Lesson 1 - "Witnessing History" Video Viewing Activity Answer Sheet, Canada and the Great War 1914 - 1918: A Nation Born

1. What were some major battles in which Canadians fought in the First World War?
   The Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Vimy Ridge, Battle of Passchendaele, Battle of Amiens, the battles during “Canada’s Hundred Days” at the end of the war.
   
   
2. What was the deadly new weapon that the Germans unleashed on Canadians at the Battle of Ypres? How did the Canadians resist and stop the attack?
   The Germans first used poisonous chlorine gas at the Battle of Ypres in 1915. The Canadians hung on by using urine-soaked handkerchiefs as filters over their mouths and noses to stay alive and turn back the enemy attack.
   
   
3. What sort of hardships did the soldiers who lived in the trenches have to endure?
   They were constantly dirty; the mud was unavoidable; soldiers’ feet were often wet and diseased; rats were everywhere, as were fleas and lice.
   
   
4. What year did the Battle of the Somme take place? How did the battle proceed?
   The Battle of the Somme took place in 1916. It started with a huge Allied artillery bombardment then the soldiers went over the top and marched toward the German trenches. The Germans had hidden from the bombardment in deep dugouts, however, and emerged to mow the attackers down with machine guns and artillery fire. It was a slaughter with almost 60,000 British casualties on the first day of the battle.
   
   
5. Which regiment serving with the British was decimated at Beaumont-Hamel on the first day of the Battle of the Somme?
   The 1^st Newfoundland Regiment was decimated during the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel.
   
   
6. How did the Canadians prepare for the Battle of Vimy Ridge? What was the outcome?
   The Canadians trained extensively far in advance of the battle and built trenches, tunnels, roads and light rail lines. Every soldier knew what they were supposed to do and the men were issued maps. The Canadians captured most of the ridge in a matter of hours.
   
   
7. Why was Conscription so controversial?
   Some people felt that supporting the war overseas was all-important, while some felt that Canada was foolish to send our men to die in a war so far away. This difference in opinion caused much tension between English and French Canada.
   
   
8. What new right were some Canadian women granted during the First World War? What was the underlying political reason they were given this right?
   The wives, mothers and sisters of men serving in the war were granted the right to vote in federal elections. The government of the day wanted voters to support conscription and it was felt that women with relatives fighting in the war would support this measure.