War Fever (At Vimy Ridge) pg 4-7
Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, almost three years before the Battle Of Vimy Ridge. After news broke out that war had been declared, it was greeted with great enthusiasm all across Canada. Songs were sung in Montreal, Bands were marched along King Street in Toronto, and hundreds of young men marched to the militia barracks and fought for the chance to be enlisted in the war in Winnipeg.
canada , as a dominion of the British Empire, was also at war with Great Britain
Germany had been building battleships, challenging the British Army, who were the ones who “ruled the waves.
It was said in the newspapers that the war would be over by Christmas
Sam Hughes, the country’s minister of militia
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and defence believed that the Canadian soldiers might be able to teach the British soldiers a few things about fighting A day after war was declared, Hughes announced that Canada would be sending 25,000 soldiers and enlisted men to fight with Britain, considering Canada had an army one-tenth that size Hughes told every militia unit across Canada to send volunteers to train at Valcartier, Quebec, but there was no army camp there, only bushes, so construction began quickly Soldiers arrived there in late August, when the construction wasn’t done yet, Men had to be crammed into tents and there were hardly any uniforms, rifles, and equipment, giving them less time to have proper training One soldier sent a letter home claiming they were in no shape to battle In late September, Hughes announced that the men of the Canadadian Expeditionary Force were ready to sail to Quebec City. The soldiers had more training when they arrived in England, but soon rainfall turned the English army camp into a mudhole, delaying their training even farther By February 1915, the War Office announced that the Canadian soldiers were ready to fight in France, they were about to discover what war was really like In The Trenches 8-9 The 1st Canadian Division was in the trenches by early March of 1915 There were only 30 metres of “no man’s land” between them and the enemy lines They learned to keep their heads down to avoid getting their heads blown off They lived off of corned beef and bread or biscuits with tea and jam, but that left them feeling permanently hungry. It was considered normal for the Western Front of the 100 men who were wounded or killed In early April, the 1st Canadian Division was going to move north towards Ypres, who had a reputation of bloody fighting Gas 10
On April 22, 1915, Germans released poisonous chlorine gas towards the soldiers and had them gasping and coughing their lungs out
Two days later, the gas reached the Candaian front lines and were told to urinate on their handkerchiefs and hold it over their nose, which did little good
The canadians hold their positions until reinforcements came
In the end, Ypres stayed in Allied hands, they have proved themselves in battle, but had over 6,700 casualties
Onto Vimy
The Allies really needed to make a breakthrough after the bloodbath at the Somme, but they had to knock out the German bastion of Vimy Ridge to do so
With guns along along the slopes with tunnels and caverns under the muddy surface, the Germans thought the ridge was impregnable
Since October of 1914, over 160,000 French and British soldiers had died at Vimy ridge, and now the duty of capturing it came to the Canadians
When the Canadians arrived at Vimy in December of 1916, there was a sign awaiting them saying “Welcome Canadians”, hoisted by the Germans
The men of Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry made a truce with some Germans to exchange run toasts on Christmas day
After doing so, both sides returned to their trenches the fighting resumed, with a cold, bitter winter ahead of
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them Neglecting Nothing 16-17 General Julian Byng cared for his men and didn't want any of his men sacrificed because of poor planning, and that's why the Canadians at Vimy liked him, he wasn't stuffy or cared about winning shiny buttons Alongside him was canadian general Arthur Currie, who he trusted a lot to learn everything he could from the battles of 1916 Currie had an amazing head for detail and was very organized, he even kept a “things to remember” list One motto he had was “a thorough preparation must lead to success. Neglect nothing.” Currie’s first recommendation was to give all the soldiers maps, not just the officers. They printed out 40,000 maps and was handed out to every soldier so that they could mark out where he would advance on the ridge Every officer who had the map only for