A history of events in Canada leading up to the first world war, including the formation of the Canadian nation and its subsequent expansion, and an examination of some of the individuals, groups, and movements promoting political and social change in the early twentieth century.
Created by mrjarbenne on Sep 3, 2008
Last updated: 03/12/10 at 02:22 AM
The first women officially in the Royal Canadian Navy were six nursing sisters who served during August 1914 on His Majesty's Canadian Hospital Ship Prince George, the only Canadian hospital ship to ever sail with the Royal Canadian Navy.
http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource_pages/unsung_women/rcn_first_women.html
Veteran Percy "Dwight" Wilson died this morning at the age of 106, leaving only one known surviving veteran of the First World War.
Wilson passed "peacefully" at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Canada's largest veterans' care facility, where flags were lowered to half-mast in honour of the veteran.
His death leaves John Babcock, who lives in Spokane, Wash., as the only surviving Canadian First World War veteran.
"All these guys who signed up realized there were risks involved, especially by 1916," Wilson's son, Paul, said of the generation of young men who volunteered to serve despite news chronicling horrific battlefield losses.
"I think maybe in 1914, when the war broke out, some of the young boys signing up thought it would be a lark,'' he added. "By 1916, there had been thousands upon thousands of them just killed. They had some horrendous battles."
In 1915, as a young Cadet, Wilson trained as a mounted bugler in the militia. And in July of the following year, at age 15 -- three years shy of the legal minimum -- he enlisted and joined the 69th Artillery Battery in Toronto.
After completing basic training in Camp Niagara and Camp Petawawa, Ont., Dwight ventured overseas as part of the Artillery Battery.
"On the two-week voyage crossing the North Atlantic to England, he entertained the other troops on the R.M.S. Grampian liner with his wonderful singing voice," the veterans' care centre said in a press release.
"He was one of over 600,000 Canadians who fulfilled their sense of duty and volunteered to serve in the Great War."
But upon arrival in England, his superiors realized Wilson was too young, and held him back from the front lines.
Wilson was eventually sent back to Canada and discharged as a minor.
"I don't know if he really lied about his age, or whether someone fudged it," said Paul Wilson. "This is 1916. The best troops in Europe and the Allies had already been cut to pieces. I think they were scrambling."
But war broke out again in 1939, and Wilson, who was working with Bell Telephone, became a Captain in Stratford's 7th Perth Regiment Reserves.
He tried to serve once again, only this time he was too old for active duty.
Wilson worked for Bell Canada from 1919 until his retirement in 1966. He held numerous positions in several Ontario communities, and was promoted to manager of the phone company's Stratford operation.
He also sang in the Bell vocal group, and enjoyed a career in music which included studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he met his wife -- singer and pianist Eleanor Dean.
He and Eleanor were married in 1927 and stayed together until she died at the age of 94. They had two sons, Dean and Paul.
There will be a funeral service with military honour for family members and invited guests only.
In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was "deeply saddened" to learn of Wilson's death.
"On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Wilson's family and friends. As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing," said Harper.
Ten per cent of the Canadians who enlisted to fight in the First World War died on the battlefields of Europe, and 170,000 more were wounded.
The war would ultimately claim 15 million civilian and military lives on both sides of the conflict.
"In memory of Wilson and all those who served in the Great War, the family has requested that donations be directed to the Veterans' Comfort Fund at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Room KGE39," said the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070509/war_veteran_070509/
On November 1st 1952 the first ever H bomb was detonated
http://10.0.0.5:8080/webadmin/deny/index.php?dpid=1&cat=4&ttl=-100&groupname=CentralPublic&policyname=CentralPublic_policy&username=CentralPublic&userip=10.41.3.39&connectionip=127.0.0.1&nsphostname=NS2.hwdsb.on.ca&protocol=squid25&dplanguage=-&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eyoutube%2ecom%2fwatch%3fv%3dNNcQX033V%5fM
Cordell Hull, American Secretary of State under Franklin Roosevelt, believed that trade barriers were the root cause of both World War I and World War II. In 1944, he helped design the Bretton Woods Agreements to reduce trade barriers and eliminate what he saw as the cause of the conflicts.[22][23]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ww1
After World War I, Scouting was banned by the Soviets in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Just prior to World War II, both Mussolini and Hitler disbanded Scouting. In most of these instances, Scouting was revived in the individual community in diaspora.
