World War I

1. World War I Left Photo: Word War I Trench Courtesy of Mrs J Smillie Right: WW I Postcard of soldiers taking cover in shell holes Courtesy Queen’s University Archives

2. Europe 1913: Let’s Review German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was statesman who might be described as a political and diplomatic genius. His efforts led to the declaration of the German Empire in 1870. Kaiser Willhelm II was militaristic and wanted to strengthen Germany’s armed forces. This along with foreign policy changes upset the balance of power.

3. Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip was a member of a Serbian terrorist organization known as “The Black Hand”. Many Serbs wanted wanted to bring Bosnia under Serb control. Princip’s assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered World War I. World War I and the ensuing Treaty of Versailles would create the conditions leading to World War II. World War II would in turn create the conditions leading to the Cold War. Perhaps the world be a very different place today if Princip had not carried out his assassination of the Archduke. Millions of people have died as a result of the 20th century events that followed Princip’s assassination of the Archduke. At very minimum, he triggered World War I. Many would argue that confrontation between the world’s great powers was inevitable. Yet, the Cold War did not lead to global warfare.   Photos: Photographers Unknown Source: Yahoo Images Search

4. The Balkans 1914

5. 1914 European Alliances Note The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers to form the Triple Alliance with the signing of the August 1914 Turco-German Alliance. Turkey formally entered World War I on 28 October 1914 with the bombing of Russian Black Sea ports. The Triple Entente, or Allied Powers, declared war on the Ottoman Empire on November 4.

6. The Powers Prepare for WarJuly 23 – August 3, 1914 June 28, 1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand July 5-6, 1914 Germany supports Austria-Hungary July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia July 31, 1914 German forces begin to mobilize August 1, 1914 Germany declares war on Russia & France With Russia mobilizing, Germany has no choice but to demand an immediate halt or to declare war before anyone else can.Russia refuses to stop it mobilization and within hours on August 1, 1914 Germany is at war with Russia.Kaiser Wilhelm II needs no excuse to declare war on France and does so two days later on August 3. This sets up the first stage of the "Schlieffen Plan".

7. The German AttackAugust 4, 1914 August 4, 1914 German forces invade neutral Belgium August 26-30, 1914 Battle of Tannenberg (Eastern Front) October-November, 1914 First Battle of Ypres (Western Front) December 25, 1914 Unofficial Christmas Truce on the Western Front The French thought that Germany's advance into Belgium was a diversion. Most of the French army moved northeast to attack Germany through the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The first major battle on the Eastern front occurred when German forces surrounded and destroyed the Russian army at the Battle of Tannenberg. This August 1914 battle was Germany's greatest victory of the war.

8. First Battle of the MarneSeptember 5 -10, 1914 German plans for the Western Front began to fall apart in September of 1914as the Germans did not properly follow the original “Schlieffen Plan.” As the German right flank drove deeper, it was separated from the rest of the invading German force. This made it vulnerable and forced the Germans pulled up twenty-five miles short of Paris. This was France’s chance to attack. What followed was the First Battle of the Marne where the German advance was stopped.

9. Gallipoli Campaign The fighting in WW1 did not only happen in the trenches along the Western front, nor with the heavy casualties and consistent movement along the Eastern front. The Ottoman Empire also played its part in aiding the Central Powers by protecting the sea route to and from Russia. The Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16, also known as the Battle of Gallipoli or the Dardanelles Campaign, was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I. The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February-March 1915 and continued with a major land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, involving British and French troops as well as divisions of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, along with a fierce Turkish resistance, hampered the success of the invasion. By mid-October, Allied forces had suffered heavy casualties and had made little headway from their initial landing sites. Evacuation began in December 1915, and was completed early the following January.

10. Trench Warfare By the beginning of 1916 opposing armies remained deadlocked in a line of trenches which stretched 966 kilometres from the Belgian coast through France to the frontiers of Switzerland. After two years of war, the battle lines of the Western front had barely changed from the first days of stalemate (static warfare). This was trench warfare. The Eastern front was more fluid (moving) and was more similar to the battles of the 19th century. The death toll was alarming, and with Russia involved in its own civil war and the eventual assassination of Tsar Nicolas II, Russia would ultimately drop out of the war.

11. Second Battle of YpresApril 22-May 31, 1915 The Second Battle of Ypres involved four battles around Ypres. The first of these four battles began on 22 April 1915 as a surprise offensive by the German 4th Army on the Allied front line. This attack saw the first use of a new German weapon on the Western Front: poisonous gas. A breeze moving towards French troops carried the deadly gas. It had a devastating effect on the French and the German infantry made a significant advance into Allied territory. During the next four weeks the Allied Forces of Belgium, France and Britain fought to hold off the successful German advance and to regain the ground that had been lost north of Ypres. The fourth battle ended on 25 May 1915.

12. The Battle of VerdunFebruary 21. 1916 – July 1916 The Allies had planned to launch a joint French and British assault in the region of the Somme. The target date was the middle of 1916. However, in February the Allied plan was upset when the Germans began an assault on the fortress-ringed city of Verdun. The belief was that Verdun was essential to the French that France would fight to the death. On February 21, the German artillery barrage began and, for the next several months both sides unleashed soldiers and shells at each By Christmas, when the battle finally ended, 800,000 men had lost their lives. One hundred and twenty-five miles northwest of Verdun, the British and French armies joined at the Somme river. A French-British offensive was planned here for 1916 to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun.

