War Clouds Gather In 1914 many Serbs felt that they were about
to lose their independence to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so they
formed a terrorist organization known as the Black Hand. On June 28
th, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand
(along with his wife, Sofia), was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip,
a member of the Black Hand. Austro-Hungarian generals believe they
can fight and win a limited war with Serbia without anyone else
getting involved. To that end a heavy-handed ultimatum is sent to
Serbia, which rejects it. Austria-Hungary now has what it considers
to be a legitimate reason to go to war. What followed next was a
series of events that led to what would later become known as the
Great War.
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Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia 24 July, 1914
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Russia Announces Mobilization of its Army
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Germany Declares War on Russia 1 August, 1914
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Germany Declares War on France and Invades Belgium 3 August,
1914
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United Kingdom Declares War on Germany 4 August, 1914
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Other Factors: Imperialism the belief that one country has the
right or duty to rule over other nations. Germany had a growing
interest in Africa, making United Kingdom and France nervous
concerning German expansion. Nationalism a strong pride in or love
of ones country. The citizens of all countries involved believed
that they were on the side of right and that God was on their
side.
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Major Players Who was involved? The two differing factions were
known as the Triple Entente - consisting of the British Empire,
France and Russia and the Central Powers - consisting of the German
Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the
Kingdom of Bulgaria. Since these nations controlled many others,
and many other nations would later join, this war quickly became
known as the Great War or the War to End All Wars.
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Battles
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World War One was fought on both the Eastern Front, and the
Western Front. Notable Eastern Front Battles: Battle of
Stalluponenbegan 17 August 1914 Battle of Gumbinnen began 26 August
1914 Battle of Tannenbergbegan 26 August 1914 First Battle of
Masurian Lakesbegan 9 September 1914 Battle of Bolimov began 31
January 1915 Second Battle of Masurian Lakes began 7 February1915
Battle of Lake Narochbegan 18 March 1916 Battle of Lutskbegan 4
June 1916
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Notable Western Front Battles: Battle of Liegebegan 5 August
1914 First Battle of Ypres began 14 October 1914 Second Battle of
Ypres began 22 April 1915 Battle of the Sommebegan 1 July 1916
Battle of Vimy Ridgebegan 9 April1917 Battle of Passchendaele began
31 July1917 Third Battle of Ypresbegan 31 July1917 Battle of
Havrincourtbegan 12 September 1918
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Results of the War
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Casualties Most estimates place the number of war dead
(military and civilian) at around ten million with the number of
wounded at around twenty million. Canadas war dead stood at around
65,000 or nearly one percent of the overall population. The high
casualty rate of W.W.I. left many countries reeling after the war
and this led the way to some major changes in how these countries
were governed. For example.
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Germany Many Germans believed that they had not so much lost
the war as they had been cheated of victory. To this end they
blamed The new democratic government, communists and even Jews.
Since fault of the war was placed mostly on the back of Germany in
the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to make reparation payments
to the victors. The poor handling of this by the German government
meant inflation was widespread and people were experiencing tough
times in Germany even before the devastating depression of the
1930s. Germans wanted to see Germany once again treated with
respect on the world stage, and were therefore increasingly willing
to listen to anyone who promised them this end, even people like
Adolph Hitler.
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Russia Russias military did not fair well during the war and as
rations were both meager and not always guaranteed desertion became
a major problem in the Russian army. To make matters worse, The
Tsar (Emperor) was at the front dealing with the war instead of
running his country. People began to believe that the Tsar was
incapable of running either his country or the military and began
to revolt. At first a provisional government was put in place but
it was not long before the communists would seize control of the
country and rule the Russian Empire as the Soviet Union for almost
75 years.
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Italy Italys military suffered high casualties in W.W.I.
Corruption plagued Italys government in the postwar period and
people there were looking for change. Benito Mussolinis Fascist
Party was growing in popularity but was denied entry into the
government by the Italian Prime Minister. Fearing civil war would
erupt when the Fascist military wing marched on Rome, the Italian
King offered the government to Mussolini, who readily
accepted.
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In Summary Many of the seeds of the W.W.II were sown as a
result of the Treaty of Versailles, which many Germans resented, as
well as from the chaos that had arisen as a result of the war in
several countries. Despite the warning of W.W.I veterans like
Remarque (All Quiet On the Western Front) and Owen(Dulce et Decorum
Est) about how terrible war is, Europe and the rest of the world
would soon once again walk that path.
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Parallels
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In 1914 - A terrorist act occurs - Canada, by way of the
alliance system, is drawn into a war that lasts four years and sows
the seeds of the next major conflict
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In 2001 - A terrorist act occurs - Canada, by way of the
alliance system, is drawn into a war that lasts eleven years and
counting
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Special Weapons
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Gas There were two types of gas used in W.W.I. The first is
mustard gas, which sticks to skin and causes chemical burns.
