Canada and World War I

Seminal event of the 20th Century

28 July 1914- 11 November 1918

Canada was involved because in 1914 Britain still controlled Canada’s foreign policy.

King George V

Rise of Germany

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Germany emerged in Europe with the great deal of money they had

A Navy was essential to global power and Germany built a great Navy

This threatened Britain

The Great ISMS

- Imperialism
- Nationalism
- Militarism

Imperialism- a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military

force over other countries and territories

Imperial power- a country that controls another country or territory

Colonial Empires 1914

Nationalism- An extreme, aggressive, hostile form of patriotism. Desire for political independence

A belief that your nation is more important than other nations

Overconfidence/ prideful

Common attitude in Europe

Militarism

Aggressive buildup of military forces

By 1900, all European countries were involved

By 1900, Germany had built the world’s strongest army

A threat to France, Russia & Britain

Upside and downside to the alliance

Countries formed alliances but countries were dragged into war

Europe was divided into two hostile camps made up of militaristic empires:

The Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire

The Triple Entente: France, Russia and Britain

The Balkans

The war began in the Balkans

Serbia had gained its independence from the Ottoman empire

Serbia wanted independence for Serbians living in Austria controlled Bosnia

Slavic Serbia was backed by Slavic Russia

The Balkans 1914

Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand married commoner wife from Czech

Heir to Austrian throne

Assassinated 28 June 1914

Serbia

Black Hand- Terrorist group

Gavrilo Princip

Excuse for invading into Serbia

The July Crisis 1914

- Blank check
- Russia backed Serbia
- Germany backed Austria
- Russia notified France
- Russian mobilization

The Guns of August 1914

28 July: Austria declared war on Serbia

1 August: Germany declared war on Russia

3 August: Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium Schlieffen

Plan

4 August: Britain declared war on germany

11 August: France declared war on Austria

12 August: Britain declared war on Austria

Italy dropped out saying alliance was only defensive

Taxis to the Marne

Marne River was where the German advanced to Paris was stopped

Canada Responds

English Canada cheered

Teach Germany a lesson/ home by Christmas
Borden 25,000 troops
30,000 volunteers
Honour, duty, heroics, patriotism, adventure
No Quebecers
Women and minorities never considered
Val Cartier Quebec
Boot Camp
National Identity emerged
Britain expected Canadians to join ranks
Canada demanded separate units
Start of Canadian nationalism