Main Battles of World War One

Canada’s Involvement

in the Great War

1914-1918

• Canadian troops were engaged in 4 key campaigns:

•Ypres

•Somme

•Vimy Ridge

•Passchendaele

Ypres (Belgium)• April 22-24, 1915 • Canada’s first major battle in the war.• Germans used chlorine gas (a new deadly weapon)

to break the French line.• The deadly chlorine gas burned the eyes and

destroyed the lungs. Soldiers who breathed in the gas choked, gagged, gasped, coughed and eventually died.

• A Canadian medical officer, came up with an antidote to defend against the chlorine gas – a handkerchief soaked in urine held over the nose and mouth.

• Canadian troops worked through the night to fill the gap and also to mount a successful counter-attack.

• 6,714 Canadian soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured (a total of 59,000 Allied casualties). Began Canada’s reputation as a formidable fighting force in the war, led by Colonel Arthur Currie who demonstrated outstanding leadership.

• One of the physicians serving with the CEF was John McCrae, who wrote his famous poem, “In Flanders Fields” to commemorate the dead and injured Canadians he treated at the Second Battle of Ypres.

Lt. Col. John McCrae

Vimy Ridge• April 9-12 1917 • The Canadian part of a massive Allied offensive

under General Arthur Currie. Vimy is considered a historical Canadian milestone.

• Currie was given the task to capture Vimy Ridge – a well-fortified German position that both the French and British could not secure.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

• Preparations for the attack were extensive, and inclusive. Everybody down to the lowest private knew exactly what the plan was from beginning to end. • Aerial photographs of German lines and defences

• Full-scale replica of battle area for training

• Maps provided to soldiers

• Underground tunnels built to move troops and supplies

Battle of Vimy Ridge• Finally, the attack was launched on Easter Sunday

morning during a blinding snowstorm. After a short artillery barrage, the Canadians attacked the German lines. Aiming for the element of surprise, waves of Canadian troops pushed forward behind a creeping barrage – known as the “Vimy Glide.”

• The Canadian troops also used a new strategy called “leap-frogging.” Fresh battalions advanced to the front from the reserve trenches, while the first attackers fell back to rest.

• Currie’s preparation paid off and within three days the entire area was taken for the Allies.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

• Vimy Ridge represented the only significant victory for the Allies in 1917.

• It is commonly acknowledged as the turning point in the war for the Allies and for Canada.

• Canada transformed from colony to country:• “Troops went up the ridge as British soldiers,

and came down as Canadians.”• Total of 10,602 Canadian casualties:

• 3,600 Canadian soldiers killed

“Creeping barrage”

29th Infantry Battalion advancing over "No Man's Land" through the German barbed wire and heavy fire during the battle of Vimy Ridge.

View over the crest of Vimy Ridge showing the village of Vimy which was captured by Canadian troops

Canadian soldiers returning victoriously from Vimy Ridge

Vimy Monument

Battle of Passchendaele• October-November 1917

• Also called the 3rd Battle of Ypres.• The CEF’s success at Vimy led to a similarly

difficult assignment later that same year at Passchendaele.

• From July to October, the British slowly pushed back the Germans (about 6 km) but fighting became more difficult because of the battleground conditions.• Heavy rains and shelling had destroyed the drainage

system creating a landscape of think and heavy mud.

Battle of Passchendaele

• In October, Haig turned to the Canadian Corps to carry on the offensive.

• General Currie said the offensive would be impossible without heavy casualties, but was told to continue.

• Currie and his officers applied the same careful preparation that had worked at Vimy Ridge. Unfortunately, the mud was so deep and thick that it was nearly impossible for troops to advance in.

• Thousands of soldiers and horses who slipped in the mud were sucked in and drowned. It was also almost impossible for soldier’s to find stable ground on which to place guns – without these, advancing troops would not have the protection of the creeping barrage.

• On November 10th, the Canadians finally captured Passchendaele - but at a great loss of life. The British lost 330,000 men, and 15,600 Canadians were killed in the last two weeks of the battle.

• As for Passchendaele, it was little more than a pile of bricks in a sea of mud, and a position of little importance. • Video Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUox_hQAih8

The mud-filled landscape of Passchendaele

Wounded Canadian on way to aid post