1. Great Canadian Battles World War One

3. Battle of Ypres, April 1915 First use of Chlorine Gas by Germans
Ordered to take “Kitcheners’ Wood”
Only 1/3 survived
Two Canadian battalions given the job to take Kitcheners’ wood to fill up a gap left by the French after the gas attack.
No reconnaissance was done, hit by waves of machine gun fire.
Do make it to the Germans (charge 200 yards) but at cost of 75% casualties.

5. Ypres
Two days later, Germans attack Canadian lines – only lines that held from first attack
Casualties:
Canadian 5,828 died
Br. 60,000
Gr. 35,000
John Macrae wrote “In Flanders Fields” about this battle.

6. Significance of Ypres
Canadians forge a reputation of courage and tenacity which would grow throughout the war.

7. The Somme
(1916)

8. The Somme Strategy: bomb German lines to wipe out the front lines
After the bombing, the allied infantry would be able to break through these front lines

9. The Somme – a Slaughter Shelling did not destroy German defenses
Commanders used old tactics – wave after wave sent ‘over the top’
Despite heavy losses, used same tactics
1.25 million casualties
24,000 Canadians
Gained only 13 kilometers

10. German machine-gunner at the Somme. “The officers were in the front
German machine-gunner at the Somme. “The officers were in the front. I noticed one of them walking calmly carrying a walking stick. When we started firing we just had to load and reload. They went down in their hundreds. You didn't have to aim, we just fired into them. “

11. Significance of Somme
Heavy losses cause Allied leadership to rethink battle tactics and organization of armed forces, which would later be used at Vimy and Passchendaele.

13. Vimy Ridge April 1917

14. Sir Arthur Currie
Ontario, was going to be a lawyer, dad died, couldn’t afford to pay for school. Became a teacher, couldn’t get a job, moved to BC. There he engaged in land speculation which, owing to the recession from , led him into a tight financial situation when the war broke out. He actually embezzled $10,000 from his militia to pay off his debts before going and had to borrow money from friends in the army to repay the stolen money. While he didn’t lead the most heroic life up to WWI, he went on to rise quickly through the ranks and become the Canadian army’s first Canadian General (all previous were British). He was an officer during Ypres, and was given great (and to some, sole) credit for holding onto the western side of the salient. He was then promoted, and played key roles in planning Canada’s successful attack on Vimy Ridge, as well as during the 100 days’ campaign that eventually led to the end of the war. He was knighted in 1918, and today many military historians still argue he was the greatest military leader ever produced by Canada!
It is an interesting chronicle offering a unique perspective of the Canadian army. Not only was this, by most accounts “ordinary” man able to rise through the ranks, but he was able to achieve really important successes. If that doesn’t describe the Canadian conscience I really don’t know what does. To me it has always seemed that, in comparison to Americans, Canadians are kind of “ordinarily extraordinary” – you won’t see movie after movie about our founding moments or our leaders, and generally Canadians are shrugged off as a bit of a joke. Yet Canadians continue to contribute very meaningfully to the world order.

15. Vimy Ridge First time Canadian divisions remained together
Led by a Canadian (Currie)

16. Vimy Ridge Result: SUCCESS!
Took more German prisoners and artillery than any other British offensive
Captured the ridge in three days.
3,500 died and 7000 wounded
It was really embellished in Canada – became a hallmark for what it meant to be Canadian.
Also, a good show of what Canada could do – played a large role in Canada’s participation in the Paris Peace Conference as a separate nation from Britain. Start of the road to Autonomy…

17. Significance of Vimy
Canada’s most celebrated military victory – a symbol of national pride, grounds for Canada’s independent participation at the Paris Peace Conference.

18. The memorial at Vimy Ridge – note it is on Canadian territory (gifted by the French to Canada as a thank you for their actions at the battle).

19. Passchendaele June – November 1917
Little tactical value but British General Haig wanted the ridge
Heavy rains so tanks of no help
Took town but Germans recaptured it later
Casualties:
15,000 Canadians
500,000 total

20. Significance of Passchendaele
Massive casualties for little gain serve as a powerful symbol of the horrors of WWI warfare.

21. Passchendaele battle (Warning: Graphic Content)

22. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa: to memorialize and recognize those who never came home (were never found or were unidentifiable) from all of Canada’s armed conflicts since WW1.