Canadian Tommy INTRODUCTION HILL 70 15 25 August

Canadian “Tommy”

INTRODUCTION HILL 70 15 - 25 August 1917

HILL 70 CONTEXT CURRIE THE BATTLE THE RESULTS NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE THE HILL 70 MEMORIAL PROJECT QUESTIONS

HILL 70 CONTEXT

CONTEXT – OPERATIONAL LVL • Between the success of VIMY (Battle of Arras) and the insanity of PASSCHENDAELE (3 rd Battle of Ypres). Morale is still high. • New Canadian Corps Commander (Go Canada!). • Field Marshal Haig insists on a breakthrough at Ypres commencing July 1917; needs a diversion at LENS.

Hill 70

Hill 70 From Vimy

Vimy From Hill 70

CONTEXT - TACTICAL LVL • British had fought and withdrew in Sept 1915. • Germans not inclined to leave…important rail junctions and coal still available. • LENS was a built up area now laying in ruins. Really difficult going through the formerly built up areas…rubble, cellars, sophisticated trench networks.

FIRST BATTLE of LOOS-1915 Kipling Loses His Son NOTE: Coal Lift Towers

HILL 70 LT GEN SIR ARTHUR CURRIE

HIS TRAITS • Meticulous planner • Excellent tactician • Studied results of 1916 misery on the SOMME • Applied lessons learned • Innovative • Not well-loved by troops • Valued the troops • Courage to challenge his superiors

MORE CLEVER THAN MOST

Corps Commander’s Recce • Currie did his own recce. • A frontal assault on LENS was foolish. • Currie regarded control of either Hill 70 or Sallaumines Hill as tactically more important than control of the city of Lens – Currie persuaded General Henry Horne, British First Army Commander, to take Hill 70, not the city of Lens, the main objective of the limited offensive. Currie believed that the advantageous observational position of Hill 70 would permit well directed artillery to effectively deal with the expected counterattacks.

HILL 70 THE BATTLE

MARCHIN’ IN-STRAGGLIN’ OUT

THE BATTLE - MISSION • Termed a “small operation” of World War I between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German Sixth Army, the mission of First Canadian Corps: – To conduct a diversionary attack on LENS in order to FIX the German Sixth Army so that it cannot participate in the 3 rd Battle of YPRES

THE BATTLE – COMMANDER’S INTENT The Canadian Corps will execute a limited operation to quickly occupy the high ground at Hill 70, establish defensive positions, and utilizing combined small arms and artillery fire, repel German counterattacks to inflict as many casualties as possible. The defence against the expected German counter attacks termed “killing by artillery”. Currie – “pay the price of victory with shells not human sacrifice”

THE BATTLE – CONCEPT of OPS • THREE DIVISIONS UP. ONE IN RESERVE. • 4 TH DIVISION FEINT IN SOUTH. 1 ST AND 2 ND ATTACK NORTH AND CENTRE. • FOUR BRIGADES ATTACK. 10 BATTALIONS ASSAULT. • BATTALIONS LEAPFROG TO GREEN LINE. • MACHINE GUN STRONGPOINTS. 1 MG/25 INFANTEERS. • OBSERVATION FORWARD. REDUNDANT COMMS TO THE GUNS. • EVERYONE DIG LIKE HELL. PROTECTED RESUPPLY TRENCHES. • REPEL COUNTER-ATTACKS - KILLING BY ARTILLERY.

Machine Gun Strongpoints • Lewis and Vickers - 240

THE BATTLE – INNOVATIONS • • EMPHASIS ON COUNTER BATTERY FIRE EARLY IMPROVED ROLLING ARTILLERY BARRAGE GASOLINE SMOKE SCREEN AIR AND ARTILLERY OBSERVERS CONNECTED TO GUNS BY WIRELESS

Rolling Barrage

THE BATTLE - PREPARATIONS • Roads, Rails and Tramways • Logistics resupply and main armaments repair • Rehearsals - troops were rotated through the reserve area to conduct training and rehearsals in preparation for the assault • Protected tunnels forward – names inscribed • Raids, bombardment and gas attacks – special companies of the artillery and RE augmented the regular level of harassment by firing/releasing a total of 3, 500 chlorine gas drums and 900 gas shells into Lens – artillery neutralized 40 out of an estimated 102 enemy batteries in the area

THE BATTLE-PREPARED FOR GAS

THE BATTLE – JUMPING OFF • 4: 25 AM, 15 August. Royal Engineers fired drums of burning oil into the suburb of Cite St. Elisabeth and at other selected targets in order to supplement the rolling artillery barrage and build up a smoke-screen • Right flank, the 12 th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4 th Canadian Division executed the diversionary operation, drawing German retaliatory fire away from the main operation. Fake tanks in deception plan.

THE BATTLE – RESULTS 15/18 Aug • BLUE Line taken within 20 minutes • GREEN Line taken within 2 hours less Chalk Quarry • Germans began using their immediate reserves to mount local counterattacks • Over the following three days, the Germans executed no less than 21 counterattacks against Canadian positions…all repulsed • The Germans also began to use poison gas in earnest, including the blistering agent sulphur mustard.

