Early October 1917: The returning Canadians who fought at Ypres in 1915 and 1916 are shocked at the scenes in the salient.
Everything is destroyed, nothing green remains.
The dead of the earlier battles are everywhere and the ground is a maze of interconnected, water-filled shell holes. Canadian soldiers have heard rumours about the upcoming battle and are unnerved.
October 17, 1917: Canadian engineers and pioneers begin to extend the transport system, construct artillery positions and move ammunition and supplies to the front, all in preparation for the coming battles. They work amidst continuous shelling, gas attacks and the most horrendous conditions possible.
October 26, 1917: The front of the Canadian Corps is split by an
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Again the 3rd Division is short of its objective, but it secures additional ground and is now on drier land.
Heavy losses are suffered in this attack, particularly by Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and the 49th Battalion.
The 4th Division also launches a three-pronged attack from the stronghold it had established partway up Passchendaele Ridge.
They have great difficulty determining where they are to attack:
All landmarks shown on reference maps had been obliterated; roads, trees and most buildings were reduced to dust. Nonetheless, the attack goes according to plan.
Although suffering heavy casualties, they capture a series of fortified buildings - Vienna Cottages and Crest Farm - both near Passchendaele.
November 6, 1917: The Canadians are now on drier land and Passchendaele Village is only 100 metres away.
The depleted battalions of the 3rd and 4th Battalions are withdrawn and their replacements are fresh soldiers from the 1st and 2nd. The 1st Division, emerging from the Bellevue Spur, is to attack Passchendaele Ridge from the north.
The 3rd Battalion from Toronto protects the northern flank of the assault by seizing a fortified farm that was pouring machine-gun fire into the Canadian attack.
This allows everything to go as planned and the 1st Division’s assault is a huge success.
The 2nd Division’s assault is directly
The Battle of Somme had a significant impact on Canadian nationalism by uniting people under a shared identity. This battle brought Canadians together against a common cause despite the intensity of the war and the heavy death toll. The majority of the deaths were young men from Newfoundland. The Battle of the Somme was a significant event in the First World War. The bravery and accomplishments of Canadian soldiers there helped establish their growing reputation as skilled defensemen who could face opposition in the face of heavy fire. Before WW1, Canada was merely a Federation that did not have the soul and unity of a nation. Residents did not identify themselves as “Canadians” until this momentous occasion in the war that helped cement the
TF 1-34 moves from ATK MIKE along AXIS KNIFE IOT seize the OBJ BLUE IOT destroy the enemy supporting effort and secure the northern flank of the 9th division’s main body.
Losses like the Battle of Second Ypres where 60,000 Canadians died and Battle of the Somme where 600,000 of Allied troops were wounded had a big impact on Canada. The Canadian troops had started to doubt the British leaders. Since Canada had a lack of experience with wars they didn't have many commanding roles. This began to cause resentment but changed in 1916 when Canadians were promoted.
At the top of the ridge the Turks were met. Le Marchant fell, a bayonet through his heart. Major Allanson was also wounded by a bayonet thrust in the thigh. For ten minutes hand-to-hand fighting of he most bitter character ensued, bayonets, rifles and pistols, used as clubs, and fists. The Turks turned and fled. The key of the whole Peninsula was in the hand of the Battalion. Below could be seen the Straits, motors and wheeled transport on the roads leading to Achi Baba. Looking round, the Commanding Officer saw that the Battalion was not being supported. He therefore ordered the Battalion to pursue the retreating Turks down the eastern slopes of Sari Bair.
Next was after D-Day, which was June 6, 1944. Western Europe fighting got intense, and because of that there were lots of Canadian Casualties. King finally agreed on conscription and sending conscripted soldiers overseas.
Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Curries was not pleased at the prospect of going to Passchendaele. Currie, like many Canadian soldiers, had grim memories of the Ypres salient, and grim memories to he Ypres salient, and admitted that his “experience in the salient in 1915 and in 1916 were such that I never wanted to see the place again.” Unfortunately, on 3 October, Currie was warned that the Corps might be sent north, to take part in the offensive in Flanders. Currie could make no sense of Passchendaele, and he was furious. “Passchendaele!” he raged in front of his staff. “What’s the good of it? Let the Germans have it--keep it--rot in it! Rot in the mud! There’s a mistake somewhere. it must be a mistake! It isn’t worth a drop of blood.” Although Currie was not at all happy that the Canadians had been told to take Passchendaele. One of Currie’s first moves was to assign intelligence officers to the various headquarters with which the Canadian Corps would be associated: Second Army, II Anzac Corps, which was responsible for the sector the Canadians would be taking over, and its front-line divisions, the New Zealand and 3rd Australian. These officers, and the general staff were to acquire
Canadian troops got through the D-Q Line on 2 of September. The morning of September 24th 1918
Surviving Trench Warfare: Technology and the Canadian Corps, 1914-1918 by Dr Bill Rawling is an enjoyable book to read to gain insight in the way that the Great War was fought in the early twentieth century. It is a valuable resource to learn about tactics and other parts of the Canadian involvement in World War One. While there is not a very clear thesis, Rawlings’ overall theme is that the Canadians did the best they could have done in the situation they were in.
Some of Canada’s greatest challenges and major contributions on land during the Second World War were centered in D-Day, Hong Kong, and the Italian
1917 Canadian Conscription occurred during War War I and was the involuntary recruitment to the armed forces of canada to go overseas and fight
Although they failed miserably; in the brutal attempt they had made, the whole act was a learning process and if you look at it that way, it counts as a success. A huge lesson was learned being; it was not a bright idea to attack from the sea, especially when attacking a 'heavily defended post'. Including
Whether it be depictions of the “noble savage” or a red-clad, horse-riding Mountie patrolling the northern nation, Canadians have a knack for creating a mythical element to their past. Deconstructing national myths has become a burgeoning field of academic inquiry as evidenced by monographs such as Daniel Francis’ in his book National Dreams: Myth, Memory, and Canadian History. A central event in the Canadian consciousness, with much national sentiment attached to it, is that of Vimy Ridge. On April 9, 2007 over thirty-five hundred high school students from across Canada congregated at the newly restored Canadian National Vimy Memorial near Vimy, France. Their presence marked the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and
On the precise hour and minute of April 9th at 5:30am on Easter Monday four Canadian divisions consisting of approximately, 15, 000 troops commenced their assault. The premise of this battle was uphill for our army across a seven kilometer line. Regardless of the geographical disadvantage we were able to quickly advanced the enemy’s trenches with a technique referred to as the creeping barrage. This is a technique where we consistently used the artillery not to bombard the Prussian lines, however, to use it as a barrier to shield the Canadian soldiers. The bombshells were time in order that they land in front of the troops preventing the Prussians from rising from their
Up to this point the Canadians were not regarded as fighting soldiers and were thus given the assignment of occupying this relatively quite sector of the front. The importance of Ypres would soon be realized when on April 22, 1915 the German line used the first poisonous gas attack in war against the Canadians and Algerians troops to gain access to the important roads that intersected in Ypres. The Algerian troops fled leaving a gap of six kilometers along the trench system. Now the German side had the ability to take control of the area. Somehow the gap was filled with the Canadians who even managed to counterattack, a strategy that came as a complete surprise to the Germans. John McCrae’s post was near a particularly dangerous section of the road. The Germans had it covered with artillery fire for seventeen days of battle. McCrae would later
Vimy Ridge was an important turning point in Canadian History. The soldiers were all men who had fought so proudly. Even though the men were frightened beyond belief, they were more worried about showing their own fear