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Canadian Battles
World War I
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Second Battle of Ypres

1915
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Summary…
 Canada’s first major battle in WWI.

 The Germans use a gas attack.

 The Canadians survive by covering their faces with urine

soaked rags.

 6000 Canadians die but Canada holds the line.

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.

 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”
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. This
Canadian soldier is
suffering from
mustard gas burns.
Second Battle of Ypres
Video (44:30 -58:31)
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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.
Mark Tank 1
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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.
How did the Battle of the Somme
effect Newfoundland?
Video – 1:13
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Battle of Vimy Ridge

April 1917
Birth of a Nation
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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
Grange Tunnels Dug Under the Battlefield at Vimy

Grange Tunnel
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.
Where did we see this before?
 What was the outcome?
 What happened after the artillery barrage stopped?

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 resit
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
Vimy Ridge – CBC Movie
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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
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 your 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
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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.

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The Last 100 Days

August 1918 – November 1918
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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