Canadian Battles World War I

Second Battle of Ypres 1915

Summary… 50,000 Canadian and British troops participated. Canada’s first major battle in WWI. The Germans use a gas attack. The Canadians survive by covering their faces with urine soaked rags. 50,000 Canadian and British troops participated.

The Battle of Ypres (1915) April 22 - 24, 1915 The First Canadian Division were battling the Germans near Ypres, Belgium alongside British and French troops The Germans were the first to release chlorine gas, 160 tons in cylinder containers, which forced soldiers to evacuate the trenches.

Chlorine dispersion during a gas attack in World War I.

The Battle of Ypres (cont.) The French were the first to retreat, leaving a large gap between forces. The Germans would use gas two days later against Canadian troops. The Canadian soldiers were able to maintain their ground until reinforcements arrived. To protect themselves from breathing in the gas, Canadians quickly realized that covering their mouths with urine soaked rags would crystallize the gas and help them from breathing in the vapour.

Results of Ypres In their first major appearance on a European battlefield, the Canadians established a reputation as a worthy fighting force. In these 48 hours, 6,035 Canadians, one man in every three, became casualties of whom more than 2,000 died. John McCrae wrote the famous and iconic poem “In Flanders Fields”

Soldiers using makeshift gas masks during the second battle of Ypres

Soldiers loading special gas canisters near the front

World War I was the first conflict to employ chemical weapons World War I was the first conflict to employ chemical weapons. This Canadian soldier is suffering from mustard gas burns.

Battle of The Somme 1916

Controvercial Battle… THE PLAN….. British plan to take out the Germans 7 days of a barrage of shells fired over to the German lines. This was supposed to have taken out the Germans After the 7th day of bombing, (July 1, 1916) British troops follow tanks into no mans land.

Problems… When the bombing started, Germans dug DOWN. 15 meters into their trenches. Did they all die as the British assumed? Tanks were used for the soldiers to follow behind on foot. The tanks were too primitive and broke down half way across no mans land. Very few British men made it to the German trenches. What did they do when they got there?

Smashed German position as a result of artillery barrage.

Battle of the Somme Men were told by British generals to cross no-man’s-land in big groups. This idea didn’t work and over 24, 000 Canadians were killed. Over 1 million lives were lost on both sides making it the worst battle in modern history.

The Battle of The Somme (1916) One of the most major battles of the entire war. It lasted five months and resulted in a high number of casualties. On the first day of battle, casualties totalled 57, 470 troops Canadian soldiers fought as part of the British forces under General Haig.

The Battle of the Somme (cont.) Newfoundland troops faced strong adversity at the Somme. British bombardment was supposed to have cleared the field from enemy fire. This was not the case. The soldiers had to face rapid fire from machine guns as they scaled no-man’s land. 90% of the regiment was dead or wounded. The 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; all of that loss for 11 km of land.

Battle of Vimy Ridge April 1917 Birth of a Nation

Summary: Canadian troops led by General Arthur Currie Fought for the first time as a single unit. The Canadians won the battle in only four days. This was a defining moment in Canadian history.

Why take over Vimy Ridge?

Previous Attacks on Vimy Both the French and British armies had tried to attack and take over Vimy Ridge All previous attacks were unsuccessful It was Canada’s turn to try and take over

The Germans had three 3 layers of trenches, barbed wire, tunnels into a hill and light railroad for military supplies

General Arthur Currie… General Arthur Currie insists that Canada fight this battle on their own –with Canadians and led by Canadians. Currie studied failures and successes of previous battles in this war This battle of Vimy Ridge would be different – soldiers will be trained carefully and thoroughly prepared for battle, rather than mindlessly, but bravely charging across battlefields.

Cont… Preparations included building underground tunnels to move troops secretly and safely under no mans land and closer to the German trenches. Canadian troops made a complete copy of the hill. On that hill they did training that let them know every inch of Vimy Ridge

Cont… Rather then dragging and reloading their own cannons and machine guns Canadians learned how to use German weaponry, so they could shoot Germans using German weapons German Artillery Piece

An artillery barrage fired on enemy lines was set to start the battle. At Vimy, this would change. A new tactic called the CREEPING BARRAGE was set in place. Artillery barrage continued to fire as Canadians left their trenches Goal was to hurl shells just ahead of the advancing forces Enemy soldiers were forced to stay in their dugouts and stay low. Goal: while enemies were down, Canadian forces would be on top of them before they could organize and resist

29th Infantry Battalion advancing over "No Man's Land" during the battle of Vimy Ridge. This was a part of the creeping barrage.

