While this article does not give graphic details of the war, it does give a glimpse into how quickly battles could cost lives. Ottawa released the numbers of dead, wounded, and missing for the Battle of Ypres from April 22 to 30: 705 dead, 2,162 wounded, and 2,530 missing.
“Official Statement Given Out at Ottawa says Canadian Casualties from April 22 to 30 are nearly 6,000,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, May 5, 1915.
The first time the Cunard vessel Royal Mail Ship Lusitania, a British passenger ship, made the news in 1915 was on February 11. The sh
ip had crossed the Atlantic flying an American flag rather than the Union Jack. The Captain made the decision to protect his neutral passengers after receiving word that German submarines were active near Ireland. According to the British Foreign Office, this act was not sanctioned by the British government. After this incident the Lusitania flew the Union Jack.
Sadly, the ship made headlines again when it was torpedoed by the Germans on May 7, 1915 off the coast of Ireland. The sinking dominated newspapers during May and into June 1915. At first, it was reported that the ship took about twelve hours to sink and crew and passengers had been rescued. The RMS Mauretania, owned by the same company, was set to sail on May 29 but its voyage was quickly cancelled.
The sinking turned out to be a larger disaster than originally expected as by May 13, it was known the Lusitania was fired upon with no warning, sunk within thirty-five minutes, and over thirteen hundred people had lost their lives.
Interestingly, during this period, travelers had been warned via newspapers that a war was being fought and any ship in the Atlantic Ocean under a British flag was liable to be fired upon and sunk; therefore passengers were traveling at their own risk. But there was also reason to believe the ship would not be in any danger: the Lusitania carried many neutral American citizens, and no soldiers, masked guns, gunners, or special ammunition were being transported other than a few cases of cartridges. (Germany justified the sinking by claiming the ship carried military personnel and.) Finally, the ship held the transatlantic Blue Riband award for speed, leading some to believe that even if the ship was fired upon, it could outrun the torpedoes. As Maritime Law states that in times of war, merchant ships are to be given a warning before being fired upon, it might have theoretically been able to outrun the torpedoes. The Lusitania was given no such warning.
This devastation would be reported on throughout May and into June, and was used to demonize the Germans. A good example of this was seen on June 2, 1915, when the Berlin Daily Telegraph reprinted a story from the Toronto Globe about how the “baby killers” must have been disappointed that their recent zeppelin bombings in London had only killed one infant. It was also learned by June 4, that the Lusitania had been carrying eighty-two bags of mail, all now lost at sea. At the Roma, a local theatre, the planned program for June 3, included showing pictures of the Lusitania up to her sinking.
“At the Grave of the Lusitania Dead,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 2, 1915.
“At the Roma,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 3, 1915.
Bruno S. Frey, et al,., “Interactions of Natural Survival Instincts and Internalized Social Norms Exploring the Titanic and Lusitania Disasters,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 107, no. 11 (2010): 4862-4865.
“Hoisted American Flag,” Ayr News, February 11, 1915.
Image of the Lusitania, Ayr News, May 13, 1915.
“Only One Infant killed,: Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 2, 1915.
“Sailing of the Mauretania is cancelled,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, May 11, 1915.
“The “Lusitania” Mails,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 4, 1915.
As it was believed the First World War would not last very long, it is not surprising to see articles claiming the war would soon be over and the Germans were showing signs of defeat. Such an article appeared on May 8, 1915. On May 7, 1915, General Sam Hughes claimed that the radical actions of the Germans – the use of poisonous gas, rushing their newly trained troops to the front, and their submarine warfare on merchant ships, the Lusitania only being the latest casualty – combined with the British and all her armies holding their ground, indicated that the German army was close to collapse. These radical claims were mainly about influencing Italy, which was on the brink of joining the war, but Hughes believed these actions 
also meant that Germany was on the brink of collapse. Similar claims re-appeared on May 31, when a short article claimed the Germans had used all their strength during the second battle of Ypres, but failed to win the battle. Therefore, the Germans knew the Entente was stronger. The strength of the Entente would be a recurring theme that could sometimes be summed up by a single image in the newspaper.
