Battles on the Western Front

First! Your Homework…

Stalemate: A position counting as a draw, in which a player is not in

check, but cannot move except to check In other words?

War of attrition: Military strategy in which a belligerent side attempts to win

a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continual losses in personnel and material

In other words?

Main Battlefronts

The Western Front

The first 20 000 CDN troops got to the frontlines in April 1915

They were joined by another 400 000 CDNs over the next 4 years

Ypres Ancient city in Belgium April 22, 1915 CDNs were told to hold

3.5km of the frontline despite the heavy attack of the Germans

CDNs had only been in action for a few weeks!

Here, CDNs (and other Allied soldiers) experienced something very, very new to them: chlorine gas

Chlorine Gas

Released from canisters when the breeze was blowing toward the Allied trenches

Burned the eyes and throats Destroyed lungs Those who breathed the gas

choked, gagged, gasped, coughed, and died.

CDNs managed to hold their position, even filling in a gap left by retreating French soldiers

I saw the whole picture of the gas attack as probably no one else did. I have never been in a battle – and I have been in many – where the men were suffering in such numbers that their crying and groaning could be heard all over the battlefield. None of us had ever seen gas before. It was the first gas attack in history.

But not a single unit skipped out – some individuals, yes, but formations… no. Suddenly, we saw the gas rolling up in a brownish yellowish bank. It was between 1m and 3m high and it wouldn’t rise any higher unless it was puffed up by the wind.

I went over to where the line had been broken and where there was confusion. No Canadian troops were running.

Chlorine Gas at Ypres

The CDNs makeshift gas masks?

They urinated in their handkerchiefs

CDN troops suffered major casualties at Ypres

More than 5200 died 1 in 5 soldiers were listed as

“killed in action,” “gassed,” “missing,” or “wounded”

Poison Gas

Poison gases continued to be used by both sides throughout the war

Mustard Gas was the worst one. Burned skin Burned the respiratory tract Caused blindness

Eventually, more effective gas masks were invented (they had built-in filters that would purify the air)

The Somme

In France; designed to be the big push to end the war and defeat the Germansbut instead turned into a 5 month blood bath

Started July 1, 1916 - “the most disastrous day the British army had ever suffered”

CDN corps fought as part of the British army (like they did at Ypres)

Why do you think this was considered such a disaster? What do you know?

The Somme 7:30am – British officer leaps to the top of the trench,

ordering his troops to go forward One man was hit as soon as his head went above the

sandbags Soldiers stumbled through barbed wire, no man’s land They faced German machine gun fire “Our dead were heaped on top of each other… In places

three and four deep” (British sergeant’s records) Only a few Allied soldiers ever reached the German

trenches By nightfall, British and CDN casualties totaled 57 470 This is the heaviest ever in warfare for one day’s fighting

The Somme – NFLD & Labrador NFLD and Labrador was not yet

a part of Canada Troops from NFLD and

Labrador faced a particularly tough German division at Beaumont-Hamel

They were mowed down by German machine gun fire as they advanced toward the German trenches

90% of the NFLD Regiment was killed or wounded

It was the greatest single disaster in the 500+ year history of NFLD and Labrador

July 1 is still marked as a solemn memorial day in that province

The Battle Continues… General Haig (the British officer

in charge) insists that the attack continue and keeps telling his men to go “over the top”

The Battle of the Somme lasts 141 days! (five months!!)

CDNs fought so heroically that they were nicknamed “storm troops” by the German forces

During the rest of the war, CDNs were often called upon to lead an attack

“Whenever the Germans found the Canadian corps coming into their line, they prepared for the worst” (British PM Lloyd George)

Further Details Lasted 5 months Casualties for both sides had reached 1.25 million

24 000 of these were CDN The British had advanced only 11km People at home were horrified at the massacre!

Vimy Ridge

France April 9-12, 1917 Canada’s most celebrated battle German forces had dug in on the height of

the land in Vimy From this vantage point, they could see and

control all the surrounding areas Both the French and British had tried many

times over the past three years to win this hill, but had failed every time

Canadians at Vimy RidgeThe Firsts: Canadian officer in

charge Canadian who designed

a new form of attack: the creeping barrage

All 4 Canadian divisions fought together

Wholly Canadian success!

The Creeping Barrage

Became the standard means of deploying artillery to support an infantry attack

The infantry follows the advancing barrage as closely as possible

Its employment in this way recognized the importance of artillery fire in neutralizing, rather than destroying, the enemy

It was found that a moving barrage immediately followed by the infantry assault could be far more effective than weeks of preliminary bombardment

In other words?

100 000 Canadians participated in the attack In a sleet storm, Canadians forced their way up the hill After a few hours, they had captured the ridge

Results of the Battle: In one day: more guns, ground, and German prisoners

were taken than had been taken in the first 2.5 years of the war

4 Canadians won the Victoria Cross (most prestigious award given by Britain to its heros)

Morale boost Brought lots of international attention to Canada Some say this is the moment when Canada became a

nation

Passchendaele

Belgium Fall of 1917 This land had once been under the North

Sea – why is this an important detail? Shelling destroyed drainage ditches the

land became waterlogged On top of that, there was unseasonable rain Soldiers sometimes wept with the sheer

frustration of trying to advance through the mud

The Mud of Passchendaele Duckboards were placed as

pathways on top of the land so that there would be a place to walk

1000s of soldiers (and horses) who slipped into the mud were sucked in and drowned

Locomotives sank to their boilers

Tanks quickly bogged down The wheels of heavy artillery

refused to move

The Mud of Passchendaele A British official, seeing

the battlefield for the first time, cried out: “Good God! Did we really send soldiers to find in that?!”

Almost 16 000 CDNs lost their lives at Passchendaele

The Allies gained 7km in this battle

Soon after, the Germans won it back

Major Canadian Battle Sites