage of native-born Canadians would

increase throughout the war until, by 1918, more

than half of the Canadian Expeditionary Force



Germany's brutal invasion of Belgium had

shocked

many Canadians.



War was also viewed as a romantic

adventure

involving honour and glory



Many viewed war as a temporary

escape

from the monotony of work and civilian

routine.



Some sought to escape the economic



Despite the rush to sign up in 1914, not

all potential recruits were welcomed.



Potential soldiers were subjected to

strict

medical

exams



_{at least five feet, three inches tall,}



_{between 18 and 45 years old}



_{Good eyesight, arched feet, and healthy}

teeth were essential.



Because of the initial surge of recruits,

many eager volunteers were turned



Early in the war, recruiters also rejected

most visible minorities, black, & Asia

Canadian volunteers for military service.



While racist feelings ran deep, and the



Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden and

his Cabinet quickly agreed to meet

Britain's request for a Canadian

contingent of 25,000 troops.



Factories

could be told what to produce

(ammunition instead of farm tools).



Immigrants who had come from what

were now enemy countries, like

Germany, had their movements

controlled



Allowed the government to put anyone

in

internment camps



Canadian minister of

militia

in 1914

responsible for raising Canada’s new army in

1914



Nationalistic / patriotic, very controversial



He scrapped the training grounds at

Petawawa, Ontario & moved it to

Valcartier

, Quebec



He

infuriated

French Canada



_{Placed a Baptist minister in charge}

of recruiting in Quebec



_{All military instructions were}

provided in English



_{Placed all French recruits into English}



He promoted inferior Canadian made equipment

produced by political cronies who were more

interested in profit than quality



_{Boots turned to mush in heavy rains}



_{MacAdam Spade (Army bought 25, 000 @ $1.25 each. All}

were sold for scrap)



_{Ross Rifle (Canadian replacement for the British Lee}



In the days before the information age & mass

media, recruitment posters were prominent in

stimulating military enlistment



These posters would be found in newspapers &

posted at various locations within cities



Posters such as these were a snapshot of the

time in which they produced



They highlighted symbols of patriotism &



Due to the recruiting campaign, approx. 32,000

men had signed up & were assembled at

Valcartier Camp near Quebec City for organization

& military training



By October, 1914 the First Contingent, Canadian

Expeditionary Force was going to Europe, not to

fight, but to train for a few months on England’s



Watch the following to help with your

understanding of the events

surrounding Canada’s involvement in

the First World War



2.1 1914_1



On August 4, 1914 the British Empire declared

war on Germany



With Britain at war, so too was her vast empire



Much like in Canada, the response here was

immediate



Newfoundland

Patriotic

Association (NPA) was

formed to deal with organizing the war effort &

raising troops for overseas fighting



The government at the time promised the British an

initial force of 500 men…these would become known

to history as the ‘

First Five Hundred

’



The volunteers were immediately assembly at



On the following slides we find a

notice for enlistment at the outbreak

of war as published in the Daily

News, August 22, 1914.



As we read, what elements



Because our colony was unprepared for war,

lacking both military materiel & supplies for

the new recruits, donations of all types were

accepted (tents, uniforms, weapons)



Due to a shortage of khaki material

traditionally used by soldiers as leg wrappings

(puttees), our soldiers were forced to use a

navy blue material.



This is origin of the ‘

Blue Puttees

’



These “First 500” left St. John’s in October

1914



Like many other recruits from the Empire,