Introduction:

In every way, World War I was the most tragic episode in Canadian history.  This was due largely to the Canadian government's decision to make a huge commitment to the war - over 660,000 Canadians enlisted out of a population of just over 7.5 million, a participation rate nearing 10%. Secondly, largely due to the incredible stupidity of military "tactics" which saw, in battle after battle, hundreds of thousands of soldiers sent "over the top" to cross no-man's-lands of quagmire mud or snarled barbed wire, in the face of heavy machine gun fire or even artillery barrages, the casualty rates were horrendous. Some 66,655 Canadians died, over 175,00 received physical wounds - a casualty rate of 37% of those enlisted. 

There are no statistics, though, that account for the loss of that spirit of optimism and altruism, and that excitement over progress, which many in pre-War Canada believed was literally moving mankind toward a paradise on Earth.  It was not just the quantity of the loss but the quality of the loss.  So many died who would have imbued their families, and their businesses, and their communities, with the higher values of human life.  Of the University of Alberta Class of 1914, for example, 80% enlisted and 60% of those were casualties.

In this lecture we will attempt to go beyond the "who, what, where" to consider the "why" and the "so what" questions concerning Canada's involvement in "The Great War."