WW1 TIMELINE

WW1 TIMELINE

March 1917

May 7, 1915

August 3-4, 1914

October 1914

June 28, 1919

July 1, 1916 - November 18, 1916

September 15, 1914

April 9, 1917 - April 12, 1917

Russian Revolution

Treaty of Versailles

Lusitania

Sam Hughes

Battle of the Somme

Stalemate

Schlieffen Plan

Battle of Vimy Ridge

• In 1915, a German U-boat sank the British passenger, called the "Lusitania"
• In total 1,198 people drowned, and 128 of those people were powerful and rich Americans!
• As a result, American public opinion began to turn against Germany
• Therefore, the Lusitania is important to WW1 because it began the process of America coming out of isolation and becoming involved in world affairs

• Sir Sam Hughes was Canada's Minister of Militia and Defense at the beginning of WW1
• He set us a training camp for over 30,000 men at Valcartier, Quebec
• Sam Hughes was an important contribution to WW1 for Canada because he lead the military in success.
• Without him, Canada would not have been sure a powerhouse during war, as Sir Sam Hughes was responsible for creating the latest and efficient guns/weapons.
• For example, the troops were issued the Ross Rifle, which was manufactured here in Canada and these rifles have sharp shooting.

• In October 1914, Vimy Ridge fell into the hands of German Soldiers
• The ridge was important strategically because it was a strong natural fortress that was easy to defend, and very dangerous to attack
• For the nest two years, Allied armies tried to gain back the ridge, however, it wasn't until April 1917, when Canada attacked the Germans at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and actually won!
• The attack was very well planned and successful, however, many were killed/injured
• The Battle of Vimy Ridge was important because this was the first time in history that Canadian units fought together as one, independent of British forces, and this victory got Canada more well known around the world.
• Also, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was specially important to Canada, as this victory got the Canadian Troop[s recognized as some of the best troops on the Western Front. This was a huge compliment.

• A stalemate is a situation in which neither side can win a clear victory, as the opposing countries tend to have a system of defense rather than any offensive tactics to edge out their opponent.
• There were two main causes of the stalemate during WWI: the failed military tactics of The Schlieffen Plan, and the new war tactics required for trench warfare.
• For instance, in the trench warfare, neither the Allies nor Germany were gaining any ground
• The trenches prevented movement on both sides as the land between trenches was covered in barbed wire and booby traps. The addition of machine guns and long-range rifles made movement impossible in these areas, which resulted in everyone staying in these trenches, creating long period of stalemate throughout WW1.
• The importance of this was that, while people stayed in trenches, less people easily got killed and more lives were protected. Also, trenches allowed for more room for military strategies and plans were possible with the idea of staying inside trenches, as you could have a much better sense of awareness, rather than just running around on the battle field with no strategy. Also, this stalemate in war, contributed to creating new war tactics, like the poisonous gas, which ended up being quite effective at first to get people out of their trenches. We can definitely say that stalemate was an importance to the defensive line rather than the offensive line of troops at war.

• Germany planned to attack France through the neutral country of Belgium, using what was known as the Schlieffen Plan
• The Schlieffen Plan was designed to avoid a two-front war
• This was important during the World War because if a two-front war were to occur, it would mean that Germany would have to fight France on one side, and Russia on the other, both at the same time (like the image shows).
• The Schlieffen Plan assumed that Russia would take six weeks to get ready for war, this resulted in the Germans planning to use most of their army to defeat France in the West within six weeks, at which time they would transfer most of those forces to the east to defeat Russia
• This plan was put into operation when the German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. However the Germans were held up by the Belgian Army, as Belgian neutrality was guaranteed by Britain
• This resulted Britain declaring a war on Germany when Germany invaded Belgium
• Essentially, the result of the Schlieffen Plan failing, its main contribution and importance was starting the First World War!

• In March 1917, Tear Nicholas and the autocracy in Russia were overthrown in a relatively peaceful revolution. An emergent democracy, called the provisional Government, took over. Because this new government continued the unsuccessful war against the Germans, it too, was overthrown in October 1917
• The Bolsheviks (communists), led by Vladimir Lenin, took over. As part of the peace negotiations, Russia gave Germany all of Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine
• The treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and Russia took Russia out of the war, and Germany was only left with one-front war
• Despite losing Russia, the Allied side remained strong because the united States had joined the war. German leaders realized they were in crisis now.
• The importance of the Russian Revolution was to kick out Russia from the war to allow Germany to only have to fight a one-front war. However, that didn't work out, as the lovely Americans joined the war just in time to fight Germany, putting Germany in a crisis. Therefore, the Russian Revolution, ended up contributing to the allies benefit!

