canadian history 1201 unit 2 canada in the first world...

Canadian History 1201 Unit 2

Canada in the First World War

Student Workbook 2.2

Student Name:___________________ SCO 2.0: The student will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of Canada’s involvement in the First World War.

2.1: Entry into the War: support for Britain, military preparedness, recruitment, attitudes towards war

2.2: War Experiences: trench warfare, tactics and technology, experiences of the various groups 2.3: Canadian Contributions: battles and military operations, Aboriginals, women and specific individuals, casualty rates

A New Kind of Warfare

CH 1201 Oct-Nov 2013

2.4: Home front: economic, political and social growth

Topic 2.2: War Experiences: trench warfare, tactics and technology, experiences of the various groups The war on the Western Front was a new kind of warfare. No one had experienced a war like it before.

The generals’ plan had not allowed for it. Everyone had to adapt. You are now going to look at the main

changes in the techniques of warfare brought about by the First World War. Complete the activities

contained in this booklet using the information provided in the slideshow.

First World War General Overview

Following the July Crisis, war began in early August 1914 and was expected to be quick….over by

Christmas.

With ideas of war as being romantic / chivalric, men signed up eager for adventure

A war of movement was expected but what developed was stalemate in the form of with trench

warfare

No one knew the problems associated with industrialized warfare….19th century tactics were

ineffective against modern weapons such as the machine gun

War lasted for 4 years…..approx 9 million soldiers / 20 million civilians would die

First World War Opening Moves

Prior to 1914, all major countries (Russia, France, Germany) had developed very detailed and

calculated _______________________ that would be implemented should war ever erupt.

For Germany, it was

_________________________ by countries of

the Triple Entente, so a war plan was needed to

deal with the possibility of ________________

______________________________________

(France in the West & Russia in the East)



We can use the map on to describe how Germany’s geographic location in Europe influenced its

pre-World War I war plan

The German plan was to quickly knock

France out of the war & capture Paris

before British & Russia forces could be

mobilized & brought into action

To accomplish this Germany decided to

invade neutral Belgium, sweep through

northeastern France & capture Paris,

knocking France out of the war in only 6

weeks…___________________

________________________.

This plan brought _________________

into the conflict in defense of neutral

Belgium & it responded by sending forces

to Northern France

By September 1914 the German plan had failed, British & French forces stopped the Germans

just outside of Paris. France was saved!!

‘The Race to the Sea’ now began as both sides attempted to control the ports along the English

Channel

Both sides also now began to dig in over the next few months to consolidate their positions

…________________________________ had arrived!


The war on the Western Front was a new kind of warfare. No one had experienced a war like it

before. The generals’ plan had not allowed for it. Everyone had to adapt.

What distinguished this war from previous ones?

• Trench Warfare

• Dominated by artillery

• Cavalry became outdated



• Dominated by infantry

• Industrialized Warfare

Change 1: Trench Warfare

The most obvious new feature of this kind of warfare was the system of trenches. Instead of movement,

this war was static with both sides locked in a deadly stalemate unable to move. Trenches first began as

simple shelters but as the war moved into 1915 they evolved into elaborate and complex defensive

systems.

Both sides began to construct deep trenches protected by machine guns & barbed wire.

Parallel lines of trenches soon stretched from the English Channel to Switzerland

Opposing forces were only separated by 25m in some areas.

Trench warfare dominated the Western Front battlefields of WWI.

Activity #1: Describe each of the following trenches that were used in the First World War?

Front-line : ________________________________________________________________

(closest to the enemy)

Support : This trench contained ____________________________________ that could

immediately ________________ those on the front line

Reserve : This trench contained ___________________________________ that were available

in ____________________________________ should the first trenches be overrun.

Communication : ______________________ the various trenches & allowed movement of

__________________, ____________________, & _______________ among the trenches



Activity #2: Label each of the following

trenches in the appropriate location

a). Reserve b). Support

c). Communication d). Front-line

e). Define No Man’s Land:_____________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

__________________________________

The ____________________________

trench was supported by much

stronger_______________ trenches and

linked by ______________________ trenches. German trenches were usually stronger and better

constructed than allied trenches. As the Germans invaded Belgium and France they quickly captured the

higher ground and built their trenches in those areas. Many of their dugouts and machine gun posts

were reinforced with concrete which provided a stronger defence against artillery bombardment. The

British and Allied trenches were often filled with water and mud because they were constructed in the

low-lying areas.

Activity #3: Copy and label the cross section of a front line trench in the space below



Change 2: Artillery Became More Powerful

For much of the war, all day, every day, artillery

would pound the enemy’s trenches with hundreds of

shells. Artillery shells were the weapon soldiers

feared the most. They were the biggest cause of the

casualties more so than any other weapon in the First

World War. At the beginning of the war the guns

were not very accurate. Firing from behind their own

lines, artillery often bombarded their own positions

before acquiring the correct range to attack the

enemy lines.

As the war progressed, artillery became much bigger and had improved accuracy and by 1918, the

tactics for using this weapon were extremely sophisticated as well. Artillery was the key weapon of the

Great War and industrial production in both North America and Europe was dedicated to making shells.

The effect of an exploding artillery shell on a human body was terrible. These shells were designed to

explode four or five meters above the ground. Jagged fragments of the red-hot iron shells and the

hundreds of shrapnel balls inside could quickly decimate

soldiers by tearing off limbs and shattering bones.

High explosive shells could leave no trace of a body at all.