During the later days of World War II and until about 1947, Scouting flourished in the Displaced Persons Camps or DP Camps. These DP Scout groups often provided postal delivery and other basic services in Displaced Persons Camps.
At the end of World War II, the Soviets absorbed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and immediately banned Scouting. The establishment of communist regimes in Eastern Europe resulted in the end of the original Scouting movements within Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia.
[edit] Totalitarian countries
With the end of the colonial period, other countries came under totalitarian control and banned Scouting. Such was the case in Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Mainland China, Cuba, Laos, Malawi, Myanmar, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
During and immediately after the establishment of each totalitarian government, there was an exodus of people that were not in sympathy with the new regime. Those immigrants brought Scouting with them, as Scouts-In-Exile, groups of Scouts dedicated to the principles and of their original associations, but located outside their country of origin. The notable exception to this is Bosnia, where refugees fleeing the war in the 1990s made their way to Ireland, where they were assisted in the creation of their own Scouting movement by local volunteer Irish Scouters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouts-in-Exile
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. Macdonald and F.H. Varley - befriended each other in Toronto between 1911 and 1913.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003476
the first war planes
http://inventors.about.com/cs/inventorsalphabet/a/wright_brothers_3.htm
During the first world war,women had to work in the town, when the mean began to fight. Once the men left the women become construction workers, bomb makers,and had many other jobs. They finally got rights in 1918.
http://www.jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us/Classes/Social_Science/WW1.folder/women.html
A Belgian relief vessel and a French munitions carrier collided in Halifax harbour during World War 1. This was the worlds largest man made explosion before Hiroshima. More then 1900 people died and 9000 injured.
http://canadaonline.about.com/cs/canadaww1/p/halifaxexpl.htm
The battle of Vimy Ridge was an attack by the Canadians On the Germans. The battle took place along the western front in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. The objective was to take control of the German held high ground at the northernmost end of the advance to permit the southern flank of the Arras offensive to advance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
At vimy ridge april 1917 it was canada's military high point in ww1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Canada
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military offensive by the Canadian Corps against elements of the German Sixth Army in World War I. The battle took place along the Western Front in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, from 9 April 1917 to 12 April 1917. The Canadian Corps attack was part of the opening phase of the Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. The Corps' objective was to take control of the German-held high ground at the northernmost end of the advance to permit the southern flank of the Arras offensive to advance without suffering enfilade fire.[3]
Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured the majority of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The town of Thélus and, after overcoming considerable German resistance, the crest of the ridge fell during the second day. The final objective, a fortified knoll (the Pimple) outside the town of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadian Corps on 12 April after which point the German forces retreated to the Oppy-Méricourt line.
The success of the Canadian Corps in capturing the ridge is attributed to a mixture of technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support, and extensive training. Another major factor was the failure of the German Sixth Army to apply the defensive doctrine of elastic defence. This was the first occasion where all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in an action as a composite formation. The battle thus became a Canadian nationalistic symbol of achievement and sacrifice. A 250-acre (150 ha) portion of the former battleground now serves as a preserved memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
62 Royal Hamilton Light Infantry was the largest regiment that fought in Vimy ridge- my cadet core.-Ted
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States and others blamed the war on militarism.[16] Some argued[citation needed] that aristocrats and military élites had too much power in countries such as Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. War was thus a consequence of their desire for military power and disdain for democracy. This theme figured prominently[citation needed] in anti-German propaganda. Consequently, supporters of this theory called[citation needed] for the abdication of rulers such as Kaiser Wilhelm II, as well as an end to aristocracy and militarism in general. This platform provided[citation needed] some justification for the American entry into the war when the Russian Empire surrendered in 1917.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ww1
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-1390198586010950329&ei=_LrTSK7cApi0-QHq_sTHAg&q=ww1&hl=en
The Mark I was a development of Little Willie, the experimental tank built for the Landships Committee by Lieutenant Walter Wilson and William Tritton in the summer of 1915. Working on problems discovered with Willie, the Mark I was designed by Wilson. A gun turret above the hull would have made the centre of gravity too high, so the guns were put in sponsons. The prototype Mark I, ready in December 1915, was called "Mother". One hundred and fifty were built. See history of the tank for a more complete story.
