The Major Battles of World War I Ypres The Somme Vimy Ridge Passchendaele

2nd Battle of Ypres April – May, 1915 Ypres, Belgium Surprise attack by the Germans. The attack on Ypres was intended to achieve two objectives, the first being to divert allied focus from the Eastern Front and the second being to test the new gas weapons. Germans released 5 730 cylinders of chlorine gas Unprepared, the French division fled, leaving the Canadians to fight. Despite many Canadian casualties, the Allies saved the situation 2 days later, the Germans released gas on the Canadians. Those in St. Julien were overrun; the Candians in Ypres held on

Fighting continued for 3 weeks. In the attempt to hold off the enemy attack, over 59 000 were lost for the sake of positions that had little strategic value. It was after this battle that Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae composed “In Flanders’ Fields”

Outcome Allied victory. For the first time a former colonial force (the 1st Canadian Division) defeated a European power (theGerman Empire) on European soil, in the Battle of St. Julien and the Battle of Kitcheners' Wood. It marked the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front. Development of gas protection was instituted with the issue of improvised respirators. But the respirator made little difference due to lack of training.

The Somme July – November, 1916 Somme, France The plan was for a joint British-French assault on the Somme (Western Front) Many French were killed protecting the French fortress of Verdun in February, making it difficult to participate in the Somme offensive. The British went ahead with their “Big Push” The Germans were waiting as 100 000 British troops advanced from the trenches in full daylight. In one day, almost 58 000 were killed, wounded or missing. It was the biggest disaster in British military history.

Troops came to help from the First Newfoundland Regiment, and soldiered on bravely. The Canadians entered the “bloodbath” in September, fighting through many German defensive lines The Canadians finally managed to capture Regina Trench on November 11, despite the mud and deaths in the thousands.

Battle of the Somme Somme River – 100,000 Allied troops directed to advance across no man’s land in broad daylight, in direct fire 57, 000 British soldiers killed in single day 790 Newfoundlanders went over the top that day, only 68 answered roll call following morning Half million men lost in 3 months Less at battle than it was a meat grinder

Why was the battle fought? For a number of months the French had been taking severe losses at Verdun – to the east of Paris. To relieve the French, the Allied High Command decided to attack the Germans to the north of Verdun therefore requiring the Germans to move some of their men away from the Verdun battlefield thus relieving the French. After the war, Sir William Robertson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, explained what this strategy was:

Remembering the dissatisfaction by ministers at the end of 1915, because the operations had not come up to their expectations, the General Staff took the precaution to make quite clear beforehand the nature of success which the Somme campaign might yield. The necessity of relieving pressure on the French Army at Verdun remains, and is more urgent than ever. This is, therefore, the first objective to be obtained by the combined British and French offensive. The second objective is to inflict as heavy losses as possible upon the German armies.

The battle at the Somme started with a weeklong artillery bombardment of the German lines. 1,738,000 shells were fired at the Germans. The logic behind this was so that the artillery guns would destroy the German trenches and barbed wire placed in front of the trenches. The use of artillery was heavily supported by Field Marshall Haig: The enemy's position to be attacked was of a very considerable character, situated on high, undulating tract of ground. (They had) deep trenches....bomb proof shelters......wire entanglements forty yards broad often as thick as a man's finger. Defences of this nature could only be attacked with the prospect of success after careful artillery preparation

In fact, the Germans had deep dugouts for their men and all they had to do when the bombardment started was to move these men into the relative safety of the deep dugouts. When the bombardment stopped, the Germans would have known that this would have been the signal for an infantry advance. They moved from the safety of their dugouts and manned their machine guns to face the British and French. The British soldiers advanced across a 25-mile front.  By the end of the battle, in November 1916, the British had lost 420,000, the French lost nearly 200,000 men and the Germans 500,000. The Allied forces had advanced along a thirty-mile strip that was seven miles deep at its maximum.

For many years those who led the British campaign received a lot of criticism for the way the Battle of the Somme was fought – especially Douglas Haig. This criticism was based on the appalling casualty figures suffered by the British and the French. By the end of the battle, the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties including nearly 60,000 on the first day alone. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000.

Vimy Ridge April 9-12, 1917 Douai Plains, Nord-Pas- de-Calais region, France Strategic place for Germans, had fortified it for 3 years The battle began at 5:28am on Easter Monday, April 9. The Canadians took one objective after another, in spite of heavy machine gun fire The Canadians took over 4 000 prisoners and achieved one of the greatest victories in the war up to that time

Vimy Ridge Battle for 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 Canadians built mock hill – trained using mock environment Canadian troops learned how to load and use German artillery so that they could turn captured guns against their enemy

Vimy Ridge - continued Andrew McNaughton – learned how to pinpoint enemy fire based on sound and flash – able to identify key positions 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

Vimy Ridge - Continued Called “the most perfectly organized and most successful battle of the whole war”. Considered a nation-making moment 3,600 Canadians died taking the Ridge – after battle Canadian soldiers set apart as Storm Troopers Arther Currie – key strategist behind Vimy Ridge – one of the greatest General of the war – German officer later remarked that without Currie, the Germans would have won the War

It is said that Vimy was where Canada was born as an independent nation.

Passchendaele Oct – Nov, 1917 Passchedaele, near Ypres, Belgium The objective was to capture German submarine bases on the Belgian coast. The Germans’ position was firm, and the British suffered appalling casualties. The Canadians were called to lead one more attack.

The Canadians at Passchendaele Early in October, the Canadians were sent to relieve the battered ANZAC forces and take part in the push to capture Passchendaele. Canadian commander Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie inspected the battlefield and was shocked at the conditions. He tried to avoid having his men fight there but was overruled. As at Vimy, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps would see action. However, the mud, flat terrain, and relative lack of preparation time and artillery support would make Passchendaele a far different battlefield than the one the Canadians encountered at Vimy Ridge. Currie took the time to carefully prepare as much as possible and on October 26, the Canadian offensive began. Success was made possible due to acts of great individual heroism to get past spots of heavy enemy resistance. Advancing through the mud and enemy fire was slow and there were heavy losses. Despite the adversity, the Canadians reached the outskirts of Passchendaele by the end of a second attack on October 30 during a driving rainstorm. On November 6, the Canadians and British launched the assault to capture the ruined village of Passchendaele itself. In heavy fighting, the attack went according to plan. The task of actually capturing the “infamous” village fell to the “City of Winnipeg” 27thBattalion and they took it that day. After weathering fierce enemy counterattacks, the last phase of the battle saw the Canadians attack on November 10 and clear the Germans from the eastern edge of Passchendaele Ridge. Canadian soldiers succeeded in the face of almost unbelievable challenges.

The attack at Passchendaele was Sir Douglas Haig's attempt to break through Flanders. Haig had thought about a similar attack in 1916, but the Battle of the Somme occupied his time in that year. However, one year later, Haig felt able to launch such an attack. His main aim was a breakthrough to the coast of Belgium so that German submarine pens could be destroyed. 

The battlefield was a muddy bog, and brought back memories of Ypres. Attempts to rebuild roads , gun platforms, etc. were slowed by German aircraft bombs. At 5:40am on Oct. 26, the Canadians attacked, but could not secure the area. Attacks during late October and early November brought much suffering, but led to the Canadians securing many German strong points.

Once again the Canadians had shown that, even in impossible conditions, they could do the job when called upon.

Passchendaele - cont Robert Borden responding 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 . . .”