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Proof That Kaiser Sanctioned Sinking of Lusitania (3 August 1915)

By August of 1915, Canadians were becoming more and more interested in the possibility of the USA entering the war on the side of the Entente. The war was becoming largely a contest of manpower, and the added contributions of a massive country like the US would inevitably tip the balance in the favour of whichever side it joined. The sinking of the Lusitania by a German submarine, therefore, was still often discussed as a possible cause for war, even three months after the event. This short article from August 3, 1915 in the Berlin Daily Telegraph claims the existence of a letter written by the Kaiser himself  “proves” he had personally approved of the attack on the Lusitania before it occurred.

Stories like this one appeared often in the local papers, which continuously tried to judge whether US intervention might happen and when. By the end of August, after the sinking of the HMS Arabic – which again held American passengers – reports about the US officially denouncing Germany further intensified.

Berlin Daily Telegraph, July 22, July 24, August 3, August 20, August 24, 1915.

 

Proof Kaiser Sanctioned

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Snobbishness Dies (11 August 1915)

There is nothing like a war to make people see what is really important. That was the silver lining offered by the Berlin Daily Telegraph on August 11,1915. According to this article, “snobbishness” among the community was declining due to the hardships and sense of perspective brought by the war. People would have to suffer emotionally and financially for many years as a result of the country’s war effort, but this suffering would bring maturity to the younger generation. Perhaps they would take the lessons taught by these hard times and avoid the mistakes of their predecessors.

Berlin Daily Telegraph, August 11, 1915.

 

Snobbishness Dies

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Anniversary (12 August 1915)

After one full year of fighting, the progress of the war was still hard to judge. The anniversary of the beginning of hostilities inspired a number of summaries, reports, and projections about what had so far been achieved and what the future might bring. This chart recording military casualties, provided by the French Ministry of War, was printed in the Elmira Signet on August 12, 1915. Although the numbers given here are inaccurate (German and Austro-Hungarian losses were in fact much lower than this list shows), they were probably the best source that residents of Waterloo County had concerning the overall human cost of the war. Projections of the war’s eventual outcome were becoming less optimistic to those faced with these numbers. One article from the Signet began fretting about what would happen to the British Empire if the Entente lost the war – an outcome that was starting to seem like a possibility.

Elmira Signet, August 12, 1915.

 

Anniversary (French Official Losses)

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Bulgaria and Romania (12 August 1915)

With the stalemate continuing on the western front and tense uncertainty about who held the overall advantage, everyone was eager to encourage new allies to join their side. Countries like Romania and Bulgaria had motives for entering the war, but were cautious about choosing which alliance to join, thus creating competition between the Entente and the Central Powers for their loyalty. On August 12, 1915, the Ayr News suggested that the Crown Prince of Servia was regrettably a hindrance to the recruitment of Bulgaria, which coveted parts of Servian territory inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians. In order to secure Bulgaria as an ally, which the article is convinced would quickly end the war, the Prince of Servia would have to agree to forfeit control over part of his own country. In other words, one ally within the Entente would have to be betrayed in order to secure another.

Ayr News, August 12, 1915.

 

Bulgaria:Romania Map1

Bulgaria:Romania Prince of Serbia

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Canadian Innocence (12 August 1915)

Prior to the First World War, not all Canadians saw their country as a militant nation, and for good reason. Before 1914, Canada did not have a particularly strong military history. The United States had been Canada’s only potential enemy and it was considered much wiser to appease them diplomatically than to try to intimidate them with a show of arms. Even though many people in Canada celebrated the outbreak of war, a quieter section of the population was less enthusiastic about the prospect of getting involved. The author of this article from the Elmira Signet, writing shortly after the one-year anniversary of the war, lamented a certain loss of innocence that had been forced upon Canada by the necessity to take up arms and keep the expansionist German Empire “at bay.” The author hoped that Canadian militancy would subside after the war, but feared that the next generation might never experience what it meant to live without an enemy.

