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Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, the duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip. The Attack was coordinated by Danilo Ilić. Danilo Ilić was Bosnian Serb and a Member of Black Hand society. The motives were consistent with a movement known as Young Bosnia. The assassination lead directly to the start of the war when Hungary-Austria's ultimatum was not completely agreed on by Serbia. -
Start of War
The war started in 1914 and ended in 1918. The war had erased the romantic notions connected to any type of war. In the war, Canadian soldiers achieved success on battlefields such as Ypres, Vimy, and Passchendaele. Originally, the Canadian parliament did not choose to go to war. Instead it was their country's foreign affairs that lead them into the war in 1914. When England's ultimatum to Germany expired on August 4, 1914 the war had begun. -
Trench Warfare [Part 1]
Around dawn soldiers would have to be on guard as that would be when most attacks happened. They would sleep, rest, or eat at sunrise as there would be less fighting around that time. The trench conditions were severe in that there were many infections, diseases and other sickness to be caught. One of the main symptoms of being in the trenches was an infection known as trench foot. Trench foot would end often end in ampuitations of the foot and would come from standing in the muddy waters. -
Trench Warfare [Part 2]
If the trench was not treated right away, gangrene would form. Feet would swell up and numbness. If the feet stopped swelling, intense pain would begin to set in. Many soldiers who would suffer from this infection would end up with ampuated feet/legs. -
Second Battle of Ypres
From April 22 - May 25 1915 the Canadian troops fought their first major battle outside the Belgian city of Ypres. In this battle, the Canadian army identified themselves as a strong-willed force. This would also be the first battle in history where a large scale poison gas attack would be used. This would weaken the Canadian forces severely and had the frontlines struggling until reinforcements could arrive. In this battle more than 6,500 Canadian soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. -
Battle of Mount Sorrel
Mount Sorrel was an important objective between Germany and Canada. On June 2, German Corps attack Canadians with an artillery barrage. The Allied trenches were blown apart and many soldiers were either caught in the fire or crushed by the cumbling of the trench; 89 percent of the regiment's men were killed or wounded. Of 702 the Canadian soldiers that were attacked, only 76 men survived. -
Battle of the Somme
In the summer of 1916 the English launched a major offensive attack against German lines. The battle however, lasted 5 months killing and wounding over 1.2 million men with little gains. The Canadian Corps was only involved in the final three months of fighting. However, on the first day of the offensive, the Newfoundland regiment was almost completely wiped out at Beaumont-Hamel. The battle lead to people questioning the leadership of the Allied forces. -
Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge is Canada's most celebrated military victory in the first World War. It is held as a symbol of Canada's national pride. For the first time, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together in an effort to overtake the ridge from German forces from April 9 to 12, 1917 and succeeded. More than 10,500 Canadian soldier's were killed or wounded in the assault. Today, there is an iconic white memorial on the ridge to honour the 11,285 Canadians who died with no graves -
Battle of Passchendaele
In the late summer of 1917, England launched a series of failed assaults against the German forces who were holding a hill over looking the city of Ypres, Belgium. The battlefield was remembered as a symbol of mud, madness, and the senseless slaughter of soliders. Canadian forces entered the battle in October capturing the Passchendaele ridge. However, it was at the cost of 15,600 casualties. The sacrifices would be in vain as the enemy retake the ground a year later. -
End of the War
The United States would enter the war as Russia was leaving it in 1917. The US joining the fight and supplying the Allied forces with more reinforcements and supplies would help in turning the tide on Germany. In September and early October the Canadian forces consistently attacked enemy forces. While suffering many casualties, they made advances that were thought to be impossible. The Canadian forces would fight German forces into Mons, a small Belgian city, where the fighting would end at 11am -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles is the document that would state the peace terms onto Germany by the Allied victors. Canada would have a seperate representative while the treaty was being negotiated, marking an important stage in Canada's independance from England. The treaty would break up and redistribute the German empire and required them to componsate for the war. The treaty would contribute to the German resentment in the period following the war. In 1930, Adolph Hitler would undo the treaty.