THE BATTLE – RESULTS 21 -25 Aug • 2 nd and 4 th Canadian Divisions attack LENS directly on 21 August. Keep 6 th Army “fixed”. • The initial attack proved to be a miserable failure with the majority of the attackers being killed, wounded or taken prisoner • Finally took Green Crassier and all other 21 Aug objectives by 25 Aug.

21 – 25 AUGUST 1917

THE BATTLE – THE GLORY • Six Victoria Crosses (“only” 4 at Vimy) • In 10 th Battalion (Calgary Highlanders) alone: – 1 x VC (Pte Harry Brown) – 3 x DSOs – 10 x MCs – 60 x MMs (a Canadian record)

Hill 70 Victoria Crosses • Pte Michael James O’Rourke (7 th Bn) • Pte Harry Brown (10 th Bn) • Sgt Frederick Hobson (20 th Bn) • Maj Okill Massey Learmonth (2 nd Bn) • CSM Robert Hill Hanna (29 th Bn) • Cpl Filip Konowal (47 th Bn)

THE BATTLE – THE SACRIFICE • • • Approximately 9, 200 Canadian casualties 3, 150 killed 6, 050 wounded, missing, captured Compared to Vimy - 11, 297 Canadian casualties Currie – “…a great and wonderful victory”. Haig – “one of the finest minor operations of the war”.

HILL 70 NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

JAM – Just Another Memorial? • Hill 70 was: – – A Canadian victory top to bottom; Hard won with 6 VCs; A step from Colony to Country; A seat at Versailles. • Currie considered for promotion to Field Marshal. • Respect for Canadian military capability reinforced in spades (pun intended). • Hill 70 Memorial Project Team will provide what the Government missed in 1922.

HILL 70 THE HILL 70 MEMORIAL PROJECT

Project Objective • The objective of this project is to erect a suitable memorial to the soldiers of the Canadian Corps on Hill 70 in time for the 100 th anniversary of this historic and significant victory. • Pomp and circumstance – memorial to be dedicated in the presence of 100 man guard and bands. Guests warmly invited.

HILL 70 PROJECT TEAM DIRECTOR – MARK HUTCHINGS ARCHITECTS - TIM MURRAY, SARAH MURRAY PROJECT MANAGERS- DOUG GREEN, WARREN EVERETT MEDIA RELATIONS- BILL NEILL FUNDRAISER- ROB BAXTER HISTORIAN- MIKE MCNORGAN CEREMONIAL – JOHN RODERICK EDUCATORS - JOHN SCOTT COWAN, SUSAN EVERETT ENGINEER - DON KENNEDY ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT – WSP London and Paris LAWYER- ED BRADLEY QC, CROWN ATTORNEY

Hill 70 Memorial Site

SLAG RAMP

Aerial View – Memorial Site

Monument Design Concept

HILL 70 MORE THAN A MONUMENT A BOOK MINTED COIN SERIES STAMP VC PARK WALL OF PARTICIPATING UNITS AND BRANCHES LEGACY BURSARIES WEBSITE LINK HILL 70 TO THE MAPLE LEAF MEMORIAL TRAIL?

HILL 70 PROJECT SCHEDULE 2014 - OPEN CRA CHARITY, INVESTMENT ACCOUNT, ETC 2013 -2014 - GAIN FRENCH GOVERNEMTN SUPPORT (proceeding well) 2013 -2014 - GAIN CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORT (proceeding well) MAY 2014 – SELECT/ACQUIRE EXACT SITE (awaiting MOU from City of LOOS) JUNE 2014 – PROVIDE LANDSCAPE and MONUMENT DESIGN FINAL (proceeding well) 2014 – 2015 - ENGR TESTS ( agreement with WSP proceeding well) 2014 – 2017 - COORD WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES (roger, so far) 2016 - BUILD MONUMENT APRIL 2017 - OPENING CEREMONIES 2017 - HANDOVER TO CWGC or APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY

BRANCH CONTRIBUTIONS

QUESTIONS? HILL 70 15 - 25 August 1917

CWGC CEMETERY LOOS 200 meters from the Memorial Plaza

HILL 70 – 15 to 18 August 1917

there was a tremendous victory for the Canadian army in the first world war when it captured Hill 70 at Loos in 1917. More VCs were won there than at Vimy, and for the first time it was an entirely Canadian Operation. Yet there is no monument whatever to the men who made such a remarkable sacrifice for Canada.

• We will be asking for all units which perpetuate a CEF BN which was part of the Corps will be asked to contribute funds to pay for a laser cut granite cap badge of the unit to be mounted in one of the walls of the monument. If you would also like to send men to participate in the 100 man guard of honour or part or all of your excellent band for the opening ceremony we would be delighted. The opening is currently being planned for Saturday 8 April 2017 ( one day before the Vimy ceremony so we can participate as part of the build up to the main national event there, and so all the troops, visitors, and VIPs will already be on site).

• We are now about to formally brief the MVA, MND, and Min of Heritage. Many of their staff are already aware, as are the CDS, the VCDS. , and the Comd CA