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The Long March to Victory
The Russian Revolution
The United States Enters the War
The United Kingdom's control of the seas during World War I caused serious
problems for Germany. The British navy blockaded German waters. This
prevented supplies from reaching German ports. By 1916, Germany suffered a
shortage of food and other goods. Germany combated British sea power with its
submarines, called (Untersee) U-boats. In February 1915, Germany declared a
submarine blockade of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It warned that it would
attack any ship that tried to get through the blockade. Thereafter, U-boats
destroyed great amounts of goods headed for the United Kingdom.
On May 7, 1915, a U-boat torpedoed, without warning, the British passenger
liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. Among the 1,201 passengers who died,
128 were Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania caused U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson to urge Germany to give up unrestricted submarine warfare.
Following the sinking of an unarmed French boat, the Sussex, in the English
Channel in March 1916, Wilson threatened to sever diplomatic relations with
Germany, unless the German government refrained from attacking all
passenger ships. Also, Germany had to allow the crews of enemy merchant
vessels to escape from their ships prior to any attack. On May 4, 1916, the
German government accepted these terms and conditions in what came to be
known as the "Sussex pledge."
By January 1917, however, the situation in Germany had changed. During a
wartime conference that month, representatives from the German navy
convinced the military leadership and Kaiser Wilhelm II that resuming
unrestricted submarine warfare could help defeat Great Britain within five
months. German policymakers argued that they could violate the "Sussex
pledge," because the United States could no longer be considered a neutral
party after supplying munitions and financial assistance to the Allies. Also,
they believed that the United States had jeopardized its neutrality by
acquiescing to the Allied blockade of Germany.
The Germans resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, and also had secret negotiations
with Mexico to possibly invade the United States. Once the U.S. learned about this, they
joined the war against Germany
The United States would enter the war on April 6th, 1918.
The Hundred Days, 1918
In 1918, the tide of the war finally began to turn in the Allies favour. The antisubmarine campaign had won control of the seas. The British blockade of
Germany was slowly starving that country of food and the raw materials
needed for war. With the entry of the United States, the Allies now had a
powerful, fresh member in their alliance. Soon American troops and supplies
were pouring across the Atlantic.
After one last offensive in 1918, Germany began suffering
great losses. Canadian forces participated in a sweep
known as the Hundred Days that finally broke the back of
the German military effort.
British Tank. Improved tanks were instrumental in bringing an end to the
War.
On August 8, 1918, Canadian forces supported by
tanks and aircraft smashed into German lines. The
Allies drove ahead for 13 kilometers, a far cry from
the earlier gains of 91 meters at a time. German
officers called it "the black day of the German
army".
For six weeks, Canadians served as the leaders of the
130 kilometers Allied advance. It was to be the last
great offensive of the war. Canadians seized 31,527
prisoners, 623 artillery pieces, and 2842 machine guns.
These gains were paid for with blood: 45 830 casualties.
On November 11, 1918 the war ended at 11:00 am, but
fighting continued right until the last minute before the
armistice went into effect.
The cost of the war was staggering in human terms.
Canada had sacrificed 66,655 dead and 173,000
wounded.