How World War One Changed Canada for the Good
Nineteen fourteen was the dawn of one of the most significant and grueling moments in our world's history; World War One. Sixty-thousand brave Canadians respectfully lost their lives for the safety of millions, and many questioned if these loses had any beneficial effects on Canada. At the time, Canadians were more worried about the nation being divided by unemployment, conscription, and this horrible massacre. However, in the present time there is a much different perspective on World War One. Women's rights, technology, and Canada’s independence were all significantly affected. World War One, aside from the catastrophic battles and millions of casualties, had major positive effects on Canada’s
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However, throughout World War One, lots of new technology was made and lots of old ones were improved to make fighting more efficient for countries. The biggest war technology was, and still is today, the airplane. At first, they were used for spying and gathering information about what your enemy’s next move was. Soon after, they started being used for bombing, then became fully equipped with machine guns. Fighting in the air was one of the most dangerous jobs of the war. Machine guns were also first used, and Artillery, Ross Rifles, and tanks were greatly improved. Two very dangerous war weapons that go down in history were chlorine gas and shrapnel. Chlorine gas was deadly, and was first used by the Germans at Ypres, Belgium. It was unbearable, but, while some troops fled in panic, the Canadians held their ground by holding cloths with urine on them to their faces, despite the high casualties, and the independent reputation was never tarnished (Bercuson, David J, and J. L. Granatstein). One Canadian man by the name of Norman Ross fought at Ypres. In his diary, he wrote “Well, here I am in England, slightly wounded in my right hip and side from shrapnel, a shell bursting almost on top of me, and it is miraculous how I got off so lucky. Am also suffering a little from the effects of the gas which was thrown at us, and my condition would have been much worse had I not had my nose and mouth covered with my …show more content…
Canada got its independence in 1867, however still had a strong connection to the British empire. Canada was forced into the war because of its ties to their mother country, Britain. However, as the war progressed, Canadians began fighting out of pride for their country. Canada didn’t want to be seen as only part of the British Empire, therefore they fought hard so they could be viewed as independent. Ypres was the first battle where Canada entered the front line, on April twenty-second, nineteen fifteen. When the Germans released one hundred sixty tons of chlorine gas, Canada stayed strong and closed the gaps until British reinforcements arrived-proving their strength and abilities (Was The Great
In the short years leading to World War one, the country was deeply in debt which in turn was devastating to the Canadian economy. There was a wide spread drought causing great hardship onto Canadian wheat production and farmers, with such low production the expanding railway system of the time could no longer find it feasible to run much of Canada’s large railway network, causing the job loss of 50,000 workers in 1914 alone. When Canada was forced to contribute to the war in the coming months of 1914 the Canadian government had crushing public debt, resulting not only in mass munitions and equipment shortages for the soldiers being sent overseas but, contract cancellations, severe cutbacks, and mass layoffs. The
The source written by Andrew Iarocci, examines the first year of the 1st Canadian Division in the First World War, and focuses exclusively on the soldiers' overseas experiences. In the book, Iarocci challenges the view that the 1st Canadian Division soldiers were poorly prepared for the First World War, and were not at all effective during some key battles in 1915. The book's focus is to look primarily at how Canadian's fought in the First World War, and with the help of the many sources the book incorporates, such as many research documents in the form of letters, diaries and the battlefields themselves, Iarocci is able to give the reader a solid perspective on how Canadian soldiers fared in the war. The book provides the Canadian soldiers'
As Canada’s economy progressed to become one of the largest in the world, their exports grew and by the end of the war they had the fifth largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. A fierce determination grew inside many Canadians after the failure at Dieppe where almost 60% of the men that landed on the beaches were killed, captured or wounded. Canadians believed that Dieppe had been a major disaster, which it was, but many British authorities deemed that “for every man that was killed in [the raid on] Dieppe saved the lives of 10 at Normandy.” Dieppe was a battle that Canadians never forgot, and it produced a determined country. After Normandy and the capture of Dieppe, they gave a parade in the middle of the war to those men who had died almost two years earlier.
Since Canada was able to free the Dutch from the Germans when they did, they were able to save many citizens from starvation. It is necessary that citizens are aware of the noble accomplishments of Canadians during WWII. Ultimately, the Netherlands and the liberation of Europe are highly significant since these events ended the war in Europe, had many Canadian casualties, created a lasting bond between the Netherlands and Canada, earned Canada further international respect, and saved innocent
During World War I, Canada fought numerous battles, made tough decisions, and impacted the way many Canadians live today. Have you ever wondered which battle had the most defining moments for Canadian History? The battle of Vimy Ridge marks the day that Canada became an independent nation. The significance wasn’t necessarily the battle itself, but the effect that Canada would feel nationally after. The Germans controlled Vimy Ridge since 1914, and three french attacks on the Ridge were all unsuccessful.