“Heroic Stand at Ypres has Shortened the War,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, May 31, 1915.
“Indicates that the Germans are in the First Stages of Collapse,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, May 8, 1915.
Image – “Plowing the Sands; or, Hate’s Labour Lost,” Ayr News, May 31, 1915.
Throughout May it became clear that Italy would soon be joining the war. Until late May 1915, Italy had been neutral, but it gradually became clear that Italy could not avoid the war. By early May, the citizens in Rome knew it was only a matter of days until they either declared war or had war declared against them.
“Italy on the Brink of War,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, May 11, 1915.
Censorship in the First World War varied and became more intense as the war continued. This article, however, is still surprising. A Canadian prisoner of war being held in Giessen claimed that he and some others had surrendered after being heavily fired upon for two days and nights by rifles, machine guns, and shells. This soldier himself had bullets go through his sack and cap. While he hoped that those at home would understand why they surrendered and not be disgraced by their actions, they were being treated well. Their prison was very clean and they were well fed, receiving three meals per day, including bread and coffee for breakfast and vegetable soup for dinner and supper and they could buy butter and sardines. The soldier claimed in regards to cleanliness and comfort, they were better off in the prison than at Salisbury Plain. The experiences of this Canadian soldier and British officer C.B. Vandaleur stand in stark contrast to each other.
“Canadian Prisoners of War are Well Treated,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, May 27, 1915.
Portrayals of German soldiers were usually not favourable in English language newspapers, as is clear by this image printed by the Berlin Daily Telegraph. While the image and text is used to evoke fear and distrust in the reader, it also demonstrates how the First World War was changing the way Western countries fought and the equipment used. Before the war, Germany had the strongest chemical dye industry in the world and when the war started, it turned into a war industry. Initially, Germany was hesitant about using the gas as many of the soldiers and Generals did not like the idea of gassing soldiers as if they were insects. As the war continued, the German high command became desperate and at the Battle of Ypres, the Duke of Wurttemberg decided to use the poisonous gas.
“The Scientific Barbarian,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 10, 1915.
Tim Cook, At the Sharp End: Canadians Fighting the Great War, 1914-1916 Volume 1 (Toronto: Viking Canada, 2007).
According to this announcement, Canada would soon have two complete military divisions, comprising 60,000 men at the front. In addition, there were two divisions training in Canada that would soon be sent to the front as well. One hundred doctors would also be sent to Britain or France in response to a request made by the War Office for additional medical aid. Once the new Canadian divisions were sent to the front, Canada would have about 300 doctors and 450 nurses in hospitals in England or France.
“Canadian Reinforcements,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 10, 1915.
A dispatch from Berlin, sent through Amsterdam, claimed that the German Kaiser went to the Western Front to a neighbourhood where many Germans had lost their lives. According to the dispatch, the Kaiser got off his horse and knelt on the ground and offered a prayer. As he rose, he proclaimed, “Oh God, I did not want this war.”
“”I Did Not Want This War,” Says Kaiser,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 29, 1915.
According to this article, Germany was beginning to realize that they would not be able to conquer the sea using submarine warfare. These claims were based on the fact that German newspapers were no longer boasting about the military and naval power of Germany. Combined with the growth of the British navy, German critics were realizing that submarines would not dominate maritime warfare as they had planned.
“German Critics Beginning to Realize that their Submarines are not likely to Conquer the Sea,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, June 30, 1915.
At the outbreak of war, most believed that it would be over quite quickly. After almost a year of fighting, however, people were beginning to understand the impressive strength of the German army. Even though it was fighting a war in the east and the west at the same time, Germany did not seem to be wavering in terms of its manpower or resolve. In the summer of 1915, articles like this one which grudgingly admitted that the Germans had been underestimated began appearing. Others reported rumours that, despite the British naval blockade, Germany was manufacturing 250,000 artillery shells every day! The authors concluded that even though the Entente benefited from a significant advantage in manpower, it needed to begin producing more weapons and using its resources more efficiently. With the modern weapons used in this war, manpower was simply not enough to guarantee victory.
Berlin Daily Telegraph, July 13, 1915.
Elmira Signet, July 22, 29, 1915.
