History Notes Essay

CHC2De Review
World War One
Causes
Nationalism: a feeling of deep loyalty to one’s people and homeland
Extreme nationalist movement
People would go to war just to promote support of their homelands
Especially intense in Serbia
Austria-Hungary took Bosnia, where many Serbians lived
Serbians were angered, and the “Black Hand” terrorist group was formed to unite Serbians
Members threatened to kill Archduke Ferdinand if he entered Bosnia
Austrians were also expressing nationalism, and strongly opposed any attempts to take Bosnia away

The Alliance System
Europe was divided into two
France and Germany had already been in conflicts many times
Both tried to find other countries to be allies with in case of wars
Formation of Alliances
France with Russia and Britain, forming the Triple Entente or the “Allies”
Germany with Italy and Austria-Hungary forming the Triple Alliance or the “Central Powers”

Imperialism: extending a country’s power by taking over new lands
As Europe became more industrialized, countries wanted my colonies to build empires
Colonies provided raw materials, markets, men, and power
Largest empire was the British empire
“The sun never sets in the British empire” (they had colonies all over the world)
Germany wanted colonies but Britain and others took all the good ones
Huge competition between countries

Militarism: the belief in the power of strong armies and navies to decide issues
Countries thought if they had strong armies/navies nobody would attack them
If war broke out, they would be able to defend
Led to the arms race
Each country tried to build bigger and deadlier war machines
Army and navy sizes increased drastically

The Final Tipping Point
All the countries were very tense
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (of Austria-Hungary) set off a chain of events
Austria-Hungary, teamed with Germany, gave Serbia an ultimatum
Serbia would put down all nationalist hatred against Austria-Hungary
All those involved with the assassination would be punished
Austro-Hungarian officials can go into Serbia to crush the Black Hand
Serbians refused the last point, thus causing Austria Hungary to go to war with Serbia
Russia, an ally to Serbia, mobilized its armies
France, ally to Russia, mobilized its armies
Germany felt threatened and ordered them to stop mobilizing
France and Russia said no so Germany declared war

The Schlieffen Plan
Germany planned to attack France through Belgium (the Schlieffen Plan)
Britain was allied with Belgium to protect the neutrality of Belgium
When Belgium was invaded, Britain declared war on Germany
Battles
Gas Attack at Ypres
Canada’s first major battle
New weapon: chlorine and mustard gas (causes immediate death)
Canadians were only ones to hold their ground and counterattack
Stalled Germans but 6 000 died
Antidote for chlorine gas: putting urine-soaked handkerchiefs on your face
After this battle, effective gas masks were developed

Vimy Ridge
General Currie learned from past battles and decided to make a thorough plan to capture Vimy Ridge
A Canadian-fought battle
Canadians successfully pushed through the ridge and captured it
Canadians won the only significant victory for the Allies
Largely because of this, Canada won a seat as a separate nation at the peace talks after the war
The Halifax Explosion
Halifax was a main shopping port; most convoys with supplies for Europe set out from Halifax
On Decmber 6 1917, a French munitions ship collided with a Belgian vessel, setting off 3 000 tonnes of explosives at the harbor
Halifax was almost destroyed, 2 000 died, and thousands left injured and homeless
The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
Leaders met in Versailles to sign a peace treaty
Canada was able to be represented as an individual country
Main decisions were made by the “Big Three”
France: Clemenceau
United States: Wilson
Britain: George
Wilson suggested forming the League of Nations

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Essay on History notes