Birth of Remembrance Day

Sven Bellamy
Features Editor

June 28, 1914 the heir to the throne o

the Austro-Hungarian Empire Archduke i

Francis Ferdinand and his

Sophie are assassinated by Gavrillo—

Princep a 17-year old Bosnian Nationalist
in Sarajevo. Princep takes two
the on-looking crowd as the
drives past and shoots the pri
the head emptying his handgy
zine into the royal couple.
quickly as the assassination
the young extremist is taken i
He tells authorities that he
Serbian terrorist cell called |
Hand. :

Austro-Hungary is furious
war on Serbia. The assassinat
the catalyst for sparking the
humanity has ever experience

Tensions had begun to b
the European superpowers in
century. England and France,
enemies found themselves bo
to survive against rising imp
Germany, Austro-Hungary,
Russia.

During the Franco-Pruss
1870-71, France humiliating
of its provinces, Alsace and
the German armies

sequent decades to reclaiming
ry, but only through alliance:
great powers could it hope to
Germany, a country surround
nations, formed an alliance
Hungary in 1879; a treaty in
country would protect the ba
other. By 1894 France had
entente with Russia, whi
squeeze on Germany, open
chance for a multi-front war.

Great Britain became incr
tated with Germany’s milita
especially in regards to its n
navy. The British became in
arms race to maintain its position in the
world as the naval superpower; the age of
“Rule Britannia” was being directly threat-
ened by the upstart German Kaiser,
Wilhelm II.

Germany was also making aggressive
expansions into Africa, an area tradition-
ally divided up between England, France
and the Dutch. But Wilhelm was looking
for his place in the sun, which threatened
to upset the distribution of power in
Europe.

On the Russian side of the continent,
the Romanov regime attempted to expand

previous

in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and
ao. Britain felt relatively secure that

then two days later, declared war on
France. Germany hoped that Britain
would remain 1 neutral, and German mili-

had followed the advice of Count Alfred
von Schlieffen, who had served as
German military advisor in the late
1890s. The Schlieffen plan involved

launching a surprise attack on France,

invading from the North, through
Belgium and Luxembourg, sweeping
along France’s west coast, circling in
behind Paris and capturing the capital of
France before the French military had
time to rally a defense.

Any hopes that Britain would stay neu-
tral were dashed as soon as the German
armies moved into Belgium. England

till lingered on the lips of old

victories in South Africa, the
, and against Napoleon. lin the
that followed, just outside

ier, Quebec, Canada’s first contin- _
_In Flanders Fields.”

volunteers had been assembled: an

Belgian Coast to the Swiss border. This
line of trenches became what was known
as the Western Front, and remained large-
ly unchanged for the following four years.
Major battles would be fought, from
Verdun, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, the
Battle of Passchendaele and the three
Battles of Ypres. Canadians died alongside
soldiers from many other nations. British,
Anzacs from New Zealand and Australia,
French soldiers, Algerians, and Germans.
The death toll would rise by the end of
the war to 10 million dead or unaccount-
ed for, and another 20 million wounded.

  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 

Of the all the messages

indeed, shared by all

We must work to

selves, to understand ourselves, a

understand why we send off young peo

to die, often on foreign soil, leaving p

ents childless, or rending couples apart,

cutting life short. To understand that ea
one of us shares an intimate link wi
every other living thing.

John McRae, living in the hell that w
the First World War, believed like so ma
others of his generation that they w
fighting a war to end all wars. Those fa
en cannot yet be at rest. We have not
fulfilled their quest—lest we forget.

 

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