This is one of the reasons why the Menin Gate Memorial at



Ypres (Belgium) lists the names of 55,000 British and Empire dead who have no known grave. The names

of a further 73,000 British and Empire fallen soldiers are recorded on the memorial at Thiepval on the

Somme. Their bodies were never found - blown to pieces, buried in shell holes, and drowned in mud.

Q. What role did artillery play in the First World War?

Change 3: Cavalry Become Less Important

The First World War saw another major change – the end of cavalry as a weapon

of the modern army. Before 1914, all sides thought that the speed and mobility of

the cavalry would be decisive. However, once trenches were dug, the cavalry

forces became too vulnerable to weapons such as the artillery and machine guns.

In one particular cavalry charge, only three out of four hundred horses survived.

Even so, horses and mules remained vital for transporting supplies and

equipment in the swamp-like conditions of the Western Front.

Q. How did the role of the cavalry change during the First World War?

Change 4: Infantry Become More

Important

The infantryman or the foot soldier as he was

more commonly- known, was the backbone

of the army in the First World War. He



carried a wide variety of equipment including steel helmets to provide some protection against shrapnel

from enemy shelling. (The photo will provide some insight into the equipment that they carried). In

addition to the standard army-issued equipment, many of the troops also improvised their own

weapons for the conditions of trench warfare.

Before the war, the theory was that the cavalry would lead the attack on the enemy and the infantry

would be used in a supporting role to take charge of the captured prisoners and to defend captured

positions from counter-attacks.

Trench warfare dramatically changed the role of the infantry. As the cavalry charge proved useless on

the battlefield the ‘infantry charge’ appeared at the outset of the conflict and it would become the main

tactic used in the war for the trenches.

The Infantry Charge

This involved four main steps as outlined below.

1. The attacking side’s artillery bombarded the frontline

trenches of the enemy. This was called a barrage and

could last for days or weeks at a time depending on the

scale of the impending attack

2. As soon as the barrage lifted (stopped), attacking

troops would go over the top – this is, to climb out of

their trenches. It was now a race between the attackers

and the defenders, who had to emerge from their

shelters and set up their machine guns before the

attackers got over the barbed wire and other defensive

obstacles of no man’s land.

3. The defenders usually had the advantage. They swept

the advancing attackers with machine gun fire, sometime

setting up a cross-fire to maximize their killing

effectiveness.

4. If the attackers did capture forward positions, they then

had to hold them. This generally proved impossible and

they were usually forced back to their original position after an enemy counter-attack.

The machine gun was devastatingly effective against the infantry charge. It could fire eight bullets a

second or more, and each trench would have a number of machine guns in any one location. During an

infantry charge it could cut down a whole brigade in minutes. The machine gun made it inevitable that



any charge on an enemy trench would cost many lives. However, the theory was that if enough soldiers

charged then no matter how many were killed or wounded on the way there would still be enough men

alive to capture the machine guns in the enemy trenches.

The infantry charge was the only attacking strategy that the generals had. They thought that if they did

break it often enough, with enough men, eventually it would wear down the enemy, and they could

break through. However, the idea that the generals simply threw away lives is not surprisingly supported

by evidence. As the war continued, the generals tried new tactics, weapons, and equipment to help

break the trench deadlock and to move away from the infantry charge. New camouflage techniques

were used to protect troops and guns. Artillery and infantry attacks were better synchronized and

troops were issued with gas masks. By the end of the war, the tank had been developed and was being

used quite effectively in battle.

Life in the Trenches

The trench, when we reached it, was half full of mud and water.

We set to work to try and drain it. Our efforts were hampered

by the fact that the French, who had first occupied it, had

buried their dead in the bottom and sides. Every stroke of the

pick encountered a body. The smell was awful. Private

Pollard

No washing or shaving here, and the demands of nature answered

as quickly as possible in the handiest and deepest shell-hole. Guy

Chapman

The other one said to me "Chas, I am going home to my wife

and kids. I'll be some use to them as a cripple, but none at all

dead! I am starving here, and so are they at home, we may as

well starve together." With that he fired a shot through his

boot. When the medics got his boot off, two of his toes and a

lot of his foot had gone. But the injuring oneself to get out of

it was quite common. Charles Young

The other soldiers in

the hut took their

shirts off after tea.

They were catching

lice. We had never seen

a louse before, but

they were here in

droves. The men were

killing them between

their nails. Henry

Gregory

All we lived on was tea and dog biscuits. If we got meat once

a week we were lucky, but imagine trying to eat standing in a

trench full of water with the smell of dead bodies nearby.

Richard Beasley

If you have never had trench feet described to you. I will tell you. Your feet swell

to two or three times their normal size and go completely dead. You could stick a

bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are fortunate enough not to lose

your feet and the swelling begins to go down. It is then that the intolerable,

indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and even scream with the pain

and many had to have their feet and legs amputated. Sergeant Harry Roberts



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Activity Imagine that you are a soldier fighting in the trenches. Write a letter home describing the conditions in the trenches. Use information contained on this sheet and also on the notes you

collected about soldier problems

These feet have trench foot and frostbite caused by standing for hours in a freezing waterlogged trench. To avoid this condition soldiers were told to change their socks regularly, wear waterproof footwear or gumboots and cover their feet with whale oil.



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Change 5: New Weapons

Using the video as a guide, record a minimum of three points of information for each weapon found

below.

Tanks

Airplanes

Machine Guns



Poisonous Gas

Submarines

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