[edit] Description
The Mark I was a rhomboid vehicle with a low centre of gravity and long track length, able to grip muddy ground and cross trenches. Sponsons (also called "barbettes") on the hull sides carried two naval 6-pounder guns. There were two Hotchkiss machine guns in the sponsons and two removable guns for the front and back.
The hull was undivided internally; the crew shared the same space as the engine. The environment inside was extremely unpleasant; the atmosphere was contaminated with poisonous carbon monoxide, fuel and oil vapours from the engine and cordite fumes from the weapons as ventilation was inadequate. Temperatures inside could reach 50 °C (122 °F). Entire crews lost consciousness or became violently sick when again exposed to fresh air.[citation needed]
To counter the fumes inside and the danger of bullet splash or fragments and rivets knocked off the inside of the hull, the crew wore helmets with goggles and chainmail masks. Gas masks were standard issue as well, as they were to all soldiers at this point in the war (see Chemical warfare). The side armour of 8 mm initially made them largely immune to small arms fire, but could be penetrated by the recently developed armour-piercing K bullets. There was also the danger of being overrun by infantry and attacked with grenades. The next generation had thicker armour, making them nearly immune to the K bullets. In response, the Germans developed a larger purpose-made anti-tank rifle, and also a Geballte Ladung ("Bunched Charge")—several regular stick grenades bundled together for a much bigger explosion.
A direct hit on the roof by an artillery or mortar shell could cause the fuel tanks (which were placed high in the front horns of the track frames either side of the drivers' area, to allow gravity feed) to burst open. Incinerated crews were removed by special Salvage Companies, who also salvaged damaged tanks. They were forbidden to speak about this aspect of their work with still living tank crewsSteering was difficult; controlled by varying the speed of the two tracks. Four of the crew, two drivers (one of which also acted as commander; he operated the brakes, the other the primary gearbox) and two "gearsmen" (one for the secondary gears of each track) were needed to control direction and speed — the latter never more than a walking pace. As the noise inside was deafening, the driver, after setting the primary gear box, communicated with the gearsmen with hand signals, first getting their attention by hitting the engine block with a heavy spanner. For slight turns, the driver could use the steering tail: an enormous contraption dragged behind the tank consisting of two large wheels, each of which could be blocked by pulling a steel cable causing the whole vehicle to slide in the same direction. If the engine stalled, the gearsmen would use the starting handle—a large crank between the engine and the gearbox. Many of these vehicles broke down in the heat of battle making them an easy target for German gunners. There was no wireless (radio); communication with command posts was by means of two pigeons, which had their own small exit hatch in the sponsons, or by runners who were encouraged to complete their suicidal mission by receiving bottles of strong drink as a reward.[citation needed]
Later marks carried semaphore arms for signalling.[citation needed]
[edit] Variants and developments
A requirement was found for two types of armament, so Mark Is were armed either with 6 pounder guns and four machine guns and called "Male" (75) or two Vickers machine guns instead of the 6 pounders and called "Female" (75).
To aid steering, a pair of large wheels were added behind the tank. These were not as effective as hoped and were subsequently dropped.
The subsequent Mark II, III, IV and V and later tanks all bear a strong resemblance to their "Mother".
[edit] Mark I
* Crew: 8
* Combat Weight
o Male: 28 tons (28.4 tonne)
o Female: 27 tons (27.4 tonne)
* Armour: .23-.47 in (6-12 mm)
* Armament
o Male: two 6-pounder QF, four 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Guns
o Female: four .303 Vickers Machine Guns, two 8 mm Hotchkiss Machine Guns
The Gun Carrier Mark I was largely produced with parts to those used to build the Mark I.
[edit] Mark II
Mark II; tank no. 799 captured near Arras on 11 April 1917.
Mark II; tank no. 799 captured near Arras on 11 April 1917.
Unhardened armour. Built from December 1916 to January 1917 for training only, but used in the Battle of Arras in April 1917 because of delays in the production of the Mark I tank.
[edit] Mark III
The Mark III was a training tank, which used Lewis machine guns and a smaller sponson for the females. Fifty were built. It was originally intended that the Mark III have all the proposed new design features of the Mark IV. This is why there were two distinct training types, the Mark II being little more than a slightly improved Mark I. Development of the new features was so slow however, that the change from the Mark II was very gradual only. The last two Mark III's were melted down in World War II.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_I_tank
A video created by (I think) a soldier of the re-enactment of the war.
