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During the World wars and Interwar Years Canada experienced economic gain, more freedom for women and new technological advancements. ==World War I== On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated, setting off a chain of events leading to World War I. At the time, Canadians were more concerned with events within their own country than European affairs, specifically in the Balkans where crises and wars had been brutal perennials for generations. The summer of 1914 brought a second year of drought turning wheat fields into parched deserts while the two new transcontinental railways the Grand Trunk Pacific and the Canadian Northern fell further into debt, sending the thousands of men who had helped build them into unemployment. Canada was facing its worst depression since the 1890s. Canadians hoped the Great Powers of Europe could keep the peace as they had done many times before in earlier disputes of the century. Besides, so far Britain had no reason to join in the squabble forming on the main continent, leaving no obligation for Canada to join if war did break out between Russia, France, Germany and Austria-Hungary. News of war did not make a stir in Canada until Germany invaded Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan, and the British delivered an ultimatum to Kaiser Wilhelm: withdraw from Belgium by August 4 or Britain would be at a state of war with Germany. On July 29, 1914, Britain warned its colonies to take precautions in case of war. Most recent wars had begun with surprise attacks such as the Russo-Japanese War. Soldiers and Canada's few sailors manned Halifax fortifications and brought guns to command the St. Lawrence river. In Victoria, British Columbia Premier Richard McBride signed a cheque for $1,150,000 and bought two submarines from a Seattle shipyard, so at least British Columbia's coast was not completely defenceless. On August 2 armed militia mounted guard on bridges, canals, tunnels and railway stations in preparation. In Ottawa, the Minister of Militia, Colonel Sam Hughes, had dreamed for years of leading Canadians to war and had for a long time preached and prepared for war with Germany and now had only to wait on London to make the first move, much to his irritation, but was persuaded by the octogenarian quartermaster general Major-General Donald Alexander Macdonald to be patient. On August 4 8:55 P.M., Canada got the news and Hughes was ecstatic: Britain was at war with Germany. Canada was then automatically at war, as she did not yet have control over her foreign policy — not that there were many dissenters.〔Roger Graham, "Through the First World War," in ''The Canadians, 1867-1967'', eds. J.M.S. Careless and Robert Craig Brown (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1967), 178.〕 The war was initially popular even among French Canadians, including Henri Bourassa, who historically looked afoul at the British Empire. Liberal leader Wilfrid Laurier created a 'party truce' for as long as Canada was in danger and had those dissenters in the liberal caucus hold their tongues. When asked what Canada 'must do' by the press, Laurier responded ''"When the call comes, our answer goes at once, and it goes in the classical language of the British answer to the call of duty, 'Ready, aye, ready!'"'' Prime Minister Robert Borden called a meeting of Parliament on August 18, and without division of significant debate, MPs approved an overseas contingent of 25,000 men with Canada bearing the full cost: a war appropriation of $50 million and a Canadian Patriotic Fund to support the families of men who would fight in Europe. The Cabinet spent many hours trying to devise adequate emergency legislation, resulting in the War Measures Act, decreeing the Cabinet would have the authority to do whatever it deemed necessary for the security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada. In no way was Canada prepared for this scale of war. Its economy could not support it for more than a few months before being hit hard by its cost, as was with other participants. No one expected it to last longer than a few months though, many claiming it would be over by Christmas. Mass recruiting for the war effort began on August 6 with hundreds of telegrams notifying Militia colonel to begin recruiting men between the ages of 18 and 45. Hordes of British immigrants and the unemployed answered the call. Ontario, hard hit by the depression, accounted for third of the recruits, while two thirds of the recruits were British born. Few recruits came from the Maritimes and just over 1,000 were French. The cities of Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal sent enough men each for two battalions. By September 4 there were 32,000 men and 8,000 horses in camp, far more than had been expected. There was an immediate demand for equipment, uniforms and weapons. The Ross Rifle Company worked overtime as did the textile mills and clothing factories. With a force of 32,000 equipped and ready, it soon became apparent that Embarkation from the docks would be a nightmare. Extra ships had to be chartered to carry the additional men. Battalions were marched on to ships only to be marched back off when they didn't fit. Units ignored orders and schedules and crowded the docks not wishing to wait. When it was all done, the last of 30 ships had cleared the harbour, leaving 863 horses, 4,512 tons of baggage, vehicles and ammunition behind, for which another ship had to be called in to pick up. The first Canadian casualties of the war occurred before these troops arrived in Europe. Sir Christopher Cradock's squadron was sunk at the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile, claiming four midshipmen who became Canada's first war dead. By the time that the First Contingent reached England on October 14 it became apparent the war would not be over by Christmas. Germany's initial rapid successes in Belgium and France had come to halt and both sides were starting to dig into their positions. Canadians fought at Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele, and other important battles, originally under British command, but eventually under a unified Canadian command. From a Canadian point of view the most important battle of the war was the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, during which Canadian troops captured a fortified German hill that had eluded both the British and French. Vimy, as well as the success of the Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop, helped give Canada a new sense of identity. With mounting costs at home, Sir Thomas White introduced the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure. The lowest bracket was 4% and highest was 25%. More than 670,000 Canadians served in the war. Of these, more than 60,000 died and more than 155,000 were wounded. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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