Key Canadian Battles of WWI The Canadian Expeditionary
Key Canadian Battles of WWI The Canadian Expeditionary Forces
Key Events �Oct. 14, 1914 - First contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) arrives in the UK. �April 24, 1915 - Poison gas first used against Canadians at the Battle of Ypres �May 8, 1915 - Lt. -Col. John Mc. Crae writes "In Flanders Fields. “ �July 1, 1916 - Royal Newfoundland Regiment takes heavy casualties in the Battle of the Somme.
�April 9, 1917 - Battle of Vimy Ridge begins. �Aug. 29, 1917 - Conscription becomes law in Canada. �Dec. 6, 1917 - Halifax explosion. �Aug. 8, 1918 - Battle of Amiens. The period that came to be known as "Canada's Hundred Days" begins.
Key Leaders in World War One
General Arthur Currie - Canada • Key strategist behind Ypres and Vimy Ridge • One of the greatest Generals of the war • German officer later remarked that without Currie, the Germans would have won the War
Douglas Haig - British � Most controversial of war generals � Haig's 1 st Army Corps served with distinction at Mons and at First Ypres. � A Cavalry man – was not interested in the new weaponry – “The machine gun and tanks are an over rated weapons” � Haig is associated with the Battle at Passchendaele
Julian Byng - British �Commander of the Canadian Corps from May 1916 to June 1917 �Byng transformed the Canadians into a well-trained and effective striking force �The victory at Vimy was one of most spectacular attacks of the war.
Background �Men believed the war was going to be short – be “Back by Christmas” �War helped revitalize the economy �Unemployed men were keen to fight � 30, 000 men volunteered – Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) �Sam Hughes – Ross Rifle
War Measures Act �Government given the right to detain “enemy aliens” – anti-German sentiments �Berlin, Ontario was renamed Kitchener � 8, 500 “enemy aliens” imprisoned – Eastern Europeans – forced labor �Income tax created to support war effort but was never removed
Battle of Ypres 1915 eepra
The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915
Why Attack Ypres, 1914? �Major supply depot & stood between German forces and port cities of Dunkirk and Calais �By 1918, completely destroyed �Surrounded by German forces on 3 sides (to the north, east, south) A SALIENT - battlefield �There were 4 major battles with many smaller engagements in between
Canadians fighting at Ypres
Second Battle of Ypres, 1915 �April 1915 - 1 st Canadian Division moves into Ypres, at St. Julien �Operations on Western Front locked in stalemate with trench warfare �Germans planned to use Chlorine Gas to break the deadlock and disguise troop movements
�April 22, 1915 – German Army released gas against northern face of salient – battle field �French colonial divisions had no choice but to withdraw, exposing the left flank of the 1 st Canadian Division �Canadians turn to face the Germans, flooding through breach in line
On April 22, 1915 at 5 p. m. the 2 nd Battle of Ypres began with the first successful German gas attack in history.
� April 24, the Germans released a 2 nd gas attack directly and the Canadian forces � Canadian troops were blinded, burned, or killed by the chlorine gas that the Germans used � 5, 700 litres of chlorine gas released. � Men died of suffocation or choking as their lungs were destroyed from the gas � The gas was heavier than air and floated next to the ground. � Canadians used urine soaked handkerchiefs for protection
The Blind Leading the Blind
Result of 2 nd Attack on Canada - Ypres �Canadians forced to withdraw back because of the Ross Rifle continuously jamming �British soldiers sent to reinforce front line but don’t make it �By end of day, Canadians forced to withdraw completely
�The Canadians established a reputation as a strong fighting force. � 6, 035 Canadian Casualties - wounded � 2, 000 Canadians Dead �Heavy losses from Canada's little force whose men had been civilians only several months before with no idea of fighting in a war
Essex Farm �The location where Dr. John Mc. Crae’s dressing station and field hospital �Believed to be the location where John Mc. Crae wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Fields” after burying his friend Lt. Alexis Helmer
In Flanders Fields…
Battle of Somme July – November 1916
Background � Purpose of this battle was to stop the German pounding of Verdun � For weeks, British and French bombarded the Germans hoping to wipe out their front lines and break up the barbed wire defenses � Germans withdrew into the trenches until the bombardment ended � German casualties were much lower than expected
�The Battle of Somme was a 5 month campaign � +400, 000 British Empire casualties �+200, 000 French casualties �+400, 000 German casualties
The Fight. . . �Allied forces able to advance only 8 miles forward along the 25 -mile long front �July 1, 1916, the British introduced the use of tanks �Multi-national Allied endeavour: French, British, Canadian, Australian, South African, Irish, Newfoundland
British Tank WWI German Tank WWI
�Commanded by General Douglas Haig �Insisted on old-style warfare tactics, turned out to be very costly. �Wave upon wave of troops were asked to march across open fields �Massive craters from the bombardment made it hard for Allied troops to charge the German line
• Terrain may have started out flat, but after a few hours even the most flat area would be filled with shell holes. • Now this is not always bad. • It at least gave the soldiers someplace to hide. There are some shell holes here that are thirty feet deep.