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5987595795841359761&ei=R6nnSMzxLoT0-gH53fkC&hl=en
Nellie McClung, born Nellie Letitia Mooney (October 20, 1873 - September 1, 1951) was a Canadian feminist, politician, and social activist. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in Western Canada in the early 1900s. She was also the grandmother of outspoken Alberta judge John McClung. Her great causes were women's suffrage and temperance. It was largely through her efforts that in 1916 Manitoba became the first province to give women the right to vote and to run for public office.
Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet", and figuratively "right to vote"; probably from suffrago "hough", and originally a term for the pastern bone used to cast votes) is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In that context, it is also called political franchise or simply the franchise. In most democracies citizens or subjects above the voting age can normally vote in its elections. Resident aliens can vote in some countries and in others exceptions are made for citizens of countries with which they have close links (e.g. some members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and the members of the European Union).
The British built the first combat tank. It was built to break the domination of trenches and machine guns over the battlefields of the Western Front. It was the most successful heavy tanks in the war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_I_(tank)
The WW1 Tank It was not until 1916 that tanks were first introduced into battle - before that armoured cars were being used, which had none of the off-road capabilities of the tanks. It was the 15th of September, 1916, that the first British tanks were used in battle. The reasons they were used at this time were basically because of lots of testing, to make sure it would work, and also the fact that attack at the Somme was losing the power to keep going. Early that morning, tanks were sent out, with infantry behind, to raid the German trenches. Of the first attack, one tank, a D1, was sent out, and an enemy trench gained. The tank was then hit by a shell, and was disabled. Of the main attack, three of the six tanks got bogged, one broke down, and the other two continued towards the enemy line slowly, supporting the infantry, although the infantry did move ahead, away from the protection of the tanks. The tanks had been successful in the regard that they had scared the Germans, and they had not been disabled immediately, however some were disappointed. Concerns raised included the view slits - they were too thin to be able to see much while moving, and they were targets for enemy gunshot; and the exhaust - it made too much noise and the heat could have set alit the fuel tank. Another issue raised was the amount of mud that got into the treads and blocked them up. The first French use of tanks was on April 16, 1917, and went much worse than the English attack. While there were more tanks involved, many of them broke down, and those that did reach the enemy lines had no support. This resulted in them having to retreat again. Problems discovered here included the temperature - way too hot for any human to operate safely, as well as the vibrations - guns came out of their holdings. The French tanks also didn't have the ability to cross trenches as the British one could. Another problem (or success from the Germans point of view), was the discovery that the armour piercing bullet could go through the walls of tanks. As a result of these problems, several improvements were made - the modification of the tracks so as to not pick up as much mud, and the addition of an 'unditching beam', which was a piece of would, that would run along with the tracks when necessary to give it an extra bit of grip. Probably the biggest use of tanks within the war was the battle of Cambrai, in November 1917, when British infantry and 400 tanks crashed through the Hindenburg line with great success. The attack caught the Germans by surprise in the early morning, and first bombarded the line with shrapnel, gas, etc. Then the tanks began to move forward, crashing through the wire, and leading the infantry and cavalry through. The tanks used fascines to fill the trenches, and the men behind used these to cross. All was going well until the attack met the German Fortified position of Flesquieres, where the tanks could not continue, and many ran out of fuel. The cavalry was forced to retreat, and a week later the Germans counter-attacked, driving the British back to where they started. In the war the British ended up using 2 350 tanks of 13 types, the French 4 000 small vehicles, and the Germans only 20 tanks in total. The tanks saw success, but they were still very much in an experimental stage, and improved greatly later on. During World War I (1914-1918) the British invented and implemented the first working tank. The name tank came when the British shipped them to battle's in crates marked "tanks" trying to cover up what they really were. The first battle in which tanks were implemented was the Battle of the Somme, on September 15, 1916, when the British used 49 tanks with disappointing results. Little more than a year later, however, in November 1917, 400 British tanks penetrated German lines near Cambrai, capturing 8000 of the enemy and 100 guns.