Vimy Success: The Canadians had demonstrated that they were one of the most outstanding formations of the Western Front and masters of offensive warfare. It was Canada’s greatest victory, also it was called, “most perfectly organized and successful battle of the whole war”. Also it was called Canada’s “nation-making moment” because it involved Canadians from every region of Canada.

Canadian soldiers celebrating victory after taking Vimy

Present-day view of shell holes left from the Vimy battle

Passchendaele – Canada’s Other Vimy Ridge October 26 1917

Haig is back… Haig’s plan was to make a general breakout along the entire front. If the ridge at Passchendaele could be taken and the town itself liberated, the British could turn north and the Belgian coast would be open to them. “Smaller” battles were to be fought before the Allies could reach and take over Passchendaele. Many men on the Allied side died in the battles leading up to Passchendaele.

Cont… Haig knew that the massive casualties the Allies had suffered in the pre-battles would be wasted if Passchendaele itself was not captured. Haig decided that the British, Australian, and New Zealand troops upon whom he had relied so far could do no more. Thus, he turned to the Canadians and Haig ordered two divisions of the corps to Passchendaele. Sir Arthur Currie strongly objected.

Cont… He felt that his men had not yet recovered enough for a new, pivotal battle. However, the British High Command insisted that Passchendaele was worth the effort, and Haig personally convinced Currie to accept the tasking Currie insisted that there would be no attack on Passchendaele until he personally felt the men were ready. He also demanded that the Canadians be allowed to leave the salient once the battle was over (in military terms a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory).

You will not be called upon to advance until everything has been done that can be done to clear the way for you. After that it is up to you. – Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie to his infantry9

Conditions at Passchendaele MUD – EVERYWHERE “...simply miles and miles of shell holes – all filled with water and the whole ground so water-logged that you go down over your knees every step and you have to keep moving or I guess you would go out of sight. To say its muddy is putting it mild. By a long ways. Besides that it rains practically every day & every hour. You get wet and stay wet all the time you are in the forward area...”

Battlefield at Passchendaele

“I could see the barrage on our left going further ahead of those men, and it was quite impossible for them to keep up. You could hardly distinguish them; if they had not been moving you could not tell them from the ground. I don’t believe they had been going ten minutes before they were all soaked and covered with mud, head to foot.”

The Canadians had done the impossible. After just 14 days of combat, they had driven the German army out of Passchendaele and off the ridge. There was almost nothing left of the village to hold. For the Canadians, Currie’s words were prophetic. He had told Haig it would cost Canada 16,000 casualties to take Passchendaele – and, in truth, the final total was 15,654, many of whom were killed. One thousand Canadian bodies were never recovered, trapped forever in the mud

Summary: Canadian troops were assigned this mud-filled ridge after three years of fighting here. Conditions were terrible and many lives were lost in this victory. The land had little significance.

The Last 100 Days August 1918 – November 1918

Summary: Canadian troops fought in several battles forcing the Germans to retreat. They suffer 46,000 casualties in these battles but defeat a quarter of the entire German army. The fighting ends at 11:00 am on November 11, 1918. The war was over.

The Canadian Corps' reputation was such that the mere presence of Canadians on a section of the front would warn the enemy that an attack was coming. This meant that great secrecy would be involved in the movements of the Canadian Corps. A large offensive was planned in France in August 1918 and Canadian troops were shifted north to Ypres, Belgium. This made the Germans think a major attack was coming there before the Canadians secretly hurried back for the real attack. On August 8, Canada led the way in an offensive that saw them advance 20 kilometers in three days. This offensive was launched without a long preliminary artillery bombardment as was usually done (which also warned the enemy that an attack was coming) and the Germans were taken totally by surprise. This breakthrough was a remarkable development and dashed enemy morale, with the German high commander calling it "the black day of the German Army."

After several successful battles over four months, Canadians were finally seeing an end to this war. With German resistance crumbling, the armistice was finally signed on November 11, 1918. Canadians fought to the very end. That day saw our soldiers in Mons, Belgium—a place of great symbolic meaning, as this was where the British army had its first significant battle against the invading Germans in the summer of 1914. The war was finally over. The Canadian Corps' accomplishments from August 8 to November 11 were truly impressive—more than 100,000 Canadians advanced 130 kilometres and captured approximately 32,000 prisoners and nearly 3,800 artillery pieces, machine guns and mortars.

Canadians crossing the Rhine into Germany