�However, the shell holes made ideal machine gun nests �Germans knew the attack was coming after the bombardment �Machine guns were waiting �Over 1 million causalities in total. �Approx. 24, 000 Canadian troops.
Beaumont-Hamel - July 1, 1916 �Newfoundland Regiment faced the German army �Of the 801 men who went into battle, only 68 men answered during roll call
The Result of the Battle of Somme �The Battle of the Somme was less a battle than it was a meat grinder. In three months, of long drawn out warfare, the Allies lost well over half a million men. �It had become a War of Attrition basically weakening and defeating an enemy �The goal was not to defeat the enemy but simply to outlast them, to kill more of their men and less of yours
Vimy Ridge, 1917
The Battle at Vimy Ridge, 1917
�The Battle of Vimy Ridge is one of the greatest battles in Canada’s history. �Some may say that this battle was the birth of Canadian national pride and awareness. �For the first time in the Great War, ALL the Canadian divisions fought together on the same battlefield. �Canadian valour and bravery brought about an incredible victory, not only for Canadians but for the entire Allied force.
Why Defend Vimy Ridge? �Was a key high ground in northern France �Germans were well established – tunnels, artillery, phone lines, rail line for munitions � 200, 000 French and British troops lost in failed attempts to take this stronghold
�Tunnels were used to transport supplies and soldiers closer to front line �Housed soldiers waiting to go into battle and those who had been wounded
Why were the Canadians Successful? �They built a mock hill – and trained using mock environment �Canadian troops learned how to load and use German artillery so that when they could turn captured guns against their enemy �Colonel Andrew Mc. Naughton – learned how to pinpoint enemy fire based on sound and flash which resulted in identifying key positions
The Canadian Attack � Under the command of British General Julian Bying the Canadians attacked � Easter Monday, April 9, 1917 – All four divisions of Canadian Corps advanced together for first time � In cold, wet winds and driving snow and took the hill and swept the Germans from the Ridge � Called “the most perfectly organized and most successful battle of the whole war” � Considered a nation-building moment � Nearly 3, 600 Canadians died taking the Ridge – after the battle, Canadian soldiers were known as Storm Troopers
This picture shows happy Canadian soldiers going to their billets for a well-deserved rest after victory at the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Turing Point of the War �The Canadians pinpointed the location of every trench, machine gun, and battery �Vimy Ridge was strategically important because the hill was a key position to see approaching enemies �Germans tried many times to retake Vimy �Canada Casualties: 3, 598 dead, 10, 602 wounded
Passchendaele
July – November, 1917
� Located in the marsh land in Belgium – British artillery had pockmarked the ground, destroying drainage � Heavy rains made it worse – “a soup of mud” in which guns and artillery disappeared and many soldiers and horses drowned � 68, 000 British troops were lost before British High Command General Haig, called for Canadian Commander Arthur Currie
Aerial view of Passchendaele village before and after the battle
�Currie still took orders from General Haig. �Passchendaele had little strategic value, but Haig wanted to have it. �Currie warned him it would be mistake and casualties would be high. �Currie was right – the Allies won the battle, but the “victory” cost over 15, 000 Canadian lives
�After reading Currie’s report on how the British were fighting the war; Robert Borden, Canadian PM, responded to British PM: “Mr. Prime Minister, I want to tell you that, if ever there is a repetition of the Battle of Passchendaele, not a single Canadian soldier will leave the shores of Canada again. . . ”
Beyond the Soldiers
Women on the Western Front �Approx. 2500 women joined the medical and field ambulance corps. �Nursing Sisters first nurses were from religious orders �Called the ‘bluebirds’ because of the color of their uniforms. �Most worked in hospitals in the battlefield, or in Britain. �Many were killed or injured as a result of artillery fire, bombs, or poison gas.
Animals at War �British Army lost about 3000 horses and mules every week of the war. �On the Western Front over 256, 000 horses and mules died. �Wounded animals led to the advancement in veterinary medicine. �The animals suffered from: battle wounds, exhaustion, and shell shock
Horses Canadian Field Artillery personnel brought live shells to the front lines at the Battle of Vimy Ridge using pack horses. A saddlebag could carry eight shells.
Dogs • Dogs were used for finding the wounded and dead. • Often a wounded soldier would crawl to safety in a hole or building and not have enough strength to get back out.
Courier Pigeons were used to send messages on the front line
- Slides: 62