13. The Battle of the SommeJuly 1,1916 –November 1916 The four-month Battle of the Somme was fought to relieve pressure on the French defenders of Verdun to the south by inflicting heavy losses on German forces farther north and drawing German reserves into the battle. The joint Allied offensive planned for French forces to play a prominent role, but heavy casualties at Verdun reduced their ability to participate. As a result, British and other imperial forces, under the command of Sir Douglas Haig, assumed responsibility for most of the front. British troops went “over the top” on 1 July 1916 expecting, after the fury of their own barrage, an easy walk onto the German lines. They were met instead by terrible fire from rifles, artillery, and machine-guns seemingly unhurt by the bombardment. The first day of the Somme battle was a disaster, with nearly 60,000 casualties. After four months of fighting each side had suffered more than 600,000 causalities. The Somme was one of the war’s longest attritional campaigns, and remains a source of great historical controversy. Critics suggest that ineffective and callous British generals ordered their soldiers forward in fruitless and costly attacks, giving them neither proper weapons nor effective tactics to break through the enemy trenches.

14. The Battle of Vimy Ridge April 1917 The Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded. To capture this difficult position, the Canadians would carefully plan and rehearse their attack. To provide greater flexibility and firepower in battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers. These same soldiers underwent weeks of training behind the lines using models to represent the battlefield, and crafted from aerial photographs to guide their way. To bring men forward safely for the assault, engineers dug deep tunnels from the rear to the front. Despite this training and preparation, the key to victory would be a devastating artillery barrage that would not only isolate enemy trenches, but provide a moving wall of high explosives and shrapnel to force the Germans to stay in their deep dugouts and away from their machine-guns. Attacking together for the first time, the four Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at 5:30am on 9 April 1917. More than 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the Germans all along the front. Incredible bravery and discipline allowed the infantry to continue moving forward under heavy fire, even when their officers were killed. There were countless acts of sacrifice, as Canadians single-handedly charged machine-gun nests or forced the surrender of Germans in protective dugouts. Three more days of costly battle delivered final victory. The Canadian operation was an important success, even if the larger British and French offensive, of which it had been a part, had failed. But it was victory at a heavy cost: 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000 wounded.

15. The Battle of Passchendaele May 1917 The attack at Passchendaele was Sir Douglas Haig's attempt to break through Flanders. Haig had thought about a similar attack in 1916, but the Battle of the Somme occupied his time in that year. However, one year later, Haig felt able to launch such an attack. His main aim was a breakthrough to the coast of Belgium so that German submarine pens could be destroyed. Admiral Jellicoe had already advised both Haig and the British government that the loss of shipping (primarily merchant) could not be sustained and that Britain would face severe problems in 1918, if such losses continued. Haig's plan, to sweep through Flanders to the coast, did not receive support from Britain's Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, but as the Allies had no other credible plan, he gave his agreement for Haig to carry out his plan. The Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele had been a very costly battle. For the sake of a few kilometres, the British had lost 310,000 men and the Germans 260,000. Haig was heavily criticised for the attack and for failing to modify his plans as the attack clearly was not going to be a success. There were some who rallied to Haig's defence. Poor planning and weather conditions lead to a high number of casualties even though the Allies eventually would win the battle. Once again the Canadians would be under their own command.

16. 1918: The End Nears Over four months in 1918 the German army launched five major assaults at different parts of he allied line. Initially the plan worked. But for every allied trench captured, there was always another for the Germans to take. Soon the elite German storm troopers were a depleted force. As desperation set in, the Germans resorted to the tactic of mass assault. Large numbers of casualties resulted. The Hindenburg Line- the last and strongest of the German army's defence - consisted of three well-defended trench systems established in 1917. Throughout September 1918, Australian forces had helped the British army to secure positions from which an attack on the Hindenburg Line could be launched. On 18 September 1918, an attack was launched on the first part of the Hindenburg Line. Troops, supported by huge artillery barrages, attacked the heavily fortified German defences and machine-gun posts. Using only eight tanks (as well as dummy tanks) to distract the Germans 4,300 prisoners were taken. On 29 September, the line was finally broken.. The fighting lasted four days and resulted in heavy losses. Eventually, the Allies broke through the third and final stage of the Hindenburg Line, and the Germans were forced to fall back.

17. Timeline 1918 1918-1919 Influenza pandemic kills more people than the war did. January 8, 1918 President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points as the path to world peace. March 21 Germans launch the first of five major offensives to win the war before American troops appear in the trenches. April 25 British and Australian troops stop the German advance near Amiens. May 23 German shells land on Paris. July 16-17 Former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, children, and members of his entourage are murdered by the Bolsheviks August 8 Allied counteroffensives on the Somme push the German army back. September 29 Allied troops break through the German fortifications at the Hindenberg line. October 28 Germany's sailors mutiny at port when asked to sail out to fight again. November 9 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates. November 10 A German republic is founded. November 11 At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the war ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice. Photo: Courtesy WW I Hospital- Queen’s University Archives

18. The Destruction Left: These are typical battlefield scenes. Right: This photograph is a before and after look at Menin Road, located at Ypres. The top picture was taken in 1914, and the bottom was taken in 1918 after the "Battle of Ypres". Photos: Courtesy Queen’s University Archives

19. Canada’s ContributionThe Home FrontLeft: Recruitment Poster-Canadian Museum of Civilization CorporationRight: Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden and some of his Cabinet Ministers at Valcartier training camp in Quebec.Photos: Courtesy Queen’s University ArchivesYour Chums are FightingSource: National Archives of Canada/First World War collection/C-029484/Accession 1983-28-896

20. Canada’s Contribution Approximately 620,000 Canadians served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, including 425,000 who served overseas; more than 60,000 were killed and 172,000 wounded, an enormous number for a small nation. Canadian military cemeteries overseas, carefully maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, graphically convey the scale of this loss. Canada was still a colony in 1914, but battlefield successes stimulated a desire among Canadians for greater national autonomy and international recognition. In 1919, Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the war, and joined the newly-created League of Nations as a member state in its own right. Canada had come of age. Photos and Text: Courtesy Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation