The+End+of+the+War

The End of the War
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 In 1917 the balance of war tipped in favour of the Allies. This came as a result of major changes that happened on both the Western Front and the Eastern Front.

 In this unit, you've been learning about the Western Front in Belgium and France, because that's where most Canadians and Newfoundlanders served. But Germany and Austria-Hungary had been battling Russia along the Eastern Front for almost three years. The Russian people were hungry and tired of the war. In 1917, Communist revolutionaries led an uprising in which the ruler, Czar Nicholas, was overthrown. They then surrendered to Germany, to pull Russia out of the war. This ended the battle on the Eastern Front.

 At about the same time, German U-boats sank some American merchant ships under the German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. This led an angered United States to declare war on Germany. To counteract this, Germany quickly moved all troops from the Eastern Front and launched a major offensive in the west. The aim was to win the war before any American troops could land.

1. Explain how Russia and the United States affected German strategy in the last year of the war.

Clare Gass anxiously recorded the news of the German advance: March 24, 1918

 The war news today is very discouraging. Peronne & St Quintan have been captured by the Germans and 25,000 prisoners & 400 guns have been taken. The German seem to be making a desperate effort all along the line. Long distance shelling of towns that have escaped for months has begun in every sector.  The War Diary of Clare Gass, 1915-1918, pp. 190-191

 The Germans were stopped just before Paris. The Allies-led by fresh American soldiers and the reliable Canadians-launched their own offensive to end the long war.

2. What do you think might have happened if the United States hadn't declared war on Germany in 1917? Would Germany still have been defeated? Explain.

 The Hundred Days
 As the front line moved back and forth, Prime Minister Borden thought the war might last until 1920, but the military had different ideas. During what came to be known as the "Hundred Days," in the late summer and fall of 1918, General Arthur Currie led the Canadian army to a stunning string of victories. The gains were great, but the cost was high: 48 000 Canadian casualties, including 9000 dead.

 Allied troops smashed through German defences and captured a wide band of territory across Belgium and France. Entire battalions of hungry and tired German soldiers surrendered as Canada defeated one-quarter of their army. By November, the Allies had pushed the Germans back almost to Germany, and they officially surrendered.

 The Last Shot Fired
 The armistice, the agreement to end the fighting, had been arranged for 11:00 A.M. on November 11, 1918. Canadian soldiers were being careful as they marched into Mons, in Belgium. Their footsteps echoed on the bridge leading into the town. Silently, a sniper levelled his rifle and waited. At 10:55 a single bullet ripped into Private George Price's chest. Five minutes later he died, the last Canadian killed in the Great War.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The war went on in other ways though, some US, Canadian and British forces moved into Russia. They disagreed with Communism and so decided they would try to stop the revolution in Russia militarily. They were unsuccessful though they tried until early 1919.

<span style="background-color: #cfeaea; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3. Besides relief, what other emotions must people have felt after the war was over? What would you have felt?