History 1810E
Wednesday February 5
Lecture 10
The War Opens Up
Outline:
I. Kaiserschlacht
II. Government Controls
III. Meanwhile…
IV. The Hundred Days
V. Mons, November 1918
1. Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser’s Battle)
• Russia had left the war at this time, which allowed the Germans to move their
troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front (gave the Germans a
numerical advantage until the Americans arrived)
o The Germans recognized that until the Americans arrived, they had a
small window to win the war
• Operation Michael targeted the Somme region
o Overall it was successful
o The Germans recaptured all of the places that were taken (Corsolet,
Passchendaele, St. Eloi…)
• The Germans brought 3 enormous railway guns to shell the city of Paris and
show their supremacy
o This created a lot of panic in the French capital
• The British lost 250,000, the French lost 100,000
o It wasn’t so much the numbers that were lost, but how easily and quickly
they were lost
• However, the German state used up its last resources (machinery, soldiers)
• Even if the Germans had been wholly successful in their 5 offences, their ability
to follow up was limited (but we didn’t know this at the time)
• On the Allied side, the end appeared to be near, and they thought the Germans
would win the war
o The situation was so dire that Douglas Haig issued an order on April 11,
1918 to the troops – he addressed that they were at the end of the war,
but they shouldn’t surrender
2. Government Controls
• The situation was so serious that the government felt they had to step in
• Income tax was brought in in 1917 to pay for the war
o It was sold as a temporary wartime measure
o For a single person with an annual salary of $4000, you would pay 4% in
tax
• Daylight savings time came in the spring of 1918 as a way to conserve energy o The assumption was that the war would go on for a long time, and they
needed all of the energy they could get
• Food Controls – Canada didn’t have the same rationing system as Britain, but
they had a Canada Food Board to guard against waste and so that people would
use food efficiently
o People were encouraged to save more and use less
o Restaurants were publicly licensed for the first time to ensure food wasn’t
being wasted
• Censorship – made possible through the War Measures Act
o The government didn’t have the resources to engage in censorship in
1914, but they decided they needed to take it on regardless in 1918
• Registration
o For the first time, Canadians were required to carry identification to
confirm they have been registered
o Although we are used to carrying ID, it was a big step for people who
didn’t carry any identification around with them
• These government controls were generally accepted throughout the public
because people believed that this war has become a fight to the death.
o We know now that there was little chance of the war spilling over into
North America, but at the time, they didn’t know that
o Losing the war didn’t just mean being beaten on the battlefield, it meant
the beginning of a new ‘dark age’, losing civilization (they were told that
the Germans may take over, their children would have to learn German in
schools, etc…)
o As a result, almost anything was accepted if it could help win the war
3. Meanwhile…
• While the British army was being hit, the Canadian army was in reserve (training,
resting, being reinforced)
o After Passchendaele, the Canadian Corps was out of the line
• The Canadian Expeditionary Force has the benefit of the drafted soldiers coming
in (a new influx of Canadian soldiers)
• By 1918, there were Canadian centres all around the British Isles (they took over
hotels, stately homes, etc…)
• The Canadian Forestry Corps took up residence in Scotland, chopping down
trees to be used in trenches
o Witley/Bramshott
Became one of the big areas where the Canadian army was
o Shorncliffe
Generally the last place Canadian soldiers went before they were
sent over to France
• Canadians generally assimilated well into British society
o British social life had also been restricted because of the war effort
(Canadians came and provided entertainment through music, sports) o They provided male companionship at a time when many local men were
away at war (there were a large number of marriages between English
women and Canadian soldiers)
The Canadian commanders did checks on the women the soldie
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