Horton High School's Canadian
History 12 Web Page and Student
Resource
Chapter 19: Canada
and the First World War ~ 1914-1918
in studying Canada's involvement
in the First World War, it is important to look at the varying underlying
facets and approaches: the pre-war years; Canada's role, both militarily
and diplomatically and the impact of the war on those at home. Furthermore,
one must also look at how Canada fared at the end of the war, both at home
and in the international theatre. This chapter will seek to accomplish
this.
Canada Heads Towards War:
on the eve of World War One,
Canada had an armed forces which could at best be considered a "support
force", at worst it could be called a glorified marching band.
When the War began in the summer
of 1914, Canada was quick to declare war on Germany in support of Britain.
Most Canadians, including many French Canadians [including Laurier and
Henri Bourassa, a leading French Canadian politician].
at the onset of the War, Canada
had an army of 3000 ill-equipped soldiers with a tiny, albeit new, navy.
The Borden government immediately sunk money and energy into recruiting
a larger, more effective armed force. By October of 1914, the Canadian
Expedition Force was sent overseas, numbering 33,000. Almost all of these
men were volunteers, anxious to join in the war effort.
the the Spring of 1915, over
100,000 Canadian men and women had volunteered, with women being "limited"
to nursing and administrative duties behind the lines. By the end of the
war, over 600,000 Canadians were mobilized for the war effort. This from
a country with a population in 1918 of eight million, was an impressive
display of loyalty to the war effort.
Politics:
naturally, politics played an
important role in the war effort. As previously stated, French Canadians
supported the war effort in principle, however found it difficult to actually
enlist and fight for Britain. Bourassa's initial pro-war stance quickly
changed when the enormity of the conflict became eerily apparent. The fact
that Borden had made it a policy prior to the war to eliminate French instruction
programs in English Canada did little to endear the French Canadians to
"jump on board".
Laurier, as leader of the Opposition,
led a Liberal charge that attacked the Tories for handing out lucrative
munitions contracts to Tory campaign contributors while conveniently overlooking
known Liberal supporters.
Canadians were also becoming
aware of the soldiers' apparent role in the war: to serve as "shock troops"
or "cannon fodder" for the British troops, along with other "colonials".
Borden did not like the heat he was receiving for this, thus wanted to
have his voice heard.
this voice was heard at the
London Imperial Conference in February of 1917. Here, Borden was vocal
in pushing for more Dominion rights and say in how the war effort was going
and, in particular, how Canadian troops were being used. Essentially he
felt that Canadian soldiers were not at the whim of British officers; they
should be "used" by Canadian officers! Out of this conference the Imperial
War Cabinet was formed, and all Dominion leaders were sitting members of
this group.
1917 General Election
saw Borden call for conscription, and he was successful in winning the
election and passing this through. This enraged Quebecers, who made it
clear that this war was not theirs to fight. The War Times Elections
Act allowed women the vote, and they were given the squeeze to support
the Borden government, which would, in turn, send more men overseas to
bring their loved ones home. It worked. Furthermore, citizens of Canada
since 1902 were also allowed to vote, many of whom were British or East
European immigrants, in both cases enemies of Germany.
The Soldiers and the Battles:
war on the front line was anything
but romantic. Stories of glory and being home for Christmas dinner [1914]
quickly diminished as the lines were literally drawn in the ground and
armies pounded mercilessly at the opposing forces. The war was a theoretical
nightmare, as 19th century tactics of line rushes, so apparent in the U.S.
Civil War of 1861-1865, clashed with the rise of technology with weaponry,
with the likes of machine guns, artillery tanks.
the "Princess Pats" were the
first Canadians to see battle, as they joined the Front Line in early 1915.
At Ypres in Belgium, Canadians fell victim to chlorine gas attacks, yet
hung on and won the day.
in 1916, Canadian troops became
embroiled in a series of battles along the Somme River, culminating in
a battle which saw close to a total of a million Allied and German soldiers
killed.
in 1917, Canadian troops earned
high praise for their valiant efforts at Vimy Ridge. Although the battle
was won, the losses were high. A memorial stands in France in honour of
the Canadian efforts at Vimy.
by this time, the Canadians
were commanded by the most able Major-General Arthur Currie.
later in 1917, the Battle of
2nd Ypres, or Paschendaele, was fought. Canadian troops were stuck in heavy
mud, along with enemy tanks, resulting a a series of slow and painful assaults,
ending in no real advantage. This battle epitomized the nature of warfare
at this time.
in 1918, the Canadians played
a significant role in a massive counter-offensive. From August to November
of 1918, the "Hundred Days" saw the Canadians, along with the newly arrived
Americans, Brits and remaining French, break through the Hindenburg Line
and head well into the German heartland. This concluded on November 11th,
at 11:00 a.m., known as "Armistice Day".
after the war the Canadians
left troops in Europe to ensure the peace was kept and humanitarian aid
would be carried out.
Canada's navy and army flying
corps played important roles as well, although their efforts were minor
in comparison. The actions of Billy Bishop are well known, however his
impact on the war was relatively small when compared to the Somme or Vimy.
in total, over 50,000 Canadians
died in the war, while over 175,000 were wounded, for a total of 225,000
casualties. Many more, injured mentally through "shell shock", were never
diagnosed at this time.
"At Home":
economically, the First World
War took Canada from a primarily agrarian nation to one with a substantial
industrial core. Canada essentially supplied the war effort for the Allies,
with shipyards, railways, dockyards and munitions factories employing thousands
and supplying the Allies with valuable goods.
the fact that workers were in
high demand led to the rise of unions in Canada, as workers felt they had
an opportunity to have their needs met. The 1919 General Strike, which
will be looked at later, showed the friction between the government and
unions.
in 1917 the Canadian government
imposed a war tax, called an Income Tax, to help the war effort. This was
guaranteed to be a "temporary tax" to help with the war. It still exists.
some generalizations: growth
of industrialization and rise of unions occurred at this time; women's
rights increased; taxation increased and remained and international respect
came towards Canada for its efforts.
At Versailles, where
the peace treaty was signed, the Canadians sat at the "kid's table", along
with the other Dominions, although Borden insisted that Canada sign the
treaty as an independent nation, arguing that they had given many lives
to the victory and deserved respect. Britain concurred. As an aside, it
was the French Marshal Foch who said at Versailles that "we would be at
war again in twenty years", due to the harsh penalties placed on the defeated
German nation.