• The Treaty of Versailles is perhaps the most important international agreement of the twentieth century
• After the war, representatives from the Allied powers met at the Paris Peace Conferences in early 1919, in order to decide what was going to happen to the defeated countries.
• This peace settlement that was signed after WW1 had ended was very difficult , as the goal was to create an agreement that would prevent another war from occurring
• There are several ideas how to achieve this goal:
• Realism vs Idealism, where realists believed that Germany should be dealt with harshly, so that they are physically not able to go to war again, or idealists who argued that punishing Germany would cause the germans to be bitter, which may cause them to seek revenge.
• Self-determination, which meant that ethnic groups would vote on the issue of whom they would prefer to live with or be governed by
• War guilt clause, which stated Germany alone must accept responsibility for causing the war.
• Overall, there were many failures with the Treaty of Versailles, for example: Germany was crippled by the Treaty of Versailles and was very angry that they had to pay extreme penalties for "starting" the war.
• Overall, the Treaty of Versailles is a very important aspect because without it there would be no solution after the war. The treaty of Versailles allows there to be an agreement between the countries to discuss what should happen next. Also with this treaty of Versailles, it is important to note that due to this treaty, Germany ended up feeling as if everyone blamed them and were very angry with the decision of getting some extreme penalties. This results to a 2nd world war, with Adolf Hitler!!

• On July 1, 1916 after two years of stalemate in the vast trench works held by the Allied and german armies on the Western Front, the British launched a massive offensive move in the Somme River Valley in Northern France
• The Battle of the Somme was a horrible miscalculation. The British command felt that a huge artillery barrage would render the Germans unable to defend themselves.
• However, the attack was not successful, as the Germans were not driven back and over 20,000 Canadian soldiers were killed alongside many British as well.
• The Battle of the Somme was a disaster for a number of reasons
• The Battle of the Somme was mainly important for the fact that it led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people over the course of a few months. The battle caused the deaths of an estimated 300,000 soldiers on both sides. Outside of this, it had little clear impact on the way the war was fought or its outcome
• The Battle of the Somme was also important because it helped the british army learn important lessons about how to fight to avoid such horrific casualties in the future

As you can see, troops would dig up holes in the ground to stay in

1916

1919

1914

1917

1915

April 1915

August 4, 1914 - November 11, 1918

September 15, 1914

June 28, 1919

March 25, 1917

Robert Borden

February 21, 1916 - December 18, 1916

July 31, 1917 - November 10, 1917

Battle of Ypres

Trench Warfare

Western Front

Billy Bishop

League of Nations

Battle of Passchendaele

Battle of Verdun

• Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are significantly protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery.
• Trench warfare was a standard war tactic. The trenches were usually 400 meters apart and they offered protection against enemy fire.
• Most trenches were not the most cleanest environment, as they are usually nothing more than a muddy ditch often filled with rotting victims of the war. Rats, lice and various fungal diseases were also common.
• The importance of the trench warfare, is how it created more of a defence against enemy fire and it evolved the tactics and strategies of war.

• Robert Borden was the 8th prime minister of Canada and he took command/governed during the First World War.
• He ran from 1911-1920
• Borden and his cabinet decided to support Britain wholeheartedly in war
• Robert Borden's leadership during the First World War was remarkable, however on of the challenges he faced was the collapse of the voluntary recruiting system; by late 1916, recruitment was failing to keep up with the losses sustained on the battlefield
• Which is why he introduced the Military Service Bill in 1917
• Robert Borden was very important, as he pushed for people to join the war and without Borden creating the voluntary recruiting system, we may not have had such a stellar military team! Also, Borden took great leadership and persuaded many of the Canadians that going to war was a good thing for the nation and he got many people on board with fighting for their country

• The Western Front, a 400-plus mile stretch of land weaving through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the North Sea, was the decisive front during the First World War.
• The importance of the Western Front was that it was the main theatre of war during WW1 and it was only the Western Front who saw action throughout the length of the war and it was there that the conflict was finally decided.
• Also, after the Battle of the Marne on the Western Front, Germany realized that the Schlieffen Plan had failed. Therefore, Germany simply began a holding action in the trenches of the West, in order to concentrate on fighting the Russians in the East.
• The Western Front essentially became a stalemate, meaning that neither country had enough offensive power remaining to achieve victory

• The Battle of Ypres in Belgium, was the first taste or trench warfare for Canadian troops.
• During this battle, as the French and Canadians were defending Ypres, they had to retreat after the Germans, for the first time in history, had a poison gas attack and used chlorine against the French and Canadians troops.
• Not only did the Battle of Ypres contribute to WW1 for having the first poision gas attack, but also the world-famous poem, "In Flanders Fields" was written at the battlefield of Ypres,
• The importance of this battle was quite significant, as it gave an insight to the extent of how wars would now be fought.
• Also, for Canadians specifically, after over 6,000 of our troops died because of this battle, it showed the people of Canada how brave thse troops were to be risking their lives. I think since this battle was Canada's first taste of trench warfare, it showed the troops how difficulty war really is and what is up at stake. Canadians needed this battle to get their feet a bit wet into the culture of war and adjust accordingly.