In January 1915 The first canadian divisions arrived in France during ww1
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/customcode/tceMedia.cfm?Params=A1EVT1717MED1359
The first British shots of World War One occurred near a small Belgian village in August 1914. Richard van Emden recounts a little-told prologue to a war that would last for years, and ultimately cost millions of lives.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/firstshot_01.shtml
Why Canada entered and when
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada_during_World_War_I
The U.K. declares war on Germany. Canada (which is allied with Britan) aslo goes to war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_in_Canada
The Austro-Hungarian government used the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as a pretext to deal with the Serbian question, supported by Germany. On 23 July 1914, an ultimatum was sent to Serbia with ten demands, some so extreme that the Serbian reply included reservations and rejected the sixth demand. The Serbians, relying on support from Russia, removed acceptance of the sixth key demand (the draft reply had accepted it), and also ordered mobilization. In response to this, Austria-Hungary issued a declaration of war on 28 July. Initially, Russia ordered partial mobilization, directed at the Austrian frontier. On 31 July, after the Russian General Staff informed the Czar that partial mobilization was logistically impossible, a full mobilization was ordered. The Schlieffen Plan, which relied on a quick strike against France, could not afford to allow the Russians to mobilize without launching an attack. Thus, the Germans declared war against Russia on 1 August and on France two days later. Germany then violated Belgium's neutrality by the German advance through it to Paris, and this brought the British Empire into the war. With this, five of the six European powers were now involved in the largest continental European conflict since the Napoleonic Wars.[25]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I#Plans.2C_distrust.2C_and_mobilization
Kaiser William II promised German support for Austria against Serbia
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/timeline_of_world_war_one.htm
World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars) was a global war which took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918.[2] Over 40 million casualties resulted, including approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths.[3] Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 to 1918.[4]
The act which is considered to have triggered the succession of events which led to war was the 28 June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary and member of the Young Bosnia. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against the Kingdom of Serbia activated a series of alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations. Within a month, much of Europe was in a state of open warfare.
The underlying causes of the war include the strong economic and increasingly military competition between Britain and Germany. Germany as an industrial country had by 1914 overtaken Britain in its industrial economy, but did not have the commercial advantages of a large empire. In the years running up to the war an increasing race to have the strongest navy arose between Britain and Germany, each country building large numbers of dreadnoughts.
The war was propagated by two major alliances. The Entente Powers initially consisted of France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and their associated empires and dependencies. Numerous other states joined these allies, most notably Italy in April 1915, and the United States in April 1917. The Central Powers, so named because of their central location on the European continent, initially consisted of Germany and Austria-Hungary and their associated empires. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October 1914, followed a year later by Bulgaria. By the conclusion of the war, only The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and the Scandinavian nations remained officially neutral among the European countries, though several of those may have provided financial and materiel support to one side or the other.
The fighting of the war mostly took place along several fronts that broadly encircled the European continent. The Western Front was marked by a system of trenches, breastworks, and fortifications separated by an area known as no man's land.[5] These fortifications stretched 475 miles (more than 600 kilometres)[5] and precipitated a of fighting known as trench warfare. On the Eastern Front, the vastness of the eastern plains and the limited railroad network prevented the stalemate of the Western Front, though the scale of the conflict was just as large. There was heavy fighting on the Balkan Front, the Middle Eastern Front and the Italian Front; there were also hostilities at sea and in the air.
