End of the War

1917:
The Decisive Year of the War
Vimy Ridge, April 1917 turns the tide for the
Allies
Halifax Explosion, Dec. 6, 1917 (Heritage
Minute)
French munitions ship Mont Blanc collided
with Belgian relief ship Imo and caught fire
in Halifax harbour
1600 killed, 9000 injured
Largest non-atomic explosion in history
Brings the war home for Canadians

America Enters the War

3 things led America to joining the war in
1917:
In 1915, an American passenger ship Lusitania was

sunk by the Germans

Zimmermann Telegram German ambassador to the
USA sent a secret telegram to Mexico suggesting an
attack against USA would receive German support
Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare
against Britain and its allies and would sink any ship
trading with them without warning
America declares war against Triple Alliance in
1917

Russia Leaves the War

Russian soldiers were poorly trained and armed
Germany was more successful with better
equipment and training
The leader, Czar Nicholas, was seen as a weak
leader opposition to the czar increased
throughout 1917; communists and their leader,
Lenin, promised to take Russia out of the war and
give food and land to the poor
Russian Revolution in Nov. 1917; Lenin
negotiated a peace treaty with Germany

Last Hundred Days

Germany rushed to France, hoping to end
the war before American reinforcements
arrived
In the beginning, they were successful, but
the Allies had strong counter-attacks and
held their positions
more than 500,000 American soldiers came
to Europe became clear that Germany
would have to surrender

End of War
Armistice Day Nov. 11, 1918
Official peace treaty signed at Versailles,
France in 1919

The Treaty of Versailles

___________________________________
World War 1 Armistice Agreement

Armistice
An armistice was reached,
and Germany agreed to a
cease-fire at 11 am on
November 11th, 1918.
Today we celebrate
Remembrance Day at this
time.
The treaty was signed on
June 28th, 1919 after months
of argument and negotiation
amongst the so-called "Big
Three" as to what the treaty
should contain.

Allied Casualties:

The Triple Entente and associated nations

Britain : 750,000 soldiers killed; 1,500,000 wounded

Canada: 66,000 soldiers killed
France : 1,400,000 soldiers killed; 2,500,000 wounded
Belgium : 50,000 soldiers killed
Russia : 1,700,000 soldiers killed
America : 116,000 soldiers killed

Enemy Casualties:

The Triple Alliance and associated nations

Germany : 2,000,000 soldiers killed

Austria-Hungary : 1,200,000 soldiers killed
Turkey : 325,000 soldiers killed
Bulgaria : 100,000 soldiers killed
Italy: 600,000 soldiers killed
______________________________________________________
The total deaths of all nations who fought in the war is
thought to have been 8.5 million with 21 million being
wounded.

Important People
The Big Three

Georges Clemenceau of France had one very

simple belief - Germany should be brought to its
knees so that she could never start a war again.
Woodrow Wilson of America proposed his famous
14 points to support peace in the post-war era.
He is also credited for the creation of the League
of Nations.
David Lloyd George of Great Britain echoed the
sentiments of his British citizens who wanted to
Make Germany Pay!

Clauses of the Treaty:

Territorial

Alsace-Lorraine
(given back to
France)
The League of
Nations also took
control of Germany's
overseas
colonies.Germany
had to return to
Russia land taken in
the Treaty of BrestLitovsk.
Austria-Hungary
dismantled

Clauses of the Treaty:

Military

Germanys army was reduced to

100,000 men
Germany was not allowed an
airforce and could have only 6
capital naval ships and no
submarines
The west of the Rhineland and 50
kms east of the River Rhine was
made into a demilitarised zone
(DMZ). No German soldier or
weapon was allowed into this
zone. The Allies were to keep an
army of occupation on the west
bank of the Rhine for 15 years.

Clauses of the Treaty:

The War Guilt Clause
Article 231
The Allied and Associated Governments confirm and
Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies
for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and
Associated Governments and their nationals have been
subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them
by the aggression of Germany and her allies.

Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war.

Clauses of the Treaty:

Financial

The loss of vital industrial territory

would be a severe blow to any
attempts by Germany to rebuild her
economy. Coal from the Saar and
Upper Silesia in particular was a
vital economic loss.
Reparations forced Germany to
repay Allied countries for their
financial expenditures during the
war.
It seemed that the Allies wanted
nothing else but to bankrupt
Germany

Germanys Reaction to the Treaty

After agreeing to the Armistice in
November 1918, the Germans had
been convinced that they would be
consulted by the Allies on the
contents of the Treaty. This did not
happen.
There was anger throughout Germany
when the terms were made public. =
Diktat
Germany was given two choices:
1) sign the Treaty or
2) be invaded by the Allies.

Canada and the Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles enhanced
our national status in the
international arena.
Robert Borden insisted that Canada
should have the same representation
as Belgium and other small countries
at the Conference; and in the end
Canada was given, representation on
the British Empire delegation
We were given two seats at the
Conference, and signed the treaty
under the UK.
as a result of the treaty, Canada
obtained separate representation in
the Assembly of the League of
Nations.

Treaty of Versailles The New Map

of Europe

Europe 1914

Europe 1919

The Treaty of
Versailles

The Fall-out!

Coming Home
from
War
_________________
What did the
soldiers return to?

Welcome Home!
Welcomed as heroes
parades and speeches
Eager to resume their civilian lives

Economic Woes
slow economic adjustment to peacetime.
Industries that had created munitions for war were now retooling their factories

Economic Woes
Women were first to be fired from jobs as
factories were reformatting had filled
MANY jobs during the war.
Drastic rise in cost of living
Soldiers thought they deserved to be
compensated for their role in the war with
jobs and higher wages
Increased unemployment
Soldiers found jobs that they left were now
gone or that they had been replaced by
those who did not go to fight