The Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War One (1914-1916)
Becoming a Nation on the Battlefields of Europe
1915 - 1916: The Battles of Ypres and the Somme
Were We Ready?
Most of the world wasn’t surprised when the war broke out, but some countries were
better prepared than others. For example, pre-war Canada had a regular army of only
3000 men; we did, however, have 60,000 militia (citizen soldiers) trained by 1913.
Most provinces also insisted on some form of military training in their schools.
In the years between 1897 and 1913, defense spending had risen six-fold in Canada.
An Army of Volunteers
With a regular army of only 3,110 men and a fledgling navy, Canada was ill-prepared to enter a world conflict. Yet, from Halifax to Vancouver, thousands of young Canadians hastened to the recruiting offices. Within a few weeks more than 32,000 men gathered at Valcartier Camp near Quebec City.
Canada Enters the Fray
Two months after the war began, the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was on its way to England in the largest convoy ever to cross the Atlantic. Also sailing in this convoy was a contingent from Newfoundland. The Newfoundland contingent did not want to fight under a Canadian flag.
Salisbury Plain
The CEF didn’t immediately enter battle. It first had to endure a long miserable winter training in the mud and drizzle of Salisbury Plain in England. In spring 1915, they were deemed ready for the front line and were keen. Nothing, they believed, could be worse than Salisbury. They were wrong.
Seeing Action
When the Canadians departed England, they joined the regular British forces on the Western Front in Belgium. Remember, the Germans began the war by invading Belgium. The German army ran into the French and British (and Canadian) armies in Ypres. This was the site of the CEF’s first taste of total war.
Ypres - Baptism by Fire
Ypres is a small town in Belgium, very close to the ports of in an area called Flanders. This area was fought over from 1914 – 1918. There were four separate battles around Ypres. They called the area the Ypres Salient (a battlefield surrounded on three sides). Flanders refers to an area shared by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, known to grow a beautiful flower called the poppy. The ports would be important for the German army to cut off supply to the Allies from England (and Canada).
In Flanders Fields
1915: The first group of Canadian soldiers fought with the British army in Ypres. This was their first introduction to trench warfare. Faced with the realities of dirt, disease and death, their illusions of military glory quickly disappeared.
Second Battle of Ypres
We remember this battle, mostly because the German army first used CHLORINE GAS. It covered 4 miles of trench lines and killed over 10,000 men in less than 10 minutes. The Allies eventually became better at using gas than the Germans. Canadians distinguished themselves in two battles:
- Kitchener’s Wood
- St Julien
Battle of Kitcheners Wood
A battle during which Canadian soldiers faced their Germany enemies for the first time in Europe. Their job was to help keep the Germans from advancing through the woods following a gas attack. They succeeded, but suffered 75% casualties.
St. Julien
The Canadian troops faced a fierce battle in the town of St Julien. This was the Canadian army’s first experience with gas attacks. They weren’t well-equipped and unprepared for gas attacks. The battle took 48 hours, but the Canadians ‘held the line’. Over 2000 men dead and more than 6000 wounded.
Ypres Remembers Canadians
As the Germans retreated Ypres (near the end of the war) they leveled it, and reduced it to rubble with bombs, shells, etc. After the war, the citizens of Ypres re-built it brick by brick. They also built a monument to fallen soldiers of the four Battles of the Ypres Salient.
After Ypres
By 1916, the Canadians distinguished themselves as a ‘formidable fighting force’. They also earned the right to fight as the Canadian army and not simply a division of the British army. Their skills in battle were both a blessing and a curse. In the spring of 1916, Canadians were heavily-involved in small local battles in areas around Ypres:
- St-Eloi
- Mont Sorrel
- Sanctuary Wood
Shortly thereafter, a major offensive was planned along the Somme River Valley.
The Somme - July 1, 1916
We remember this battle mostly because it represented the most losses by the Allies in a single day during World War One (over 57,000). The Allies didn’t realize that the German army had ‘dug in’ months before and were better prepared. On July 1, at 7.30 AM, thousands of British and French troops began their advance across No Man's Land on a front of over 40 kilometres toward the German positions. The result was slaughter (57,500 British and French soldiers killed, wounded or missing in one day) the heaviest day's combat losses ever suffered by the British Army.
Beaumont-Hamel: Newfoundland’s Bloody Somme
Pals Battalions
A British recruiting scheme based on the belief that it would be easier to convince young men to fight if they could do so alongside their hometown chums. It worked. This is how many of the soldiers in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment were encouraged to join the war.
Newfoundland Regiment (RNR)
The plan was for the RNR to attack the Germans by running from their trenches, crossing no-man’s land, and using the element of surprise to gain advantage. The Germans were ready for them. Forced to exit their trenches in single file, many were killed at the trench exits. The ones getting out fared no better, forced to walk through the open fields. In about half an hour, 738 of 801 were killed by German machine gun fire. Most soldiers didn’t make it to the ‘danger tree’. It was over in less than 30 minutes. Many soldiers in the RNR were the product of Pals Battalion recruiting. After the Somme – and Beaumont-Hamel in particular – where many young males from the same communities were killed in a single day, most pals battalions were split.
Canadians on the Somme
We arrived in late August 1916, leaving Flanders and going near the town of Courcelette. After weeks of fighting the Canadians finally captured the ‘Regina Trench’. By autumn, the offensive was over, with only 6 kilometres gained. German soldiers called the battles with the Canadian army ‘das Blutbad’ or ‘the bloodbath’.
Casualties on the Somme
During the entire Somme offensive, the British and French had gained 12 kms of land.
- 200,000 French casualties.
- German casualties were estimated at 500,000.
- 420,000 estimated British casualties, including many of the volunteer PALS BATTALIONS. Part of the British casualty count was the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel.
- 24,029 Canadian casualties.
From The Somme to Nationhood
The Allies claimed victory in the Somme offensive, despite the high casualties. Defeated, the Germans withdrew from the Somme and established the Hindenburg Line, a well-situated short front line which they fortified with many concrete bunkers and huge swathes of barbed wires protecting several lines of defence, themselves several kilometres in depth. Early in 1917, the Allies launched another massive offensive, determined to achieve a major breakthrough on the Hindenburg Line in Northern France. The Canadians were given the task of capturing Vimy Ridge.