The war was ended by several treaties, most notably the Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919, though the Allied powers had an armistice with Germany in place since 11 November 1918. One of the most striking results of the war was a large redrawing of the map of Europe. All of the Central Powers lost territory, and many new nations were created. The German Empire lost its colonial possessions and was saddled with accepting blame for the war, as well as paying punitive reparations for it. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were completely dissolved. Austria-Hungary was carved up into several successor states including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated, and much of its non-Anatolian territory was awarded as protectorates of various Allied powers, while the remaining Turkish core was reorganized as the Republic of Turkey. The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917 after the October Revolution, lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it. After the war, the League of Nations was created as an international organization designed to avoid future wars by giving nations a means of solving their differences diplomatically. World War I ended the world order which had existed since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and was an important factor in the outbreak of World War II.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
June 28, 1914
assignation of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and his wife
July 1, 1914
Kaiser Wilhelm II, horrified about assignation, urged Austria-Hungary to stand firm against Serbia and assures Austria-Hungary of Germany's support
July 23, 1914
Emperor Francis Joseph blames Serbia for assignation and issues an ultimatum to Serbia; to avoid war, Serbia MUST follow the ultimatum
July 28, 1914
Serbia agrees to some but not all of the parts of the ultimatum; Austria-Hungary takes advantage and declares war on Serbia
Serbia seeks aid from Russia; Czar Nicholas II telegraphs Wilhelm II and asks that Germany urge Austria-Hungary to be more lenient on Serbia
à this FAILS and Russia starts to mobilize troops
August 1, 1914
Germany responds by declaring war on Russia
Russia appeals to France for help; French nationalists see opportunity to avenge France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War; France gives same backing to Russia that Germany gave to Austria-Hungary
Meanwhile, Italy and Britain try to remain neutral
Germany's Von Schlieffen Plan will draw Britain into the war: to avoid a 2 front war, Germany would quickly defeat France and then focus on defeating Russia
August 2, 1914
To get to France, Germany had to go through Belgium; Britain and other European powers have a treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutrality
When Germany invades Belgium, Britain declares war on Germany
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_the_events_leading_to_World_War_1
Gavrilo Princip shsot and killed Archanduke Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. Princip wanted to free there fellow serabia from Austria. After the killing, to groups were formed. The tripple Entene, and the tripple aliance.
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six assassins coordinated by Danilo Ilić.
One of the assassins swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped into the Miljacka to make sure he would die. Unfortunately for him, the cyanide was old, so only induced vomiting, and the river that he had jumped into was only four inches deep.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand
A coal mine explosion in Hillcrest, Alberta kills 189 of 235 miners. One of the worst mining disaster in Canadian history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_in_Canada
On May 28, at 2:00 am, the R.M.S. Empress of Ireland sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrance. The Empress of Ireland rolled over and sank within 14 minutes, claiming 1012 passengers and crewmen. There were only 465 survivors, out of which only four were children (the other 134 children were lost) and 42 were women (the other 279 women were lost).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Ireland_(1906)
The Royal Ontario Museum, commonly known as the ROM, is a major museum for world culture and natural history in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The ROM is the fifth largest museum in North America, containing more than six million items and over 40 galleries. It is also the largest museum in Canada. It has notable collections of dinosaurs, Near Eastern and African art, East Asian art, European history, and Canadian history. It has also hosted many travelling exhibits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ontario_Museum
Canada was pulled into the war because of its british colonie. Canada helped the british win the war.
World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars) was a global war which took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918.[2] Over 40 million casualties resulted, including approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths.[3] Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 to 1918.[4]
World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars) was a global war which took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918.[2] Over 40 million casualties resulted, including approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths.[3] Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 to 1918.[4]
The act which is considered to have triggered the succession of events which led to war was the 28 June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary and member of the Young Bosnia. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against the Kingdom of Serbia activated a series of alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations. Within a month, much of Europe was in a state of open warfare.
The underlying causes of the war dated back, in part to the Unification of Germany and the changing balances of power among the European Great Powers in the early part of the 20th century. These causes included continuing French resentment over the loss of territory to Germany in the 19th century; the growing economic and military competition between Britain and Germany; and the German desire for a "place in the sun" equal to that of the more established countries of Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
the triple entente was created
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
When the poem Flanders Field was written. It isd the most memorable war poem, and the most respected.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm
World War 1 offered women many jobs. When the male soldiers left for the war women replaced lots of their jobs, and helped with the war by being nurses, munitions factory workers, sewing bandages, selling war bonds, shipyards, and spies.
http://women-in-war2.tripod.com/
World War I (1914-18). Now usually abbreviated ‘WW I’, to the British it was until recently always ‘the Great War’. It was the first major conflict between European coalitions since 1815. Individual powers were not defeated in seemingly decisive battles because each had allies to take up the fight. Ranged against the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary and Germany, joined in November 1914 by Turkey and in September 1915 by Bulgaria) were those of the Entente. Originally consisting of Russia, France, and Britain, they were reinforced by Japan in August 1914, Italy in May 1915, Portugal in March 1916, Romania in August 1916, and Greece in June 1917. When the USA entered the war in April 1917, the nations of South America followed suit, as did China. Much of the rest of the world were colonies of the belligerents, thus it was indeed a global war.