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Gas The second type of gas used was chlorine gas. This gas is
heavier than air and so it would find the lowest parts of the
trench.
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Machine Gun The machine gun revolutionized warfare. With the
ability to fire as many as 600 rounds per minute the machine gun
gave unprecedented killing power to the modern battlefield. More
than any other weapon, the machine gun was responsible for the
trench warfare of W.W.I due to the fact that attacking a well
defended machine gun position with the rifles of the time was all
but a suicide run, a lesson that W.W.I generals would learn all to
slowly.
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Tanks Just as the machine was responsible for the trench
warfare of W.W.I the tank was responsible for breaking it. The tank
allowed soldiers to advance on enemy machine gun positions without
fear of certain annihilation. While the first tanks were somewhat
unreliable and had difficulty dealing with the muddy conditions of
the trenches, they still gave the British the edge in some of the
later battles of the war.
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Airplanes Flight had been achieved about a decade before the
war began but no nation had an actual air force, as we would know
it, at the outset of the war. Planes were used for reconnaissance
but not equipped for aerial battle. In time the machine gun was
mounted and timed to fire in between the spinning blade of the
propeller, and the modern fighter plane was born. Pilots could then
engage in direct battle with the objective of knocking the enemy
out of the sky.
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Flame Thrower While used since ancient times, the modern
flamethrower was widely developed in W.W.I. Germany, France and
Britain all developed portable models that could reach as far as 35
metres. While effective at clearing trenches, the operator of the
flamethrower could expect to draw heavy enemy fire, making the job
dangerous at even the best of times.
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Trench Mortar Also not new, the mortar was adapted for use in
W.W.I trenches, thus giving it the name trench mortar. Designed to
essentially lob mines or grenades a short distance, the trench
mortar proved useful in attacking enemy machine gun positions from
the relative safety of the trench. Like the flame thrower, the
operators of the trench mortar could expect to draw enemy fire,
only it was usually artillery fire that came, as no enemy wanted a
trench mortar in their near vicinity.
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Literature Arising from the War
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All Quiet on the Western Front Written in the 1920s, All Quiet
on the Western Front is a novel that criticizes politicians
handling of the war while questioning the value of war itself.
While receiving widespread acclaim, the novel was immensely
unpopular with the Nazis, who claimed it was anti German and staged
public burnings in protest. Remarque himself escaped any harm but
his sister was arrested, found guilty of undermining morale and
executed.
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Dulce et Decorum Est Written in 1917, Dulce et Decorum Est by
Wilfred Owen shows the tragic figures of broken soldiers returning
from battle. Unlike poetry of the Victorian age which glamorized
war, this poem illustrates the hopelessness and fatigue that people
felt as they slowly watched their friends die from inhaling
chlorine gas. The poem ends with a Latin phrase dulce et decorum
est pro patria mori which roughly translates it is sweet and
honourable to die for the fatherland.
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Notes
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World War One (1914-1918) Causes caused mainly by the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand other factors leading to
war were nationalism, imperialism and the alliance system. Factions
the two main factions fighting the war were the Triple Entente
(Russia, France, Britain) and the Central Powers (Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria). Outcomes the war killed
and seriously wounded millions of people, leaving many former
soldiers with the difficult task of reintegrating into society.
Several countries in Europe experienced severe unrest after the war
and turned to extreme political leaders such as Lenin, Hitler and
Mussolini.
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Vocabulary Ace a pilot with at least 5 kills Artillery heavy
cannons Barrage being attacked by artillery Bombardment - being
attacked by artillery Chloroform a chemical once used as anesthetic
Court Martial a military court Dogfight a fight between two or more
airplanes English Heavies English artillery Latrine a communal
toilet Lorry British word for truck Militarism the belief that
diplomacy is best settled militarily Nationalism a strong love for
or pride in ones country Shell like a big bullet, it is what is
fired by artillery Shelling being attacked by artillery Sniper a
marksman Trench a ditch dug for protection
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Questions 1.What was the catalyst that led to the First World
War? 2.What was the catalyst that led to the current war in which
Canada is involved? 3.How could the First World War Have been
prevented? 4.How could the war that Canada is currently involved in
been prevented? 5.Are alliances a good thing or a bad thing?
6.What, if any, benefits does a war have? 7.How is Canadas current
military conflict similar to/different from Canadas commitment in
the First World War?
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What Weve Learned - Causes of World War One - Factions fighting
in the war - Notable battles of the war - Outcomes of the war -
Parallels to todays war - Special weapons used during the war -
Famous literature arising from the war - Vocabulary for the
novel