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Canadian Battles
World War I

2. Canadian Battles of WWI
Learning Goal: explain the significance of each battle and the technology/weapons that were used
Review Causes of the War, Schlieffen Plan, situation at stalemate
Weapons handout(Spotlight Canada Chapter 4, Creating Canada page 178)
Note and discussion of 2nd Battle of Ypres and the Battle of the Somme

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Second Battle of Ypres
1915

4. The Battle of Ypres (1915)
Occurred April , 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.

6. Chlorine dispersion during a gas attack in World War I.

7. 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 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.

8. 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 6,000 men who fought, 2,000 died. (1 in 3 men)
John McCrae wrote the famous and iconic poem “In Flanders Fields”

9. Soldiers using makeshift gas masks during the second battle of Ypres

10. Soldiers loading special gas canisters near the front

11. 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.

13. Ypres… Then and Now

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Battle of The Somme
1916

15. 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.

16. Problems… When the bombing started, Germans dug DOWN.
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.

17. Smashed German position as a result of artillery barrage.

20. This was one of the most major battles of the entire war
This was 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 (July 1, 1916), casualties totalled 57, 470 troops
The Canadian regiments were operating under the orders of British General Douglas Haig

21. 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.

28. 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.

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Battle of Vimy Ridge
April 1917
Birth of a Nation

30. Summary: Copy 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.

31. 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

33. 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
Soldiers were trained carefully and thoroughly prepared for battle with new battle tactics

34. Arthur Currie cont'd…
Preparations included building underground tunnels to move troops secretly and safely under no man’s land and closer to the German trenches.
Canadian troops also made a complete copy of the hill which let them know the details of the land they would be fighting on

40. THE ATTACK
An artillery barrage fired on enemy lines was set to start the battle the morning of April 9, 1917.
At Vimy, this would occur differently than at the Somme. A new tactic called the CREEPING BARRAGE was set in place.
By April 12 Canada had control of the Ridge. The Allies held the Ridge for the rest of the war.

42. 29th Infantry Battalion advancing over "No Man's Land" during the battle of Vimy Ridge. This was a part of the creeping barrage.

43. Vimy Success:
It was said that at Vimy Ridge Canada truly ‘became a nation’ .
Canada lost over 3500 men but it has been called the “most perfectly organized and successful battle of the whole war”.
As a result Canada was no longer seen as a colony and later signed the Treaty of Versailles as their own nation.

44. Canadian soldiers celebrating victory after taking Vimy

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

47. Vimy Ridge Memorial

49. 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 infantry before Passchendaele

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Passchendaele
Summer/Fall 1917

51. The Details…
Passchendaele is located in the Ypres area, and the battle is also referred to as The Third Battle of Ypres
British General Douglas Haig’s plan was to make a general breakout along the entire front that summer to once agin try to end the war.

52. Haig knew that the massive casualties the Allies had suffered in the pre- battles would be wasted if Passchendaele itself was not captured.
Thus, he turned to the Canadians to take Passchendaele.
Sir Arthur Currie strongly objected on the basis of the horrible conditions.

53. Battlefield at Passchendaele

58. Preparing for Battle
Prior to the Canadians entering the battle the British, Australian and New Zealand forces had exhausted themselves trying to take the town
It was very difficult to repair transport and communication systems to aid the forces once the attack began
Training similar to Vimy (replicas, re-enactments) also helped prepare the troops

59. The Attack The Canadian effort began Oct 26, 1917
It began with massive artillery, so intense it could be heard from London (150 km away)
Currie’s strategy for this battle was to “bite and hold.” Make small advances before moving to the next objective
Slowed by the mud, the Canadians advanced, survived shelling, and engaged in intense hand to hand combat

60. “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.”

61. The Aftermath and Legacy
After just 16 days of combat, they had driven the German army out of Passchendaele and off the ridge.
Currie predicted there would be 16,000 casualties to take Passchendaele –the final total was 15,654 either dead or wounded.
One thousand Canadian bodies were never recovered, trapped forever in the mud
After the Canadians left the British continued, only to retreat from German counterattack by Dec 3

63. Summary:
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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, but the victory there was once again a Canadian victory.
It also brings about the question – Is war ever worth it? The answer to many historians is no.

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The Last 100 Days
August 1918 – November 1918

65. Summary:
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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, The war was over.

66. 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."

67. 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.

69. Canadians crossing the Rhine into Germany