3000 British soldiers died on the first day of ww1
canada in the ww1 and pictures of recruitment posters
http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/War/wwi/wwi.htm
On 20 August 1914 a group of 15 wealthy Canadian businessmen offered to finance and equip, among others a fully motorized machine gun unit, with machine guns mounted in armoured vehicles. The Minister of Militia and Defence, Sam Hughes, happily accepted the offer and on 9 September 1914 the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 was formed.
The first commanding officer was Raymond Brutinel, a French émigré officer. Brutinel got the rank of major and a unit, comprising 9 officers and 114 other ranks, was soon formed. However, the vehicles - 8 armoured cars 1) and 6 supply vehicles - were harder to come by.
Major Brutinel went to USA and bought 20 air-cooled machine guns of the Colt .303 calibre type - two for each armoured car, and 4 spare.
It was impossible, in 1914, to equip the many new units in the Canadian Army with Vickers machine guns, and only the very small regular force within the Canadian Army got the Vickers machine guns, e.g. Royal Canadian Regiment.
Consequently, the American machine gun was a solution made by necessity rather than choice. The .303 calibre however, was however the standard calibre used within the British Army.
The unit was formed at Camp Valcartier, near Montreal. After a brief training, they left for England on 29 September 1914, ahead of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which sailed from Canada on 3 October 1914.
Raymond Brutinel
Raymond Brutinel (6.3.1882 - 21.9.1964) immigrated to Canada in 19105 and settled in Edmonton, Alberta. As an engineer, geologist and mineralogist he was very much involved in building railroads in Western Canada. Besides his professional skills he must have been very good with money as he turned out a millionaire. He might be called an entrepreneur (in the broadest sense of the word), but some historians call him an adventurer.
In the French Army he still ranked as a captain in the Reserve Forces and had planned to return to France at the beginning of the war. However, he was persuaded to join the Canadian Army, and given the rank of major. The 15 wealthy businessmen involved in financing the Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade offered a sum of CAD 150.000 for the project.
Brutinel had closely followed the development of the machine gun and the tactics involved, and he supported the view that machine gun units must be independent arms of service, somewhere in between infantry and artillery.
In 1917 he was made head of The Canadian Machine Gun Corps, created 16 April 1917.
He held this post together with being corps machine gun officer.
After the war he acted as military historical advisor to the General Staff, and in 1920 he retired to France due to personal circumstances.
Interlude in England
When the machine gunners arrived in England, nobody knew what to do with this motorized unit, which did not fit into any known order-of-battle. Lord Kitchener and other high ranking officers were however very interested in the unit, but the only way to fit it into the army was to attach it to some of the home defence forces guarding England - South Eastern Mounted Brigade.
On 4 February 1915 the brigade was inspected by King George V on Salisbury Plains.
An anecdote - mentioned in Source 3 - gives an insight in the rather improvised nature of the unit. Since no official regulations on how to parade the unit was published, Major Brutinel made his own arrangements. Following this, most of the personnel paraded in front their vehicles, but a number of men were left over, and rather than leaving them behind, they were placed within the vehicles, but out of sight.
The King wanted to inspect the vehicles more closely and rode up to one of the armoured cars. The soldiers rose to their feet and jumped to attention and the King's horse reared. The King kept control over the horse, thus avoiding an embarrassing situation.
The story are told in a number of variations, e.g. as mentioned in Source 8.
In France
The Brigade arrived in France on 16 June 1915 where it stayed until the end of the war. On arrival the Brigade was organized as follows:
Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade
Organization as per 16 June 1915 (Source 3)
LIEUT.-COL. R. BRUTINEL, Officer Commanding
LIEUT. E. D. WALLACE, Adjutant
"A" Battery
CAPT. J. E. BROWNE, Officer Commanding
LIEUT. W. E. C. MCCARTHY
LIEUT. F. A. WILKIN
"B" Battery
CAPT. C. F. HAWKINS, Officer Commanding
LIEUT. F. M. GARRISON
LIEUT. M. A. SCOTT
Train
CAPT. H. H. DONNELLY, Quartermaster & Officer Commanding
CAPT. D. MACCLENNAN, Medical Officer
The war had settled into trench warfare and motorized units were not in great demand. Consequently most of the vehicles were left unused whereas the machine gunners were used in various capacities. Quantities of Vickers machine guns began to arrive in the Canadian units and also issued to the Brigade.