them were always the first ones killed since they would be leading and when the officer died the soldiers wouldn't know what to do or what the plan was because their only leader was dead Every soldier would learn all the details of the attack plan, they were told everything about the plan except for the date. This meant that all the soldiers were trusted, instead of listening to orders blindly Over the next few months, every detail of the attack would be carefully planned and practiced, this was recorded that Vimy was the most rehearsed battle in history War underground there was a maze of trenches in front of Vimy with names like Stargate St, Spadina Ave, and Tottenham Rd Underneath was a honeycomb of caves, some large enough to hold hundreds of men
There were side tunnels and underground rooms housing ammunition stores, officers quarters, a chapel, offices and a huge water tank
Byng and his planners soon realized that they could attack from the tunnels, so they started digging on the 12 subways that could lead to or past the attack line and planned on blasting open those subway lines and rushing out to attack from there
War Museum http://www.warmuseum.ca/the-battle-of-vimy-ridge/
On the day of the battle, the Canadians had to carefully plan and rehearse their attack since it was a difficult to capture, with the 7 kilometre ridge holding a commanding view over the allied lines
Canadians would have to run over the many French bodies who had failed to attack with over 100,000 casualties
At 5:30am on April 9, 1917, the four Canadian divisions attacked together for the first time
The front German line was overran by more than 15,000 soldiers
With their officers being killed, the brave soldiers continued charging and moving forward under heavy fire
With many soldiers sacrificed, the Canadians charged at the machine-gun nests and forced the Germans to surrender in their protective dugouts
After a frontal bayonet charge against the machine gun positions, hill 145, the highest and most important feature of the ridge, was finally
captured After three days of brutal battling, the victory was officially the Canadians
Previous Allied attacks on Vimy Ridge in 1914 and 1915 had cost the British and French hundreds of thousands of casualties and had been mostly unsuccessful. The planning and preparations for the attack were extensive, and time consuming. The Canadians were trained rigorously. Models of the trench systems were made and the soldiers were drilled on what they were to do and
Division. He led the “Red Patch” at Mount Sorrel, through the horror of the Somme in 1916 and at Vimy Ridge, Arleux, and Fresnoy in the spring of 1917. In June, Currie had been knighted and named commander of the Canadian Corps, now four divisions strong.
After the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge, other counties immediately started to view Canada as a strong and determined army. In earlier years, many British and French attacks had been made against the ridge, as it was the barrier preventing the allies from getting to Lens-Douai Plain. The French has lost 150,000 men at Vimy, while the British also suffered heavy causalities. Before the battle at Vimy, Canadian forces were not recognized for any significant military contributions, and a Canadian had never been commander of more than a single division of soldiers. After their victory, however, both Britain and France viewed Canada and their soldiers as a military force to be reckoned with. In fact, Sir Arthur Currie became commander of the entire Canadian corps after his performance in commanding the first Canadian division at Vimy. This showed that the British commander...
2004 [9] The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum. 27 December2001 [10]Reid. Brian. Canada at war and peace volume 1. Esprit Dr corps Books [11] Canadians and Conflicts.
Every 11 hour, 11 day of the 11th month we express our gratitude to those Canadian soldiers who fought courageously in the wars of World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Lest We Forget is a famous phrase that everyone has heard or seen in the month of Remembrance Day. This phrase reminds us daily about the losses of loved ones and the possibilities of declaring another conflict that could hurt millions of people. Canada's war experiences have defined its nation. Due to Canada's numerous contributions to the World War I, World War II and the Korean War, Canada has earned a reputation as an independent strong fighting force, a supportive ally and eventually as a valuable peacekeeping nation.
Government of Canada. "The Battle of The Scheldt.” Canada Netherlands Pays-Bas Nederland. Canada: Veterans Affairs, 2005. 6-7. Print.
