Desperate Glory: The Story of WWI by John Wilson

Author:John Wilson [Wilson, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Europe, Canada, Juvenile Nonfiction, Post-Confederation (1867-), General, Military & Wars, History
ISBN: 9781459726260
Google: BIc7AgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2008-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

General Brusilov

Future Canadian prime minister Lester B. Pearson served at Salonika, Greece in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. This picture was taken in 1916. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 and was elected prime minister in 1963.

Total War

In 1917, the First World War became a total war. No one expected quick victory any longer, so the resources of entire nations became dedicated to slogging it out until one side broke. Russia collapsed into revolution and the French army into mutiny. By the end of the year, Britain was the only one of the Allies capable of launching a major offensive, but there was a new player on the horizon.

The British navy blockaded Germany, preventing supplies reaching it, so the Germans tried to do the same to Britain using a new weapon, the submarine. At various times, Germany launched campaigns of unrestricted submarine warfare, which meant that any ship carrying supplies to Britain could be sunk without warning.

When the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland, the British newspapers screamed about how barbaric it was to sink a passenger liner. It was only after the war that it was discovered that the Lusitania was carrying ammunition for Britain. It was probably also loaded with explosives, which blew up after the torpedo struck and caused the ship to sink in only eighteen minutes. It was illegal to carry explosives on passenger ships, so they were not listed among the vessel’s cargo, but a very large amount of cheese was put on the list. However, the Lusitania had no refrigeration, and so could not carry cheese across the Atlantic.

The presence of explosives and ammunition made the Lusitania a legitimate war target for the submarine, but no one said that at the time.

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