The Nature of the Great War

The Nature of the Great War Attrition- kill as many of the enemy as possible October 1914 deadlock had developed on the Western Front- neither side could make a breakthrough The two sides simply ‘dug in’- a narrow stretch from Switzerland to the North Sea of trenches (No Man’s Land) Trench warfare- not part of the plan

The Nature of the Great War On the Western Front, all soldiers faced the same conditions- mud, vermin, rotten food and the stench of rotting flesh Soldiers spent their time building trenches, watching them wash away with the rain, rebuilding them and waiting Constant noise

Fighting on the Battlefields of Europe The Canadian Experience

The Details Occurred April 22 - 24, 1915 in Belgium. This was the first action for the Canadians The First Canadian Division were battling the Germans near the town Ypres alongside British and French troops The Germans were the first to release the new weapon chlorine gas, which forced soldiers to evacuate the trenches.

The Canadian Role The French were the first to retreat, leaving a large gap between forces. The job of holding Ypres until British reinforcements came fell to the Canadians. They held the ground. By covering their mouths with urine soaked rags they crystallized the gas to help them from breathing in the vapour.

Soldiers using makeshift gas masks during the second battle of Ypres

Results of Ypres In their first major appearance on a European battlefield, the Canadians built their reputation as a worthy fighting force. There were heavy casualties for Canada. Of the 7,000 men who fought, 2,000 died. (1 in 3 men), 3410 wounded, 775 POW John McCrae wrote the famous and iconic poem “In Flanders Fields”

Ypres… Then and Now

The Somme

The Plan….. This battle was British plan to take out the Germans for good 7 days of a barrage of shells fired over to the German lines. 7 days!!!! This was supposed to have taken out the Germans After the 7th day of bombing, (July 1, 1916) British troops follow tanks into no man’s land.

Problems… When the bombing started, Germans dug down. Up to 15 meters into their trenches, they were protected Tanks were used for the soldiers to follow behind on foot. The tanks were too primitive and broke down half way across No Man’s Land. Very few British men made it to the German trenches.

This was one of the biggest battles of the entire war This was one of the biggest battles of the entire war. It lasted five months and resulted in a high number of casualties. On the first day of battle (July 1, 1916), casualties totalled 57, 470 troops The Canadian regiments were operating under the orders of British General Douglas Haig

The first day of the Battle was horrible for Newfoundland troops The first day of the Battle was horrible for Newfoundland troops. This was at Beaumont-Hamel The soldiers had to face rapid fire from machine guns as they walked through no-man’s land. 90% of the regiment was dead or wounded. The overall Battle ended on November 18, 1916.

Results of Somme… High casualty loss on both sides. Canada lost 24,029 men during those five months. It reinforced Canada’s reputation as a strong fighting corps. They were marked as storm troops due to their skill and persistence. It was considered a useless battle; over 1 million deaths and 5 months of brutality for 11 km of land.

“If hell is as bad as what I’ve seen at Courcelette, I would not wish my worst enemies to go there” - Lte.- Colonel Thomas Tremblay