This gave the Prime Minister William Mackenzie a much worse position to be in as the military population is declining due to the lack of volunteers joining in. Mackenzie however had to go back on his word in 1944, because the troop shortages were so severe to the point where they have to send conscripts to fight in the war. William Mackenzie has sent around 12-16 thousand conscripts overseas, not too much and not too little. In return, Quebec wasn’t too upset and the war was ending. At the end of the war, a total of 42,042 Canadian men and women of Canada’s armed forces died, around 22-23 thousand in the Canadian army, around 17, 000 in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and around 2,000 in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) were wounded and around 9,000 were taken prisoner.
In 1914, Canadians responded to Canada’s entry into the Great War in various ways. The entry into the Great War sparked lots of different ideas and opinions on war and became a whole new issue for the citizens of Canada. There are many different things to consider with Canada’s entry, including: reactions of different groups and individuals in Canadian society, reactions of different regions and provinces in Canada, factors that influenced the different viewpoints and reactions of Canadians, and possible outcomes of the war that Canadians were predicting at the beginning of the war. All of the factors lead to various opinions on the entry, including whether or not it was good or bad. There were many reactions of different groups and individuals
The day before to the battle of the Ypres commanders of the Allies forces had been warned of an attack with poisonous gas that the Germans were planning for the next day but they decided to ignore the warnings. On the 13th of April of 1915 the German troops released a chlorine gas attack over no man’s land that dispersed the French troops and killed many of them; the Canadian troops were positioned meters behind the battle front and, when the saw the French troops running away from the gas, they stood their ground and with just a cloth over their mouth as protection against the gas the Canadians fought the German soldiers. That day the Canadians proved themselves as strong capable forces but many of the soldiers on the field that day died due the effects of the chlorine gas in their system. Another of the battles were a bad plan resulted on unnecessary bloodshed of Canadian troops was on the Somme, where the reckless attitude of General Haig resulted on the death of thousands of soldiers on the hands of the enemies’ troops and where, once again the Canadian regime of Newfoundlanders proved their military value and were the Canadian troops earned the name of
In 1939, no one thought that women, who weren 't even considered people decades before, would have such a massive impact in the Second World War. Canadian women 's contribution to the war effort, and their role at the home front and overseas had greatly increased since the previous, devastating First World War. The Second World War brought change to Canadian women on an unpredictable scale, though their volunteer work, paid labour force, and their contributions in the armed forces. Surely without the contributions made by the Canadian women, Canada and her allies would not have been as successful as they were. By far, the prime contribution made by Canadian women to the war effort came through their unpaid labour as volunteer work.
During WWII, Canada played a crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic and the air war over Germany. They contributed troops to the allied forces and punched far above their weight for a small nation of then only 11 million people. Because of Canada’s oversized role in the War, it established itself as a middle power. This position helped define Canada in a number of ways, primarily being one of the first non-great powers to help build the United Nations. It earned respect from other countries and with The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
One moment in Canadian history I feel ashamed of is WW2 and people’s rights. From the moment WW2 was declared, The Measures Act was put into effect to take away certain ethnic groups and national groups’ rights. Japanese Canadians were not allowed to vote or serve in the army, their families were separated and sent into internment camps, and their belongings were taken away. Canadians of German and Italian descent were put into prison camps, Enemy Aliens were required to register with the RCMP and report to the police every month, and anyone sympathizing with Nazism, fascists, and communists were arrested. Since the Canadian government treated those groups of people horribly, this is a moment of history that does not represent unity and is
World War 1 was a historic event which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. This bloody conflict took the lives of more than 17 million people who were fighting for their countries. Being a British colony at the time, Canada was dragged into the war that did not impact the country in any way, yet thousands of Canadians volunteered to devote their lives for their nation. The first World War had the greatest impact on Canadian history during the 20th century, as this event helped Canada gain more independence from Britain, it helped introduce women in the workforce, and also introduced non-white Canadians in the army. For the longest time, Canada had been under British control, however, this changed a bit after World War 1 took place.
One of Canada’s strengths was its major contributions to the war such as soldiers, supplies and victories that helped Canada gain a new sense of maturity. After gaining their own Commander of Canadian Corps. in 1917, Canada was seen as being less dependent on Britain, because it was slowly starting to become its own separate nation. Canada was invited to the Paris Peace Conference and given two seats. Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles in its own right as an independent country, and the identity of Canada had changed as a result of WW1.
This was the first ever battle where gas was introduced. It was brought by the Germans and swept the French trenches (Christie, 9). The French retreated and the Canadians had to hold down the trenches. Germans attacked when the gas cleared and the position was held by The Royal Highlanders from Montréal. Because of Canada’s selfishness, they helped win this battle.
When Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier stated, “As the 19th century was that of the United States, so I think the 20th century shall be filled by Canada”, the decades that followed provided his statement to be true as Canada became an independent and strong nation. The battlefields in World War One were a defining moment for Canada as their forces fought as one nation for the first time, instead of under British Command. Also, at the end of the war, Canada was recognized at the Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles as an independent country. In addition, Canada joined the League of Nations, playing a major role in world politics. These events in the early 20th century allowed the beginning of a strong nation with a growing national