Canada and the First World War, Part 1

The Conflict Begins

An assassination in Sarajevo in June 1914 went almost unnoticed in Canada. Few Canadians expected that it would lead to war; fewer still anticipated the sacrifices Canada would be called to make. Yet the war was to change dramatically the world they live in, and in a very real sense the Canadian nation was born on the battlefields of Europe.

International relations in Europe in the summer of 1914 were, apparently, quiet: but great tensions existed under the surface. The Great European Powers were ranged against each other in two alliances - The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia and Great Britain). The situation was heightened by economic and imperial rivalries, national pride, the nationalism of new countries, ambitious statesmen, the instability of eastern Europe (particularly the Balkans where the Ottoman Empire was collapsing) and the constant talk of wars somewhere. All the ingredients were there for a small international fire to become a raging inferno. Once started by those fatal shots, efforts to stop the blaze proved futile.

On Sunday, June 28th 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was shot and killed by a Serbian nationalist during a visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia. Convinced that the Serbian government was involved in the plot, Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, sent a harsh ultimatum to Serbia. Although Serbia met nearly every demand, Austria-Hungary, bent on conquest, declared war. The fire spread. Russia, the self-proclaimed protector of the Slav nations, mobilized. Germany demanded promises of peace from Russia and France and when there was no answer, declared war on Russia on August 1st, and on France two days later.

France looked to Britain for support. Although Britain was not bound by a formal treaty to join France in a war. Sir Edward Gray, the Foreign Secretary, had made an informal agreement with the French. Then, on August 4th the German army on its way to France invaded neutral Belgium. Britain sent an ultimatum demanding withdrawal of German troops and reminding Germany of the treaty of 1839 guaranteeing Belgium's neutrality, to which Prussia (effectively the predecessor of Germany) was also a signatory. Unanswered, the ultimatum expired at midnight on August 4th. Britain was at war. And when Britain was at war, Canada was at war. But that was her sole obligation. How Canada reacted to the war and what measures she took in support of Britain was up to her own government.

It was with a spirit of light-hearted optimism and exuberant enthusiasm that Britain and her Empire went to war. It would be exciting; it would be good for business; and the boys would be home by Christmas. They did not know that four years of death and destruction lay ahead in a war revolutionized by high explosive shells, rapid-firing machine guns, poison gas, mighty dreadnoughts, stealthy submarines, and airplanes. Nor did they know that it would destroy thousands of young men and transform society.