Oct. 11, 2023

HIST-1400-A01 – Oct.
11, 2023
World War 1 (1914-1918)
 Canada passed the War Measures Act
o Strict media censorship, imprisoned anyone suspected of pro-German/Austrian
ties and criticism of Canadian war efforts in Europe
o Canada sent 36,000 volunteer troops for the British efforts; Borden only sought
to send the volunteer troops
 Many of the soldiers were worried that the war would end before they
would get to the frontline, as it was believed it would end before
Christmas 1914
 Homefront contributions in Canada
o Canada had to marshal and pool its resources in the total war that become the
entire global conflict
o Canada created itself a “war economy”, where any company would be mandated
by federal order to aid the war efforts from civilian goods to military equipment
 First time in Canadian history that the government would intervene
directly in the major economic affairs
 They established various Boards to oversee the production of various
gear, such as the Munitions Board who was responsible for ammunition
and artillery shells
 Due to male shortages as they were shipped to Europe, many
women occupied factory worker jobs
 The government would provide people ration coupons to limit food
consumption at home to provide for overseas troops
 Through the sale of war bonds in exchange for government promises of
returning the investment plus interest within a 20 year span
 Through various tariffs on imports was a major contribution to the war
spending efforts, as well as foreign bank loans (particularly from then-
neutral American banks) with interest
 For the first time, the Canadian government would implement income
and corporation taxes to supplement the war, promising post-war to
abolish the taxes
o Volunteer activities arose to fill the gaps in the civilian economy, particularly with
women and children
 Children and wives would become war bond door salesmen, often to
goad people for any contributing metals and money
 Women prepared care packages for overseas troops to update them on
the ongoings at home, away from the trenches, with various gifts and
outlet items
 They would also grow victory gardens in their front lawns, even the
Manitoba Legislature building, to grow more food to send home and feed
the homefront
 Canadian military contributions
o Royal Navy
 The Canadian government would fail to pass the bill to create a Canadian
navy, but would instead create corvettes and some destroyers
 The main goal of the Canadian navy was to guard convoys across the
Atlantic Ocean and transporting goods between North America and
Britain, alongside American traders as merchant marines
 The Germans would attempt to stifle the supply lines with their U-
boats, being successful up until 1916
o Royal Air Force
 By the start of WW1, biplanes were primarily reconnaissance vehicles
with photographic intelligence and sometimes used in early dogfighting
 Early on the war, pilots were otherwise cordial between Allied and
Germans, but would not last when the war heated up
o Royal Army
 Both sides sought to flank their opponents and force a surrender,
breaking through the stalemate trenches between France and Belgium
 Oftentimes, defensive positions had major advantages to offensive
assaults, with major casualties as a result
 Canadian troops would fight at the Second Battle of Ypres, a
Belgian town and strategic importance to the Allied front, in
Spring 1915
 At Ypres, this would be some of the first instances of poisonous chemical
gas warfare by the German forces to devastating effect, primarily in
chlorine gas
 The Canadian managed to hold the line and becoming the fiercest
Commonwealth troops, but would result in 6,000 casualties, with
2,500 dead
 At the Battle of the Somme, along the Somme river, Canadian troops led
by British command under General Haig, who sought to use shock-and-
awe tactics by shelling the German positions heavily and then charging
Canadian-British troops across
 Within the first 4 hours, the British had sustained 60,000
casualties, with 20,000 dead
 Haig was like many other commanders across the war where they
proved wasteful of their troops under their direct command
 The Somme became infamous for having killed the “best of the
British army”
 The Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, with Canadian forces mustering 4
divisions with commander Arthur Currie to seize the position from the
Germans to dismantle their high-ground artillery advantage
 He implored new tactics by practicing which objectives each
division would attack and time to attack as written for each troop,
as officers had a high mortality rate
 They used the creeping barrage advance where artillery would
cover their troops in danger close fire while troops advance slowly
behind the artillery shells, catching the German positions by
surprise
 By these methods, each of the divisions would sustain a total
10,000 casualties, 2,500 dead, but prove victorious
 Canadian unity became higher in the trenches as brothers-in-arms
and provided Canada political influence with others post-war

Oct. 11, 2023

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HIST-1400-A01 – Oct.

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