[ARTHUR CURRIE: A VISUAL

]A biography and tribute to one of the greatest Canadian generals of WWI, who helped shape Canada into the nation it is today.

2009

Written & Illustrated by Sally Xie 03/01/09

EARLY YEARS

On December 5th, 1875 in the quaint town of

Napperton, Arthur William Currie (formerly Curry) was

born. A talented tactician and strategist, he was arguably the

best Canadian general to ever fight on the battlefield. He had

lived in his parents' family home with William Garner Curry

and Jane Patterson, and the dwelling – albeit in dire need of

repair –still stands to this day.

Currie had been educated at various local public

schools before enrolling in the Strathroy Collegiate Institute

just east of his hometown, and for a brief while, even

attended the University of Toronto.

LIFE BEFORE THE WAR

In 1894, Currie moved to British

Columbia and taught in public schools

around Sidney and Victoria for five

years. It was during this time that he

changed the spelling of his surname to

'Currie'.

He was twenty-two years of age

when he enlisted in the non-permanent

army as a lowly-ranked gunner in the

fifth Regiment, Canadian Garrison

Artillery. By 1900 (twenty-five years

old) he had risen in rank to become

corporal, and was offered an officer's commission (a higher rank and better social standing

within Victoria). Once he had been commissioned, Currie was expected to supply his own

tailored uniforms and contribute part of his income to the officer's mess (a community

residence where the soldiers socialized, ate, and sometimes lived). Currie knew he would

not be able to afford all this on a teacher's salary, and decided

to go into business. He became involved with insurance and

invested heavily in the real estate market, until his mass

investment went awry and he was severely bankrupt. Currie

then transferred around $11,000 dollars from regimental

funds into his personal bank account to pay off his debts, and

was actually liable to be prosecuted until World War I broke

out in 1914. He was sent to Europe in command of the second

Brigade, and although Prime Minister Robert Borden

eventually realized Currie should have went to court for

embezzlement, he did nothing about it because he didn't

want to bring his men home.

In a sense, World War I actually saved Currie from his financial plight.

CURRIE'S FIRST GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT IN WORLD WAR I

Currie led his troops to France on February 19th, and they took control of a position

in Ypres on April 17th. Five days later, for the very first time on the Western front – the

Germans attacked with lethal gas. Faced with an unprecedented situation that ordinarily

would have panicked commanders and troops alike, Currie did not falter; he threw the

tactical rulebook out the window and came up with a strong defense and effective

counterattack. After several days of standing their ground, the Canadians established a

stable defense line, and emerged victorious.

It was at the second battle of Ypres that Arthur Currie's tactical ability was finally

recognized by his superiors. He was promoted to major-general and now had command of

the entire First Canadian Division.

ARTHUR CURRIE, AS SEEN BY HIS TROOPS

Currie had a nickname among his troops: "Guts and Gaiters". He was stern and aloof,

but the Canadians knew he was good at what he did and could be trusted; unlike some of

the other commanders (notably General Douglas Haig) who sent wave after wave of men

charging across No Man's Land in certain death, Currie did not waste any soldiers' lives. He

tried his best to win each battle with as few casualties as possible.

VIMY RIDGE, 1916

In 1914, the Germans had captured the high

ground of Vimy Ridge and completely fortified it. Both

the French and the British had failed to take Vimy – and

now, possibly because neither country wanted to lose

any more of its men on Vimy, the Canadians were sent in

to finish the job.

Both Arthur Currie and Julian Byng valued their

troops and knew they would not be able to take Vimy

without a proper strategy. On January 20th, 1917, Currie

began a series of lectures on what he believed would be

the key to winning the battle:

The Platoon System of Attack: instead of just

sending waves of men over No Man's Land, the

troops would charge at different times and cover

each other's attacks; also, there were various

specialists in each group

The Creeping Barrage: done properly, it would allow soldiers to march across No

Man's Land while artillery fire shielded them

Intelligence: spotting and silencing enemy artillery

Training: instead of sending the soldiers in blindly, each one had to be trained

specifically for their role; all of them were given maps, and knew what to do in the

event that their commander was killed in action

With Currie's tactical research, the Canadians had succeeded where both the British

and the French failed: taking Vimy Ridge.

PASSCHENDAELE, 1917

Before he sent his troops to the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as

Passchendaele), Currie estimated a total casualty count of sixteen hundred casualties and

insisted that taking Passchendaele would be strategically useless. However, Sir Douglas

Haig ignored Currie's warnings and carried on with the attack.

Currie, being of lower rank, could not do much. He insisted on taking his time with

the preparations, and the Canadian offensive only began on October 20th of 1917. The

Germans withdrew from battle on November 11th, but as Currie had predicted, there were

nearly 16,000 casualties and the attack was entirely futile – it was the Germans' policy to

always have a trench to fall back to, and after the Canadians left Passchendaele, they quickly

took back what little ground the Corps gained.

POST-WAR RECOGNITION & DEATH

After the war ended, Currie

had received various awards

and honours for his compet-

ence on the battlefield.

He was knighted in 1917 and

was Mentioned in Despatches

(if an officer performs a

noteworthy act is included in

an official report from a

senior commander, the

officer has been "Mentioned

in Despatches") a total of

nine times. Currie was also named companion to the Order of the Bath (British chivalry)

following the Second Battle of Ypres, promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the

Bath, welcomed into the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, joined

the French Légion d'honneur and Croix de Guerre, the Order of the Crown, and received the

US Distinguished Service Medal. Currie was Canada's first general.

Even though Currie only received a secondary school diploma, he became the

President and Vice Chancellor of McGill University in Montreal. General Currie died a few

days after the fifteenth anniversary of Armistice (end of the war) on November 30th, 1933.

He was fifty-eight years old when he passed away.

LEGACY

How did Sir Arthur Currie become a crucial figure in the history of Canada? A tall,

aloof, slightly opportunistic man doesn't exactly fit one's ideal image of a hero, especially

someone who was liable to be prosecuted for embezzlement before war had been declared

– but throughout the war, Currie had proven time and time again that he had not become

commander of the Canadian corps through anything but sheer tactical ability.

Calm and quiet, Arthur Currie – with his vision on the battlefield, consideration for

his soldiers and prudence in times of danger – had welded the Canadian Corps into an

unparalleled military force that could achieve even the impossible.