Important Canadian Battles in WWI

1
Important Canadian Battles in WWI
2
Vimy Ridge- April 1917

• Many historians consider the Canadian victory at
  Vimy a defining moment for Canada
• The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy
  Ridge in April 1917.
• The Canadians would be assaulting over an open
  graveyard, previous French attacks had failed
  with over 100,000 casualties.

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5

• "In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a
  nation."BGen A.E. Ross
• Canadian troops also earned a reputation as
  formidable, effective troops because of the
  stunning success
• four Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at
  530am on 9 April 1917. More than 15,000 Canadian
  infantry overran the Germans all along the front
• Artillery and preparation key in this battle

6

• 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000
  wounded
• In 1922, the French government ceded to Canada
  Vimy Ridge, and the land surrounding it.

7
Canadian WWI Memorial
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
Victoria Cross
13
Battle of Ypes

• April 1915, the 1st Canadian Division fought the
  grim Battle of Ypres, in Belgium,
• Germans introduced poison gas to the Western
  Front.
• 5,200 Canadian deaths

14
Battle of the Somme 1916

• Canadians fought under gruelling conditions to
  advance only a few miles on the Somme front
• By October 1916, the Canadian Corps had grown to
  four infantry divisions supported by strong
  artillery, cavalry, engineer, and auxiliary
  forces, a total of more than 80,000 men.
• Battle of the Somme was one of the largest
  battles of the First World War, with more than
  one million casualties
• The battle is remembered today as the debut of
  the tank.

15

• The 1st Newfoundland Regiment,
• Most of the battalion was wiped out before it
  crossed the front line, and it suffered 91
  casualties

16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Passchendaele

• June 1917, Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie
  became the first Canadian to command the Canadian
  Corps. That October-November, fighting on
  horrific battlefields in waist-deep mud, the
  Corps captured Passchendaele, in Belgium, but
  suffered 16,000 killed or wounded.

22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
Other contributions
25

• Over 3000 British and Canadian pilots trained in
  Canada, Fighter pilot Billy Bishop was the
  third leading ace of the war, credited with 72
  aircraft destroyed
• The small Royal Canadian Navy patrolled the east
  coast against the threat posed by German
  submarines.

26
(No Transcript)
27
Coming of Age

• 620,000 Canadians served in the Canadian
  Expeditionary Force, including 425,000 who served
  overseas more than 60,000 were killed and
  172,000 wounded
• Canadas immense contribution to victory helped
  Canadians develop a growing sense of nationhood
  and international recognition
• Entered League of Nations on its own