Elmira Signet, August 12, 1915.

Morton, Desmond. A Military History of Canada. Toronto: McClelland and Stuewart, 93, 117.

 

Canadian Innocence

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Fall of Warsaw (12 August 1915)

With stalemate the most common news from the western front in 1915, Canadians looked for reassurance from their powerful ally in the east. The mobility of armies that still existed in the east meant there was more opportunity for rapid progress. Unfortunately for Waterloo residents, the news coming from this campaign was becoming ever more dire. Although Canadians were told that the Russians fought with great valour, their armies still relied too heavily on numbers rather than modern weaponry. The eastern campaign had become one of steady Russian retreat.

On August 12, the Ayr News reported disaster on the eastern front. Warsaw, the third largest city in the Russian Empire, had fallen to the Germans and the Russian army was forced to withdraw behind the Vistula River, destroying the bridges behind them as they crossed. Although undoubtedly a serious setback to the Entente, area residents were not ready to give up on their Russian allies. Even as they retreated from the ‘jewel of Poland,’ the Ayr News applauded the Russians’ “steadiness” and “fierce counter-attacks” that allowed their safe retreat to higher ground, from which they would renew their efforts against the enemy.

Berlin Daily Telegraph, July 31, 1915.

Ayr News, August 12, 1915.

Warsaw (Germans in Poland)

Warsaw (Russians Lose Polish Capital)

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Conscription Necessary (18 August 1915)

In 1915, Canadians were still enlisting voluntarily at a high enough rate to maintain their units overseas, so conscription was not yet a serious topic of discussion. However, Canadians still took note when the United Kingdom began to debate the issue, as reported in this article reprinted from a London newspaper. The issue was particularly concerning in a region like Waterloo where enlistment rates had been lower than national averages because of its large German population. As in the UK, young men in Canada who would not enlist were demeaningly referred to as “slackers” and sometimes harassed when in public. For the time being, however, enlistment was high enough throughout Canada that nobody would need to be legally forced into the service.

Berlin Daily Telegraph August 18, 1915.

English, Kitchener, 109.

 

Conscription

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Berliner Journal Should Make Amends (19 August 1915)

Although the Berliner Journal generally avoided harassment from other papers about its own content, the editors at the Journal still needed to be careful not to appear too sympathetic to Germany during the war. In early August, the Berliner Journal printed an anniversary piece summarizing the first year of the war, just as all of the other local papers had. Later in the month, however, the Telegraph printed this article from the London Advertiser condemning the Journal for being inflammatory. The full article went on to claim that such mischievous journalism could only serve to “cast suspicion on thousands of loyal Germans” who otherwise would be undisturbed. For the coming year, it was suggested that the Journal take more care to commend the triumphs and cause of the British, rather than focus on the German perspective. Considering the article in question was printed shortly after the death of one of the Journal’s main editors, John Rittinger, one wonders if the loss of his voice at the German newspaper was already affecting its ability to function in the awkward situation that the war had created.

Berlin Daily Telegraph, August 19, 1915.

 

Should Make Amends

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British Troops Now Hold 100 Miles at the Front (22 August 1915)

By late August, the Waterloo Chronicle was pleased to announce that the British army, including units from the Dominion of Canada, maintained 800,000 soldiers on active duty in France, which was enough men to defend 100 miles of the western front line. Not only that, but training programs had improved to a point where new trainees were of sufficient quality to be useful in the trenches immediately upon their arrival on the continent. This news surely elicited pride in many local readers with family members in the service.

Waterloo Chronicle, August 22, 1915.

 

100 Miles

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Heligoland

Heligoland was a small island in the North Sea, roughly three hours off the northern coast of Germany. Formerly under the control of the British Empire, Heligoland was traded to the Germans for the African island of Zanzibar in the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890. The trade was made because Germany felt threatened by a foreign power owning such a militarily strategic island just off of its own shores.