• The Battle of Verdun in 1916 was the longest single battle of World War One. This battle lasted for six months!
• Germany attacked the French at the Battle of Verdun and the french alone lost 500,000 men
• This battle was deliberately planned to be a battle of attrition in which the attackers' strategy was to wear down the enemy
• French never recovered psychologically from the Battle of Verdun
• This war contributed the start of another battle, called "The Battle of the Somme"
• This is because, the casualties from Verdun and the impact the battle had on the French Army was a primary reason for the British starting the Battle of Somme, since British and the French were allies.

• Billy Bishop was a famous Canadian pilot who was Canada's top wartime ace, shooting down 72 enemy planes.
• Bishop was awarded the Victoria Cross, which was a british military honour for courage and bravery
• He was a Canadian hero that everyone looked up to
• He died from a mechanical failure of the plane. This was quite a common problem that many pilots had
• Billy Bishop was an important figure in WW1 because he was a Canadian war hero and inspiration to many and a lot of people looked up to his extraordinary abilities. He made Canadians be more proud to be Canadian and have more pride in their nation. He has contributed a lot to the war with his special pilot talent.

• The Battle of Passchendaele is a vivid symbol of the mud, madness and the senseless slaughter of the First World War
• Allied advances bogged down in the mus of the Western Front at the Battle of Passchendaele
• Canadian troops were asked to attack the German
• Not only did they take the town, but held it until reinforcements came and took it away (why Britain why)
• Due to the intense mud and rain, the ground was very moist and hard to step/walk around in. It was a quicksand of mud and nearly 16,000 Canadians died, fighting this war
• This battle was important because it once again showed the strength of the Canadian trooper and dedication and self determination to get the task done, even with the horrible weather conditions.

• If there was an attack on one nation, then there was an attack on all the nations
• Many feared that the League of Nations would hamper imperialism
• Britain, France, Canada and other smaller nations joined
• The League of Nation was a type of Alliance system
• However, there were no military capacity, only economic sanctions. Due to the Americans not joining this alliance system of "League of Nations", this cause the organization to weaken, as American presence was very important.
• The League of Nation was important to the World War as it is always beneficial to have allies to protect your back. It is much stronger to fight as a group than fight as an individual country. It is good to know that if Canada got in a fight woth another country, with League of Nations, all the countries that have joined or are allies with Canada (like Britain) would come and help right away, no matter what. This is because, the LON follows this key rule "If there was an attack on one nation, then there was an attack on all nations"
• This was quite evident in WW1 as Britain and Canada helped out their fellow allies, France, against Germany.

No Man's Land

• Between the opposing trenches, there was a narrow strip called "no man's land."
• No man's land is land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty.
• They called it no man's land, because it was quite rare to see anyone survive if they ran through "No man's land."
• Whenever soldiers detected movement in enemy territory, they fired rifles and machine guns across no man's land
• The importance of No man's land came greatly during nightfall, where each side would dispatch parties to spy on the enemy, or to repair or extend the barbed wire posts. Also injured men trapped in No man's land would often be brought in under the cover of darkness, as were corpses for burial.
• The main thing that contributed to WW1 is death of many troops that died due to this tragedy of No Man's Land.

1917

Military Service Act

Trench Foot

• Prime Minister Borden introduced the Military Service Bill in 1917, which made conscription compulsory for all males between the ages of 20 and 35.
• Only men vital in wartime production jobs, those who were sick, or conscientious objectors/pacifists (those for whom fighting was against religious beliefs) were not forced to join. In response, there were riots in Montreal and Quebec City against conscription
• This Military Service act was important because it forced more people to actually go to war, as they were falling short on volunteers

Attrition

• Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench foot. This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue.
• Due to the very poor conditions in Passchendaele, with the wet and muddy ground, there were probably many cases of trench foot.
• Trench foot is important to be aware of because it slowed many of the soldiers and ops down that were infected by this condition

• Attrition warfare is a military strategy in which there are attempts to win a war by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and materiel.
• The war will usually be won by the side with greater such resources.
• The main reason that the First World War became a series of battles of attrition is that the defensive weapons were superior to the weapons used for attack.
• Also, since majority of the war was fought in trenches this military strategy was very important

By: Dilshaad Birring