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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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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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
The Canadians advanced behind a creeping barrage, which is a precise line of intense artillery fire advancing at a set rate, timed to the minute. This allowed other soldiers to capture German positions in the moments after the explosions, before the enemy soldiers emerged from their underground bunkers. By the afternoon, Canadian forces had taken all of their objectives, except for one where troops were facing the worst terrain and toughest enemy defences. It took three more days of fighting before the Canadians were finally able to gain control of this last part of the front. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was over, and the Germans were forced to withdraw three kilometres.
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.
One of Canada’s largest military endeavors was the battle of Vimy Ridge during World War One. It was a fierce battle between Germans and Canadians. Canada was trying to take over the German controlled ridge, which ran from northwest to southwest between Lens and Arras, France. Its highest point was 145 feet above sea level, which was exceptionally helpful in battle because of the very flat landscape. Already over 200,000 men had fallen at Vimy, all desperately trying to take or defend this important and strategic ridge. As a result of its success in taking the ridge, Canada gained a lot more than just the strategic point. Canada was united as a nation, and the victory changed the way other counties viewed them. Canadians no longer viewed their soldiers as merely an extension of allied forces; they now viewed their troops as an independent and unified entity.
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.
Canada was one of Great Britain’s empire who fought under British units or in the Canadian Corps, formed by the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. These Canadians who fought aside with Great Britain earned a recognition of becoming an independent strong fighting force. They earned this reputation through one of World War One’s battles called, Vimy Ridge. Canadian soldiers who were in the Canadian Corps had an awful General named, Sam Hughes who preferred to use the Ross rifle. This type of weapon was too heavy and often jammed too many times to be used as a rifle for upcoming horrific battles. Thus, a new general replaced Sam Hughes and that was, Arthur Currie. General Currie had the desire for the Canadian Corps’ four divisions to fight together to take hold of Vimy Ridge. Arthur Currie made precise plans of military tactics that no general had done to their troops. General Currie gave his troops maps and had a duplicate model of Vimy Ridge so that troops are able to have an ideal look of what they should be taking hold of. Als...
Zuehlke, Mark. Terrible Victory: First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign, September 13-November 6, 1944. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2007. 15. Print.
Vimy Ridge was a key to the German defence system. It rose 61 m. above
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...
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
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.
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
The events of July and early August 1914 are known as the sparks that lit the explosion of World War I. Uneasy tensions that had been boiling beneath the surface of Europe for many years soon erupted and with that several alliances that were formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; via their colonies, the conflict advanced rapidly. When war officially broke out in 1914, Britain joined in the defense of Belgium and in reaction to Germany's violation of the treaty in which the countries neutrality was to be respected by all other nations. Upon this Britain requested that all dominions of the British Empire, including Canada were to fight on its behalf. Canada’s involvement in the War changed history, deepening our independence, strengthening our right the self govern and opening a gap between the French and English-speaking populations. Canadian's were a great asset in WW1, and it marked the beginning of independent Canadian forces fighting under a Canadian-born commander. On August 5, 1914, the Governor General declared a war between Canada and Germany.
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.