Canada in Battle How was Canada’s identity shaped though battle?

What did World War I look like?

What do you notice about this photo? Lets look at some key terms we should know.

No Man’s Land The narrow, muddy, treeless stretch of land that separated the German and Allied trenches during W -The narrow, muddy, treeless stretch of land that separated the German and Allied trenches during WWI.

Trench Foot A condition that affected many soldiers during WWI. It was an infection of the foot caused by cold, wet and unsanitary conditions. So what did Trench Foot look like?

Trench Foot

Life in the trenches The first thing a soldier would notice would be the smell. Rotting bodies, men who had not washed in weeks, the lingering odour of poison, cigarette smoke and cooked food.

Other Problems Rats Would eat food that was left unprotected and would eat the remains of those who had died in the trenches. Rats could grow to be the size of a cat. Many soldiers tried to kill the rats but they were fighting a losing battle. 1 pair of rats can produce up to 900 offspring every year. Soldiers did find the rats useful, many soldiers believed that the rats could predict heavy bombardment from the enemy as the rats always seemed to disappear minutes before the attack came.

Lice Were a problem due to the dirty clothes the men had to wear. Impossible to get rid of these lice, caused Trench Fever. A painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery - away from the trenches - took up to twelve weeks.

Shell Shock Symptoms included tiredness, irritability, giddiness, lack of concentration and headaches. Men suffered mental breakdowns making it impossible for them to remain in the front-line. This condition was caused by the enemy's heavy artillery.

Shell Shock

Let’s see what the trenches were like.

Ypres The battle at Ypres showed how WWI was going to be fought. Showed how long the war was going to be due to slow process of trench warfare. Territorial gains were hard to come by.

Vimy Ridge For 3 years the British and French armies could not gain a victory at Vimy Ridge. In the spring of 1917 the task was given to Canada. This battle was the first time that Canadians attacked together.

Vimy Ridge The attack started on April 9, 1917 By April 14, 1917 the Canadians had gained more ground, more guns and more prisoners than the British or the French had done in 3 years. Many Canadians died, Nevertheless the sense of achievement and national pride created by this success gave the Canadians a great feeling of self- confidence and a new identity in the world.

Passchendale This was the 3rd battle of Ypres in Over Canadians lost their lives at Passchendale. (Belgium) This battle was an important Canadian victory as it showed Canada as a major player in the war. Even though no significant territorial gains were made, this battle was key in wearing down the German forces. Passchendale today symbolizes the horrors of WWI.

Passchendale

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