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The Canadian Battles of the
First World War
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First Battle of Ypres: October-November 1914
German army en route to English Channel met French, British and Belgian troops near small Belgian town of Ypres.
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First Battle of Ypres: October-November 1914
Losses: Belgian: 18, German: 134,315 French: 50, ,265 missing B.E.F.: 58, or POW Result: Stalemate Front lines drawn through Belgium Ypres still held by the Entente “Kindermord von Ypren” The Massacre of the Innocents
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Second Battle of Ypres: April 22-May 27, 1915
Where Canadians first see battle in WWI
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German Plan Break stalemate by punching hole through Allied line
Try out poisonous chlorine gas Around 6000 cylinders of the gas delivered Weigh 90 lbs each An 1899 treaty banned the use of gas in war
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The Attack Germans shell Ypres with 2000 pound shells
Germans open canisters of gas, by hand, and use wind to blow gas to French-Algerian section of line.
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First use of poisonous gas in the war
Algerians panic, flee clutching their throats Leaves 4 mile wide gap in the line Canadians fill in the gap Outnumbered 5:1 (50,000 : 10,000) Use urine soaked cloths to neutralize the effects of the gas Somehow hold the line First use of poisonous gas in the war
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Results Canada: First major Battle of the Great War
Reputation of hard hitting “shock troops” British saw it as “Exceptionally good performance for raw colonial troops” Contrast from first view of soldiers when they arrived
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Cost Canada: 6037 casualties (66 officers, 1784 killed)
B.E.F.: 59, 275 French: 10,000 Belgian: 1,530 German: 34,267
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John McCrae In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
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The Somme: July-November 1916
British Commander in Chief, Douglas Haig, decides to go on offensive and “smash” through enemy lines. The offensive becomes known as the Battle of the Somme.
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The Plan British and French launch 1.5 million rounds of ammunition.
Heavy artillery was supposed to break up German barbed wire and wipe out their lines Germans just retreated to concrete reinforced bunkers, and used crater holes as machine gun nests 100 machine guns ready and waiting
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“When we started firing we just had to load an reload. They went down
by the hundreds. You didn’t have to aim, we just fired into them.” - German soldier on what he observed during the early attacks at the Somme
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Beaumont-Hamel: July 1st, 1916
Newfoundland Regiment 658 of 758 dead or injured in one day Memorial set up in their honour (right)
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Results of The Somme 600,000 allied soldiers killed or wounded in first three months Over one million killed or wounded on both sides Allied forces gained 12 kilometers Germans referred to it as “das Blutbad”
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Canadians at the Somme The Somme had cost Canada 24,029 casualties, but it was here that the Canadians confirmed their reputation as hard-hitting shock troops. "The Canadians", wrote Lloyd George, "played a part of such distinction that henceforward they were marked out as storm troops; for the remainder of the war they were brought along to head the assault in one great battle after another. Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst."
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The Somme Debut of the tank 2 km/h Easy target for artillery
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Vimy Ridge, April 9th 1917 8 km stretch of high ground, occupied since 1914 by Germans British and French tried to take ridge at a cost of 200,000 casualties Ridge seen as invincible
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German Advantage German defenses could oversee a huge amount of territory – surprise was very difficult and it was easier to site their artillery German troops had dug in – they had deep bunkers in the ridge designed to keep them safe from artillery
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You and one or two other people, brainstorm and suggest – what ideas do you have that might help overcome the German advantages? Some hints will be given in the course of your deliberations. List them!
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Canadian Corp, 1917 100,000 soldiers led by British General Julien Byng Meticulous planning Rehearsed for weeks and months Gave each soldier a map Trench raids at night Gained information and terrorized Dig 20 km of tunnels under the ridge Blow out exits into no-man’s land Blow up under German lines
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Tunnels! Surprise!
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Scale Trenches for Vimy Attack
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Artillery bombardment – a million shells kept the German in their bunkers (and awake and hungry) for two weeks Deadly night time raids gained intelligence
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Silence the German Guns
Used audio equipment and triangulation to discover and silence the German guns on the day of the attack
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Vimy: The Attack, April 9th
Heaviest barrage of war so far 983 artillery pieces, 150 machine guns In 100 minutes, ¼ million shells and 7 million bullets fall onto ridge Creeping Barrage (next slide) Everything was timed. No stopping for injured In eight hours, all objectives complete
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Creeping Barrage Guns fire at one spot for 5 minutes, and then fire 100 m further Troops follow 100 meters behind Do this until troops reach destination Destroys barbed wire and enemy lines
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Vimy: Canada Accomplished what French and British could not
National Pride First and last time all 4 Canadian Divisions fight together Byng promoted, Arthur Currie commands Canadian Corps First Canadian to do so Cost Casualties: 10, 602 Killed: 3, 598 Germans said Canadians “Could go home in a Row Boat”???
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Historical Significance?
An example of the value of preparation – learn lessons of the war and attempt to spend shells, money, time rather than men A Nationalist FIRST – what had been a number of Canadian battalions attached to the British army was becoming a Canadian Army – soldiers from coast to coast in Canada fought for a single objective, and won, although at great cost in lives
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Legacy: Canadian National Vimy Memorial
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1917: Passchendaele (July - November 1917)
Canadians move here after Vimy Currie argued that it was too muddy but was ignored by Haig Currie says attack will cost 16, casualties
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Passchendaele: Results
15, 654 casualties: worst battle for Canada Attack left little support for British tanks in Cambrai By end of November, Germans regained ground June, 1918, Borden furious at British Generals for their incompetence Stormed at Lloyd George, who made his generals listen Empire leaders sat down and mapped out, together, strategy to end war.
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CHC2P Read 26-29 Question 1 and 2 pg 29
CHC2D Read pages question 1 King and Empire Vimy ridge
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