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Canadas first involvment in WW1
1914 August 4th Britain declared war on Germany when Germany deployed troops, Canada is automatically involved in the war. -
Prime Minister Borden offers 25,000 troops
1914 Prime Minister Borden offered Britain 25,000 troops, but more than 30,000 signed up in the first month. this event was significant because it shows that many felt the patriotic urge to defend their "mother countr." -
war measures Act
To meet the demandas of war, Prime Minister Borden introduced the War Measures Act in 1914. the Act gave the government the authority to do everything necessary "for the security, defence, peace, order. and welfare of Canada." -
Lusitania
a german U-boat sank the Lusitania, a british passenger liner, killing close to 1200 passengers. Among the daed were Candaian and American civilians. The sinking of the Lusitania would push the United States into the war. -
second battle of Ypres
some of the bloodiest battles of the early war were fought in and around the Belgian town of Ypres. On April 22, 1915 Germans used clorine gas, as tactic that had been outlawed by international agreemen since 19017. -
Lieutenant Colonel John McCra
One of the doctors serving with the canada corps was lieutenant colonel jogn mccrae, who wrothe thafamous poem "In Flanders Fields" to commemorate canadians serving at the second battles of ypres. it is said that he wrote the poem in about 20 minutes, but tossed it aside because he was dissatisfied with it. the story goes that a soldier later found it and convinced him to send it to a popular british magazine. -
Sam Hughes
by mid 1915 Sam Hughes had contracts worth about $170 million that had been signed with wealthy buisnessmne, but only $5.5 million in shells were actually made. this made troops hate equipment made from canada and the troops would take equipment from dead soldiers when ever possible. -
Women on the Western Front
More than 2800 women served durng the First Wold War. they were part of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and worked on hospital ships. Many women were killed or injured by artillery fire, bombs, and poison gas. In the history of the First World War women were not talked about a lot even though they played a major role in supporting the troops. -
The battle of somme
in july 1916 the allies launched a massive attack againts a line of german trenches near the somme river in france. the attack failed because the commanders use tactis that, though previously successful, proved to be useless in trench warfare. troops were ordered to march across open fields and wave upon wave of men were killed. the commanders should have realized that the old tactics would not have worked, they sacrificed hundreds of men for nothing. -
vimy ridge
canadian troops were chose to lead a new assault on vimy ridge and on april 10 they captured hill 145, the highest point of the ridge. By april 12 they had taken "the pimple" the last German position.
it was a stunning victory for the allies and also for Canada they gained more ground,captured more prisoners and artillery than any previous british offensive in the entire war. -
United States joins the war
After the sinking of the Lusitania Germany announced that U-boats would sink any ship withing the war zone around Britain. This threat also made American ships targets and encouraged the Inoted states to enter the war -
New Armour
The British developed tanks to shelter soldiers from gunfire while crossing no man's land and to drive through the barbed wire that lined the trenches. the developement of tanks helped to end trench warfare -
Passchendaele
byng was promoted for his role at vimy. his replacement was a Canadian, General Arthur currie a former realtor for Victoria, British Columbia. First canadian to be appointed to command Canada's troops
over 15,00 Canadians died in the battle of Passchendaele -
Halifax Explosion
During the war, Halifax was a valuable base for refuelling and repairing Allied warships. the harbour was so busy that on December 6, 1917 the SS Mont Blanc, a French vessel carryin more than 2500 tonnes of explosives was accidentally hit by another ship, the collision cause an explosion the it devastated Halifax's harbour and levelled much of the city. this incident would lift the veil many canadians had about war, they saw first hand what was happening on the western front every day. -
Supporting the War Effort
the war effort was costin Canada about $2.5 million daily, the Government launched several initiatives to cover these costs. Despite these efforts the government still did not raise enough money to cover the costs of the war effort