Vimy Ridge was a key to the German defence system. It rose 61 m. above
One would have to admit that World War One did give Canada a reputation and Canadians pride. Canada’s accomplishments in the war, notably the victory at Vimy Ridge and Canadian troops holding against the German attack in the Second Battle of the Ypres, not only gave Canadians a reason to be proud of their country, but also let other countries to see that Canada was a very helpful and useful. Also, Canada representing itself in signing the Treaty of Versailles increased Canadian pride and further showed Canada’s contribution to the war. However, this increased Canadian pride and reputation came at a heavy price. As
From a strategic point of view the Canadians were extremely innovative in their offensive tactics and without doubt led to their success in the battle. Should the Canadians followed similar tactics of the French or British of sending their soldiers wave after wave in tightly packed groups and not using their artillery to its best use the attack likely would have befell the same fate, accomplishing little and many dead. Instead the Canadians invented a tactic of using platoons that included specialists in different weapons (bombs, machine guns, etc.). These platoons attacked in a loose formation (unlike in waves tightly packed men) making it a lot more difficult for the Germans (or any other force for that matter)...
Canada’s eligibility to participate on the world stage and its move towards independence was proven after the accomplishments at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Foremost, Canada’s first opportunity to partake on the world stage came soon after the end of World War I, during the Paris Peace Conference. The accomplishments of the Canadian Army in the Battle of Vimy Ridge helped to earn Canada a spot in the Paris Peace Conference, after long arguments made on behalf of Canada by Prime Minister Robert Broden . The Prime Minister argued that Canada’s wartime record had earned Canada a seat separate from Britain. Canada was granted the seat despite the disapproval of the American President, Woodrow Wilson’s as they contributed greatly to the Allied forces especially in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The approval of Canada’s seat is important to both the significance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the eligibility to participate on the world stage because it was one of the first steps Canada took towards its independence from Great Britain. Additionally, Canada became more social with other countries separate from Britain after the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Canada involved itself more in trading after the battle and the war, and had a flourishing...
1917", Philip. All of Vimy Ridge Cleared of Germans ''New York Times'' 11 April. "Military history of Canada during World War I - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.
The battle of Vimy Ridge was very significant in Canadian history and lead us closer to independence. Vimy Ridge was a very important strategic military area held by the Germans. French and British Soldiers
Canada's sacrifices and contributions to the war changed its history and enabled them to become more independent and they friendship with Britain grew stronger and stronger. Canada was first inducted into the World War 1 when Britain declared war on Germany, August 4, 1914. Canada being allies with Britain had to support those in the war even know they weren’t in there and fighting all on the front they were backup just in case the German soldiers broke through the trenches and head towards France. Later on the Governor General also declared war on Germany but the Canadians fought under the ruling of a Britain commander. The achievements of Canadian military during the First World War came during the Somme, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele battles and what later became known as "Canada's Hundred Days". They help fight for the freedom and peace for the small village of Passchendaele and however as it was a muddy hell, they still persevered throu...
Regular reconnaissance patrols, assisted by information gathered from aerial photography, meant that records of changes to the German defenses on the Ridge were always up-to-date. Tunnellers dug “subterranean” passages under the Ridge - a total of five kilometers in all on four levels - allowing the attacking troops to move close to their jumping-off positions in some safety. Once the battle had begun, these same tunnels allowed the wounded to be brought back under cover and also provided unseen and safe lines of communications. The Infantry attack was preceded by a powerful artillery bombardment, which lasted almost three weeks, involving about 1,000 guns, including huge, 15-inch howitzers. For the first two weeks, some guns were not fired at all, so that the Germans would not be able to locate their positions but eventually, these guns joined in the bombardment, too.
Most Canadian victories came in the form of preventing American attack from being successful. This is the main Canadian reason for believing they won this war. An example of this occurred on 12 July 1812, when General Hull and his troops crossed into Canada. Their invasion was promptly met and turned away by opposing forces. This also happened in the Battle of Raisin River on 21 January 1813. American General Winchester surrendered to British Colonel Proctor, losing 500 prisoners. Perhaps the most significant of Canadian victories was the burning of Washington. When the British forces won the battle of Bladensburg, it “opened the door to Washington”. The Capitol Building and the White House were destroyed but luckily, for the Americans, torrential rains put out fires in the rest of the city. To the Canadians from 1812-1814, this was reason enough to believe that they were victorious. To Canadians now it seems a shallow way to claim triumph.