Important Canadian Battles in WWI

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Important Canadian Battles in WWI
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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.

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• "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

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• 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.

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Canadian WWI Memorial
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Victoria Cross
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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

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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.

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

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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.

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Battle of Vimy Ridge

• You will watch the following documentary (2300)
  and fill in the question sheet as you watch.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vhvvXdLoDebk