World War I The Great War

Canadian soldiers were wounded during the First World War.

Canada and the First World War An assassination in Sarajevo in June 1914 went almost unnoticed in Canada. Few Canadians expected that it would lead to war; fewer still anticipated the sacrifices Canada would be called to make.

Causes of World War I  The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand  Alliances in Europe  Nationalism  Imperialism  Militarism  Ultimatum

Assassination in Sarajevo, Bosnia  On Sunday, June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was shot and killed by a Serbian nationalist during a visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia.

Alliances in Europe  Alliances are formed when countries band together against a common threat

Triple Entente France Britain Russia

Triple Alliance  Germany  Austria-Hungary  Italy (when the WWI started Italy joined the Triple Entente)

Nationalism  Nationalism is a feeling of deep loyalty to one’s people and homeland  In 19 th century Europe, nationalism was a powerful force  By the early 20 th century, extreme nationalism was causing problems  Some people were ready to go to war to promote the interests of their homelands

Imperialism  European countries were interested in gaining control of lands away from their home country  The lands and colonies were a source of raw materials and money  They also gave the home country glory and military strength

Imperialism  France, Britain, and Russia had colonies throughout Europe and the world  The largest empire was controlled by Britain  The British Empire included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Burma, South Africa, the East and West Indies, and islands in the Pacific

Imperialism  Germany also wanted colonies  By the time Germany began to build an empire, all that remained were territories of lesser value  Imperialism led to frequent disputes among the great powers of Europe  Arguments over colonies and trade ($) threatened peace

Militarism  Militarism is the belief in the power of strong armies and navies to decide issues  The only way to guarantee peace was to prepare for war  Based on the idea that if a nation is strong, no enemy would dare attack it

Militarism  This kind of thinking led to an arms race in Europe  Each country produced steel battleships, cannons, and explosives  The size of armies and navies determined who would be the most powerful nation in Europe  Britain became nervous when Germany started building a huge navy

Canada’s Role in WWI  Canada was one of the smallest allied countries by population with 8 million  Contributed 600,661 soldiers  61,663 military personnel died  In some small communities entire generations of young men were lost

The War Measures Act  The Canadian government passed the War Measures Act after the war started  It gave the federal government full power to arrest people suspected of being subversives (enemies)  Internment camp in Amherst, NS for suspected German and Austrian sympathizers

The Road to Nationhood  Canada entered the war as a self-governing colony of Great Britain  In 1917, the British government agreed to give Canada the power to make their own decisions regarding their own foreign affairs  Before 1917, Great Britain made these decisions

World 1919

Europe 1919

World War I The Great War Those who were on the battlefield on November 11, 1918, described what they experienced this way:

World War I The Great War "The guns were roaring, then suddenly there was an eerie silence and four years of blood shed had come to an end." These four years cost the lives of more than 60,000 young Canadians.

World War I The Great War The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918, saw the end of what was supposed to be "the war to end all wars." The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918, and it was the most brutal war the world had ever seen.