| Canadian History | People, Events, Concepts | | Genti Agako | 3/21/2013 |

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Person/ Event/ Term | Identify | Historical Importance | Robert Borden | -Elected Conservative MP from Nova Scotia in 1896.-Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920.-Adopted the controversial policy of conscription in 1917.-Is regarded as one of Canada’s most successful prime ministers. | -He managed Canada’s war effort with great success and increased international status.-His handlings of wartime issues such as conscription remain controversial – he did initiate women’s right to vote in 1917 election.-Expanded Canada’s autonomy with Britain. | Schlieffen Plan | -German plan to avoid a two-front war by concentrating troops in the West and quickly defeating the French and then, if necessary, rushing those troops by rail to the East to face the Russians before they had time to mobilize fully. | -The Schlieffen Plan was the strategic plan for victory, in case of the instance where Germany would be fighting a war on two fronts. In order to speed up the process of the Schlieffen Plan and avoid a war on two fronts, Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium.In defence of Belgium's neutral standing in the War, Britain declared war on Germany and thus the First World War began, therefore, the hastiness of German forces and the Schlieffen plan; had effectively sparked the First World War. | Billy Bishop | Billy Bishop was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace in World War I. | During World War I he was instrumental in setting up and promoting the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. | Sam Hughes | Sam Hughes was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. He was notable for being the last Liberal-Conservative cabinet minister, until he was dismissed from his cabinet post. | He was the minister of militia and defence until dismissed by Robert Borden. | Arthur Currie | Arthur Currie was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. | He was the first Canadian to attain the rank of full general. He is generally considered to be among the most capable commanders of the Western Front, and one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history. | Halifax Explosion | The Halifax Explosion occurred when a Belgian relief vessel and a French munitions carrier collided in Halifax Harbour during World War I. Crowds gathered around to watch the fire from the initial collision. The munitions ship drifted towards the pier and after twenty minutes blew sky high. | Thousands were killed and injured and much of Halifax was destroyed. To add to the disaster, a snowstorm started the next day, and lasted for nearly a week. | Trench Warfare | A form 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. The most prominent case of trench warfare is the Western Front in World War I. | Over 200,000 men died in the trenches of WW1, most of who died in battle, but many died from disease and infections brought on by the unsanitary conditions. | Ross Rifle | The Ross rifle was a notoriously inefficient straight-pull bolt action .303 inch calibre rifle produced in Canada from 1903 until the middle of the First World War. | Was one of the worst weapons that the Canadian army was forced to use during WW1 until it was substituted for the Lee-Enfield Rifle. | Vimy Ridge | The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in France, during the First World War. | Canada was automatically at war because it was still under Britain's control. However Canada’s contributions into WWI led to some international recognition. The Battle at Vimy ridge was the greatest assentation from Canada in WWI. Even though it was under British rule, ultimately, Canadian troops planned, rehearsed, followed through, and defeated the Germans at Vimy ridge under the command of Canadian officers and officials. | Ypres | The Second Battle of Ypres was a First World War battle fought for control of the strategic town of Ypres in western Belgium in the spring of 1915. | It marked the first time that Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front. Additionally, the battle was the first time the 1st Canadian Division defeated a major European power. | No.2 Construction Battalion | The No. 2 Construction Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force was the only predominantly black battalion in Canadian military history and also the only Canadian Battalion composed of black soldiers to serve in World War I. | This showed that racism in Canada was still at large and showed that Canadian citizens thought that immigrants and non-Canadians were second class. | Enemy Aliens | An enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war. | Enemy Aliens were viewed as potential spies and saboteurs they were also used to try and sway opinion in favour of their home nations. | Pacifists | Pacifism is an outlook based upon religious or humanitarian belief that condemns war and social violence as inhuman and irrational. | Initially were treated badly and got verbal abuse and the occasional chicken feather. As the war went on public feelings toward them changed. | Victory Bonds | War bonds are debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war. War bonds generate capital for the government and make civilians feel involved in their national militaries. | They made regular citizens feel like they could help out with the war effort and helped the government pay for some of the costs of war. | Canadian Patriotic Fund | The Canadian Patriotic Fund (1914–1919) was a private fund-raising organization incorporated in 1914 by federal statute and headed by Montreal businessman and Conservative Member of Parliament Sir Herbert Brown Ames. | The fund was established to give financial and social assistance to soldiers' families. By March 31, 1917, the Canadian Patriotic Fund had collected $22,981,616. | Military Service Act | Military Service Act was a 1917 Act passed by the Canadian government in an effort to recruit more soldiers. It made military service mandatory for any male between the age of 20 and 45. | This act forced people to fight in a war that they didn’t like or agree with. It caused more commotion and division in Canada than it did any good. | Wartime Elections Act of 1917 | This Act also granted the vote to the wives, mothers and sisters of serving soldiers, as well as women serving in the armed forces. | This was one of many attempts by PM Robert Borden to win the upcoming election in Canada. | U-Boats | Military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships. | They were most effectively used in an economic warfare role, enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping. The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns in both wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada, the British Empire and the United States. | | Hundred Days | It was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. | The offensive forced the German armies to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line and was followed by an armistice. The Hundred Days Offensive does not refer to a specific battle or unified strategy, but rather the rapid sequences of Allied victories starting with the Battle of Amiens. | Treaty of Versailles | One of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. | It required Germany to accept responsibility for causing the war and, to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions and pay heavy reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. | League of Nations | The league of nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. | It was the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. Its primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament, and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. | Spanish Flu | This epidemic infected 500 million people across the world, and killed 50 to 100 million of them making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. | |