http://www.chakoten.dk/cgi-bin/fm.cgi?lang=dk&n=965
The German industrial base had, by 1914, overtaken that of Britian, though Germany did not have the commercial advantages of a large empire. In the years running up to the war an increasing race to have the strongest navy arose between Britain and Germany, each country building large numbers of dreadnoughts. The naval race between Britain and Germany was intensified by the 1906 launch of HMS Dreadnought, a revolutionary craft whose size and power rendered previous battleships obsolete
The war began with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and goodwill towards the United Kingdom from within the mainstream political leadership, contrary to initial British fears of an Indian revolt. India under British rule contributed massively to the British war effort by providing men and resources. This was done by the Indian Congress in hope of achieving self-government as India was very much under the control of the British. The United Kingdom disappointed the Indians by not providing self-governance, leading to the Gandhiian Era in Indian history. About 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian government and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. In all 140,000 men served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East. 47,746 Indian soldiers were killed and 65,126 wounded during World War I.[43]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I#Plans.2C_distrust.2C_and_mobilization
That Canada was automatically at war when Britain was at war in 1914 was unquestioned as from coast to coast, in a spirit of almost unbelievable unanimity, Canadians pledged support for the Motherland. Sir Wilfred Laurier spoke for the majority of Canadians when he proclaimed: "It is our duty to let Great Britain know and to let the friends and foes of Great Britain know that there is in Canada but one mind and one heart and that all Canadians are behind the Mother Country." Prime Minister Robert Borden, calling for a supreme national effort, offered Canadian assistance to Great Britain. The offer was accepted, and immediately orders were given for the mobilization of an expeditionary force. With a regular army of only 3,110 men and a fledgling navy, Canada was ill-prepared to enter a world conflict. Yet, from Halifax to Vancouver, thousands of young Canadians hastened to the recruiting offices. Within a few weeks more than thirty-two thousand men gathered at Valcartier Camp near Quebec City; and within two months the First Contingent, Canadian Expeditionary Force, was on its way to England in the largest convoy ever to cross the Atlantic. Also sailing in this convoy was a contingent from the still separate British self governing colony of Newfoundland. . A suggestion that Newfoundland's men should be incorporated into the Canadian Expeditionary Force had earlier been politely but firmly rejected. On reaching England the Canadians endured a long miserable winter training in the mud and drizzle of Salisbury Plain. In the spring of 1915 they were deemed ready for the front line and were razor-keen. Nothing, they believed, could be worse than Salisbury. In the years that lay ahead, they were to find out just how tragically wrong that assessment was. The first Canadian troops to arrive in France were the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, which had been formed at the outbreak of war entirely from ex-British army regular soldiers. The "Princess Pats" landed in France in December 1914 with the British 27th Division and saw action near St. Eloi and at Polygon Wood in the Ypres Salient. Today, their battalion memorial stands on the high ground of Bellewaarde Ridge. Early in February 1915, the 1st Canadian Division reached France and was introduced to trench warfare by veteran British troops. Following this brief training they took over a section of the line in the Armentières sector in French Flanders. Faced with the realities of dirt, disease and death, their illusions of military glory quickly disappeared.
When World War 1 broke out Britain called upon all of it's dominions (independent countries with the Queen as head of state) to fight for the Queen.
A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies. declared war first. (the table below reads clockwise from the top left picture) 1879 The Dual Alliance Alliances Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance to protect themselves from Russia 1881 Austro-Serbian Alliance Alliances Austria-Hungary made an alliance with Serbia to stop Russia gaining control of Serbia 1882 The Triple Alliance Alliances Germany and Austria- Hungary made an alliance with Italy to stop Italy from taking sides with Russia 1914 Triple Entente (no separate peace) Alliances Britain, Russia and France agreed not to sign for peace separately. Arrows 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance Alliances Russia formed an alliance with France to protect herself against Germany and Austria-Hungary 1907 Triple Entente Alliances This was made between Russia, France and Britain to counter the increasing threat from Germany. 1907 Anglo-Russian Entente Alliances This was an agreement between Britain and Russia 1904 Entente Cordiale Alliances This was an agreement, but not a formal alliance, between France and Britain.
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