The Western Front

The Western Front The Cost of War

Allied and Central Powers - 1914 • In 1914 central Europe had divided into a system of alliances. • Germany aligned with Austria-Hungary and France with Russia. • Britain had no formal commitment to France or Russia, but had developed ‘understandings’ since 1904. • It was presumed that in a European war, Britain would fight on the left-hand side of the French

The Schlieffen Plan - 1914 • Fearing a war on two fronts, the Germans adopted the Schlieffen plan – to sweep through neutral Belgium and on to France, encircling Paris. • The aim was to knock France out of the war quickly before Russia could mobilise its forces.

German Advance - 1914 • The Germans advanced south west through Belgium, where the British made contact with them at Mons on 23 August. • The British briefly halted the Germans, but such was the overwhelming number of the enemy that they were forced to retreat. • Half the British force stopped and fought at Le Cateau on 26 August to give the rest the chance to get away. • The 200 mile retreat continued south for two weeks and ended on the river Marne.

German retreat to Aisne - 1914 • Over-stretched and exhausted - the German forces were counter-attacked by the French with British support, who drove them back over the rivers Marne and Aisne. • Here both sides dug in – a foretaste of trench warfare.

Life in the Trenches

Race to the Sea - 1914 • Both sides tried to outflank each other to the north in what became known as the ‘race to the sea’.

First Battle of Ypres - 1914 • The Belgian city of Ypres was the final barrier between the Germans and the Channel ports. • The Allies determined to hold it at all costs. • The Germans launched their first attack on Ypres in an attempt to break through but were finally beaten off by the very last reserves of the old regular British Army, crucially assisted by elements of the Indian Army. • The German attack died away and Ypres was saved – for the time being. • Both sides then settled down for the first winter of the war.

NeuveChapelle - 1915 • By early 1915 both sides had begun to adjust to trench warfare. • In March the British made an initially successful attack at NeuveChapelle, but failure to follow up and a rapid German response prevented further progress and heavy casualties were incurred.

Second Battle of Ypres - 1915 • With massive fire power, the Germans sought to capture the Ypres salient. • During the assault they used chlorine gas for the first time, something the Allies were totally unprepared for. • The fighting continued from 22 April to 27 May with no great advantage to either side. • There were 95,000 casualties, 63% British and 37% German. • This would be the first major battle of World War I that Canadians fought in.

Loos and Aubers Ridge - 1915 • The British attacked Aubers Ridge on 9 May, as an accompaniment to a French offensive in Artois. • The offensive was ill thought-out, with no clear objectives. • On 25 September 1915 the Allies launched a joint offensive. The French attacked in Champagne, east of Reims, and Artois, whilst the British fought at Loos, where they used gas for the first time. • After limited success, the offensive ground to a halt

The Battle of Verdun - 1916 • In 1916 the German solution to the stalemate was to ‘bleed France white’ with a huge offensive at Verdun. • Verdun was surrounded by a series of large forts. • The town became a symbol of the resistance of the French nation.

The Battle of Verdun - 1916 • On 21 February the heaviest German artillery bombardment of the war so far, shattered the French defences. • On 23 June, the Germans nearly broke through, but pressure on the French was relieved by the start of the Franco-British offensive on the Somme on 1 July. • In the Autumn a French counter-offensive at Verdun forced the Germans to retreat virtually to their starting point. • In one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war, the French incurred nearly 400,000 casualties, the Germans almost 350,000.

The Battle of the Somme - 1916 • In an attempt to relieve the French at Verdun, the British and French launched an offensive on the Somme. • This was the ‘Big Push’, the offensive for which the eager volunteers of 1914 had long anticipated, and widely hoped to end the war. • 120,000 men were to attack over an 18 mile front, preceded by a 7 day bombardment.

The Battle of the Somme - 1916 • The bombardment was unsuccessful. • In many places the Germans survived in deep trenches. • On the first day, 1 July, nearly 20,000 Britons were killed and almost 40,000 injured and captured. • By November the offensive had ground to a halt. • The Allies had captured ground at the cost of 420,000 British and 195,000 French casualties. • But the battle convinced the Germans that they did not want to face another battle like that at the Somme

The ‘Hindenburg Line’ - 1917 • The Germans pulled back to the freshly built ‘Hindenburg Line’ in March 1917. • Believed to be an impregnable defensive position it had barbed wire 100 yards or more deep, connected by concrete pill boxes. • The withdrawal shortened the German front by nearly 50 miles. • The evacuated area was devastated: roads destroyed, trees felled, towns demolished and water poisoned.

