 | |
| Type | Labour recruitment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1916 |
Key people | Liang Shiyi |
The Huimin Company organized 25 shipments of labourers from China to unload military supplies and handle ammunitions, built barracks and other military facilities, dug trenches, and provided agriculture and forest management during the First World War in France, as part of the Chinese Labour Corps. [1]
The initial proposal to send Chinese labourers came from government minister Liang Shiyi in early June 1915. [2] The recruitment process was initiated in 1916 in London, to create the Chinese Labour Corps, a group of Chinese labourers to assist in France. [3] The Huimin contract with the French government was signed on 14 May 1916, in Beijing. [4] It was agreed to send 50,000 labourers. [3] 1,698 labourers first departed from Tianjin for Dagu and Marseilles on 12 July 1916. [2] [3] Under the control of Shiyi, it was largely state-run. [5]
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million: estimates range from around 15 to 22 million deaths and about 23 million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history.
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division subsequently fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, with a newly raised second division, as well as three light horse brigades, reinforcing the committed units.
The Battle of Loos took place from 25 September to 8 October 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. The French and British tried to break through the German defences in Artois and Champagne and restore a war of movement. Despite improved methods, more ammunition and better equipment, the Franco-British attacks were largely contained by the Germans, except for local losses of ground. The British gas attack failed to neutralize the defenders and the artillery bombardment was too short to destroy the barbed wire or machine gun nests. German tactical defensive proficiency was still dramatically superior to the British offensive planning and doctrine, resulting in a British defeat.
The 48th Division was an infantry division of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Force (TF) and raised in 1908, the division was originally called the South Midland Division, and was redesignated as the 48th Division in 1915. During the First World War, the division saw service on the Western Front before being transferred to the Italian Front in November 1917 and remaining there for the rest of the war.
The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division. The division subsequently fought at Ypres on the Western Front, with a newly raised second division reinforcing the committed units to form the Canadian Corps. The CEF and corps was eventually expanded to four infantry divisions, which were all committed to the fighting in France and Belgium along the Western Front. A fifth division was partially raised in 1917, but was broken up in 1918 and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties.
The United Kingdom was a leading Allied Power during the First World War of 1914–1918. They fought against the Central Powers, mainly Germany. The armed forces were greatly expanded and reorganised—the war marked the founding of the Royal Air Force. The highly controversial introduction, in January 1916, of conscription for the first time in British history followed the raising of one of the largest all-volunteer armies in history, known as Kitchener's Army, of more than 2,000,000 men. The outbreak of war was a socially unifying event. Enthusiasm was widespread in 1914, and was similar to that across Europe.
The Allies, or the Entente Powers, were an international military coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, Italy, and Japan against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria in World War I (1914–1918).
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and possibly Lille. A French assault at Vimy Ridge on the Artois plateau was also planned to threaten the road, rail and canal junctions at La Bassée from the south as the British attacked from the north. The British attackers broke through German defences in a salient at the village of Neuve-Chapelle but the success could not be exploited.
The military history of Canada during World War I began on August 4, 1914, when the United Kingdom entered the First World War (1914–1918) by declaring war on Germany. The British declaration of war automatically brought Canada into the war, because of Canada's legal status as a British Dominion which left foreign policy decisions in the hands of the British parliament. However, the Canadian government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement in the war. On August 4, 1914, the Governor General declared a war between Canada and Germany. The Militia was not mobilized and instead an independent Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised.
The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force (SAOEF) was a volunteer military organisation in World War I.
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The Chinese Labour Corps was a force of workers recruited by the British government in the First World War to free troops for front line duty by performing support work and manual labour. The French government also recruited a significant number of Chinese labourers, and although those labourers working for the French were recruited separately and not part of the CLC, the term is often used to encompass both groups. In all, some 140,000 men served for both British and French forces before the war ended and most of the men were repatriated to China between 1918 and 1920.
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China participated in World War I from 1917 to 1918 in an alliance with the Entente Powers. Although China never sent troops overseas, 140,000 Chinese labourers served for both British and French forces before the end of the war. While neutral since 1914, Duan Qirui, Premier of the Republic of China, spearheaded Chinese involvement in World War I. Duan wanted to integrate China with Europe and the United States by declaring on the side of the Allies against the Central Powers. On 14 August 1917, China ended its neutrality, declaring war on the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Indian Labour Corps was a force of workers recruited from the British Raj during World War I. Recruitment began on a voluntary basis in 1915, but by 1917 the British Government was requiring that localities provide quotas of men. The corps undertook construction duties around the world during the war with the workers frequently enduring difficult conditions. It was disbanded in 1921.
Bryan Charles Fairfax was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
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