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The Beginning
•German army invades Belgium on its way to attack France.
•Great Britain declares war on Germany.
•As a colony of Britain, Canada is now at war.
•Prime Minister Robert Borden calls for a supreme national effort to support Britain, and offers assistance.
•Canadians rush to enlist in the military.
C.E.:Canada is a colony of Britan(cause), they must fight for them in the war (effect)
H.S.:Robert Borden was in fear of losing his alliance with Britan,so he helped them as much as possible -
French Invade. August 7th-24th
•French Army invades Alsace and Lorraine
•French offensive is met by effective German counter-attacks using heavy artillery and machine-guns.
•The French suffer heavy casualties including 27,000 soldiers killed in a single day(worst one-day death toll in the history of the French Army).
Historical Significance: Worst death toll in history of French Army.
Cause and Effect:French armies plan was not thought out cause), and Germans take advantage by bearing heavy artillery and weapons (effect). -
Schlieffen Plan
•German troops occupy undefended Brussels, capital of Belgium.
•German armies continue westward and invade France according to master strategy (The Schlieffen Plan).
•Germans seek to achieve victory over France within 6 weeks, and then focus on defeating Russia in the East before Russia's six-million-man army, the world's largest, can fully mobilize.
H.S: The Germans were in fears of Russias large Army(9mil.)
H.P: Germans beleived their plan was very strong and would definetly work. -
Battle of Marne (Until september 12th)
•Western Front, Paris is saved as French and British troops disrupt Schlieffen Plan by launching major counter-offensive against the German armies to the east of Paris.
•Aided by French aerial, reveals gapdeveloped in center of whole German advance; French and British exploit weakness and press their advantage.
•Germans withdrawal northward as Allies pursue.
H.S.:Schliffen Plan was a major strategy from Germans, but not sucess.
C.E.:Gap revealed in centre of advance helps French beat Germany. -
Battle of Ypres 1
•As armies try to out flank each other, they extend their lines to the English Channel and begin trench warfare.
•Ypres, a Belgian city was essential to both sides.
•In First Battle of Ypres, Allies fight off German assault(gave up offensive by November 24 as winter and stormy weather set in).
H.P: The harsh weather conditions and stormy weather must have made it difficult for trench warfare.
H.S: The first battle of 3 Battles of Ypres (major part of history) -
The Christmas Truce
•Soldiers from both sides put down weapons and met peacefully between trenches in “no man’s land,” in a truce.
•German and Allied soldiers buried dead, shared cigarettes, stories and photos of loved ones.
•Played soccer, sang Christmas songs and exchanged gifts until forced to return to their trenches by commanding officers.
H.P:The soldiers were kind enough to set aside their differences and celebrate the holidays together
E.D: Soldiers respected the others and forgot about their problems -
Canadian Troops
•The first Canadian soldiers land in France to fight alongside British troops.
H.S: they were the first of many Canadian soldiers to fight with the British
C.C: In the past, countries would often fight ans support their allies, and that still ocurrs today. -
Battle of Ypres 2 (Until May 1915)
•Germans fire shells filled with chlorine gas at Allied lines.
•First time that large amounts of gas are used in battle and result in the near-collapse of the French lines.
•However, the Germans are unable to take advantage of the breach.
H.S: First time chlorine gas was used in a large scale
C.E: The gas(cause) didnt work out as hoped, and the Germans did not win(effect).
Turning Point 1; Sparked the use of chemical waepons in all countires, making it overall less effective -
Battle of Gallipoli (Until 9 January 1916)
•Unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I.
•Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of terrain, hampered success of the invasion.
•Allied forces had suffered heavy casualties and had made little headway from their initial landing sites
H.S: Allied forces made little headway from inital landing sites.
C.E:Lack of sufficent intelligence and knowledge caused the paln to fail and face heavy casualties. -
First Tanks
•The British employ the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood.
•Useful at breaking through barbed wire and clearing a path for the infantry, tanks are fail to be the decisive weapon
H.S: First tanks ever used in battle
C.C: Tanks are now more developed and can susatin artillery and warfare. -
Battle of Somme (Until November 18th)
•Allied forces move forward only 6 miles, and suffer 600,000 deaths (24,029 Canadian,236,000 German)
•Refer to this battle as das Blutbad — the blood bath
•Canadians become known as a strong force in the war
C.E: The movment of only 6 miles(cause) suffered 600 000 casulaties(effect).
H.S: Canadian only lost small fraction and ithen known as strong force in war.
Turning Point 2: For the first time¸ Canada was seen as a strong force instead of the shadow of a large nation like Great Britan. -
British Tanks in Somme
•36 tanks are secretly shipped to the front and used in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, near the Somme.
•Mechanical malfunctions and inexperienced crews greatly tampered tanks’ effectiveness.
H.P: The secreat movemnt of many tanks was a huge surpriseto everyone.
C.E: Mechanical malfunctions and inexperienced crew(cause) affected tanks function(effect). -
Battle of Vimy Ridge (Until April 12th)
•Canadian troops succeed in taking control of Vimy Ridge (strong German position in France with high slope and system of trenches and tunnels heavily protected by barbed wire and artillery).
• No one had been able to take this from the Germans in 2 years
H.S: Canadian troops took control of Vimy Ridge, which hadnt been done in 2 years
H.P: The sucess that Canada had amidst the heavy protection hekped strengtehn their image, because they must have worked very hard and were set to beat Germany. -
Battle of Passendale/Battle of Ypres 3(Until November 10th, 1917)
•British offensive in Flanders aimed to drive Germans away from essential Channel Ports and, eliminate U-Boat bases on the coast.
•Rain and shellfire reduced the battlefield to bodies, water-filled shell craters, and mud, ceases attacks
•After months of fighting, Passchendaele ridge was still stubbornly held by German troops.
C.E: Inclamite weather(cause) ceased attacks (effect)
H.P: The Germans were stubborn and didnt want to give up the Passchendale ridge. -
Battle of Cambrai (Until December 7th, 1917)
•First time tanks used as significant force
•British attack broke deeply and quickly impregnable defences with few casualties.(Regarded as being great success)
H.S: First time tanks were used as a large force
C.E: British attack (cause) broke defences with only few causalties(effect). -
The Last Hundred Days (Until November 11th)
•The Allied forces advance steadily on the Western Front.
•Canadian troops played an important role in victory
H.P: The allied forces didnt want to ruin their chances of victory, so they slowly approached the western Front
H.S: Canadian troops were vital in the allies victory. -
German Peace
•Germany signs peace agreement.
•In the end, Belgium had been freed but at the cost of wiping out an entire generation of young men.
H.S: Germans finally agreed to a treaty after many years of war and causalties on both sides
E.D: World War One had wiped out an entire generation of innocent young Belgian men, and many other people from all over the world. -
Treaty of Versailles
•Negotiated among Allied powers with little participation by Germany,
•Reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations.
•Officially ended World War One
H.S: World War One was officaly over
C.E: The war had caused a strain on countries resources, difficulty among allies, divieded nations, and a number of deaths.
Turning Point 3: After 4 long brutal years, Germany finally agreed to leave other countires alone and agreed on terms set by people who they considered enemies.