World War One

Myah Scott
 Imperialism
• Imperialism was a cause of the war because of

• Imperial Competition which made countries want to adopt alliances

• Colonies being exchanged, this brought countries into conflict

• Germanys invasion of Belgium and France motivated by Imperial

ambitions

• The expansion of the British and French empires that fired by the
rise of industrialism, that caused tensions and resentments in
Germany

• Germanys pursuit of an Imperial Policy in the 19th Century

 Nationalism
• Nationalism is a cause of the war because

• It created tensions in Europe. It was tied to militarism and clashed

with the interests of imperial powers in Europe

• Balkan nationalists aspirations ran counter to imperial cohesion

• Serbian nationalism created trigger for conflict with the

assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
 Militarism
• Denoted a rise in military expenditure

• Increased military and naval forces

• There was more influence of the military men upon the policies of
the civilian government

• People believed that war was good for a nation

 Alliances
• Alliances were a cause of the war because

• A web of alliances were developed in Europe between 1870 and

1914

• Conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia was over incompatible

Balkan interests

• If one country decided to enter the war all the other countries in
their alliance would also enter the war, therefore causing a world
war
 Alliances of the War
• The Triple Alliances of 1882

• Consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

• The Triple Entente of 1907

• Consisted of France, Britain, and Russia

 Why Each Country
Entered the War
• The assassination of the Archduke created the July crisis, a domino
effect of war declarations

• Assassination let Austria to issue ultimatum to Serbia, Serbia accepted

only some of Austria’s demands. Austria declared war on Serbia

• Russia due to its alliance with Serbia mobilized its army

• Germany mobilized its army because Russia mobilized its army.

Germany cemented alliance with ottomans, then declared war on
France and Russia

• Germany invaded Belgium to get to France so Great Britain, who had an

alliance with Belgium, declared war of Germany

• By August 4th all major powers of Europe were at war

 Battle of Ypres
• April 22-May 5, 1915

• In 48 hours 6035 Canadians were injures and over 2000 died

• Canadians fought beside British and French

• Germans used poison gas. Released 160 tons of chlorine gas from
cylinders dug into the forward edge of trenches into the wind. Colonial
soldiers retreated or fled, leaving 6.5km hole in allied line.

• April 24th Germans attacked 36hours after first attack, used poison gas.
Aim was to kill Canadians. Machine guns and shrapnel added to fight.
Canadian soldiers were forced to cover face with urine soaked
handkerchiefs so they would not be poisoned.

• Canadians held off the Germans until reinforcements could arrive

 Battle of Somme
• September 15-November 11. 1916

• July 1st 1916 explosions erupted, this alerted the Germans to Allied attack.

• Canadians avoided the first day. There were 60 000 British casualties.

• September Canadians called to help with the new series of attacks. On

September 15th Canadians launches successful attacks. Canadians held off 17
German counterattacks though 4 days of bloody close quarter fighting.

• Canadians were exhausted after fighting throughout September and October.

• Artillery barrages sent German troops fleeing, this enabled Canadian and British
soldiers to declare victory

• After the Battle 24 000 Canadians were wounded or dead

 Battle of Passchendaele
• October 26-November 10, 1917

• Canadians didn’t want to go to Passchendaele

• British, Australians, and New Zealanders used a series of short rapid attacks, couldn’t gain control of
Passchendaele. The amount of rain made battlefields a quagmire of mud and water

• Canadians were tasked with the remainder of Passchendaele. They advanced through the wasteland and
captured the land

• Brought end to one of the most controversial battles of the war.

• After 4 months of fighting Germans suffered 220000 casualties

• British 260000 dead and wounded

• 17 000 Canadian casualties

• Germans recaptured Passchendaele in 1918

 Vimmy Ridge
• April 9-12 1917

• For the first time all four Canadian divisions attack together

• Easter Monday 1917 Canadians crack German fortress at Vimmy

Ridge using creeping barrage strategy. This was used on April 9, the
bloodiest day of the war for Canadian troops

• On April 12 Canadians captured last major positions known as the

pimple.

• This battle gave Canadians the reputation of fierce attacking soldiers

• After 4 days of fighting there were 10 000 casualties

 End of the War
• At the 11 hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 WW1 ended

• 9 million soldiers died and 21 million were wounded

• The treaty or Versailles signed on June 28th started the end of the war

• Treaty forced Germany to claim that they were that cause of the war,
they were forced to pay liability

• The Paris Peace Conference signed on January 18th 1919, was a meeting
of all allied victors. Set peace terms for the defeated central powers

• 61 000 Canadians were killed in the war and 172 000 were wounded
 Time Line of WW1
• June 28th 1914 Francis Ferdinand assassinated at
Sarajevo

• October 18th 1914 First battle of Ypres

• January 27th 1916 Conscription introduced in Britain
• July 1st 1916 Start of the Battle of the Somme

• April 6th 1917 USA declared war on Germany

• July 31st 1917 Start of the Third battle at Ypres

 Time Line of WW1 .2
• March 3rd 1918 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between
Russia and Germany

• August 8th 1918 the advance of the allies was successful

• November 11th 1918 Germany signed an armistice with the allies.

The official date of the end of WW1

• January 4th 1919 Peace conference at Paris

 Life in the Trenches
• Soldiers were riddled with disease such as chorea and trench foot

• Trenches were smelly and dirty

• There were rats living in trenches

• There were no toilets so soldiers had to go to the bathroom in the

trenches

• The trenches were small

• Some people refer to the trenches and no mans land as hell on

earth