Arras - 1917 • On 9 April, the British attacked successfully at Arras and the Canadian Corps gained a strategic success by taking Vimy Ridge. • The Arras casualty rate was 4,070 men per day – the highest of the war.

Nivelle’s Offensive - 1917 • On 16 April the new French Commander, General Robert Nivele, launched an offensive in Champagne. • The attack was a disaster. • Mutinies broke out in the French army. • Nivelle was dismissed and replaced by General PhillipePétain.

Third Battle of Ypres – Passchendaele - 1917 • On 7 June, before the third battle of Ypres, the British launched a successful attack on Messines ridge, using 19 mines to literally blow the Germans off the ridge. • The third battle of Ypres was launched by the British on 31 July. • An attempt to capture the channel ports used by Germans for their most dangerous naval weapon – submarines.

Third Battle of Ypres – Passchendaele - 1917 • Terrible weather and stubborn German resistance saw the offensive grind to a halt. • 325,000 British soldiers were lost and the troops had advanced barely five miles. • The battle of attrition almost broke the resolve of both armies. For many, this was the lowest point of the war.

Cambrai - 1917 • On 20 November, in the first mass tank attack, the British launched a surprise offensive towards Cambrai. • Using 476 tanks, 32 of which were designed for cutting wire, the British broke through German lines and advanced five miles. • Initially it was a huge success, but there were insufficient reserves to consolidate the gains. • On 30 November the Germans counter-attacked and regained much of the ground they had lost.

German Offensives - 1918 • Following the Revolution, Russia signed a peace treaty with Germany, transferring one million men from the Eastern to the Western Front. • With greater numbers of American troops arriving in France, the Germans, in a last bid to win the war, launched a massive offensive on 21 March. • It fizzled out, as did several later attempts to effect a breakthrough. • It was only a matter of time, after July, before the Allies counter-attacked.

Allied Offensives - 1918 • August 8th was the ‘Black Day of the German Army’ – the beginning of the end. • With unceasing attacks, the Allies drove the Germans back. • In early October the British broke through the ‘Hindenburg Line’. • Increasing numbers of German soldiers surrendered and Germany began to talk of peace.

Armistice - 1918 • By the end of October Germany admitted defeat and began looking for advantageous peace terms. • By November, they had no choice but to accept the Allies’ harsh surrender conditions. • On 11 November the Armistice document was signed in a railway carriage at Compiègne, and the guns fell silent at 11am.

Mons • At Mons there is a memorial to the last shot fired during World War One. • It is almost opposite the memorial to commemorate the first shot, fired four years before in 1914.

Photograph Analysis Funk Hole Two Canadian soldiers in a front line trench in the Hill 60 sector. One soldier is reclining in a dugout entrance or funk hole, a depression carved into the trench wall. George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19920044-608

Photograph Analysis In the Mud Troops of the Canadian 16th Machine Gun Company hold the line in atrocious conditions on the Passchendaele front in late October or early November, 1917. George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19930013-509

Photograph Analysis Washing Day Two soldiers work on their laundry. Approximately 1,000 black soldiers served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, most of them in Nova Scotia's No. 2 Labour Battalion. Labour battalions worked behind the lines, carrying out essential support and supply roles. George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19920044-725

Photograph Analysis Mustard Gas Victims The extensive bandages on these wounded Canadian soldiers may indicate that they have suffered the effects of flame or mustard gas. Mustard gas burned the lungs, but also caused serious external blisters and disfigurement. George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19920085-540

Photograph Analysis Pack Horses Members of the 20th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, stand beside their pack horses, loaded with 18-pounder shells. This photograph was taken before the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917. At Vimy, the Canadian gunners had an estimated 1.6 million shells and every one had to be carried forward to the guns. George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19920044-848

The Western Front