1. Canadian “Tommy”

2. INTRODUCTION
HILL 70
August 1917

3. NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE THE HILL 70 MEMORIAL PROJECT QUESTIONS
CONTEXT
CURRIE
THE BATTLE
THE RESULTS
NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
THE HILL 70 MEMORIAL PROJECT
QUESTIONS

4. HILL 70
CONTEXT

5. CONTEXT – OPERATIONAL LVL
Between the success of VIMY (Battle of Arras) and the insanity of PASSCHENDAELE (3rd Battle of Ypres). Morale is still high.
New Canadian Corps Commander (Go Canada!).
Field Marshal Haig insists on a breakthrough at Ypres commencing July 1917; needs a diversion at LENS.

6. Hill 70

7. Hill 70 From Vimy

8. Vimy From Hill 70

9. CONTEXT - TACTICAL LVL British had fought and withdrew in Sept 1915.
Germans not inclined to leave…important rail junctions and coal still available.
LENS was a built up area now laying in ruins. Really difficult going through the formerly built up areas…rubble, cellars, sophisticated trench networks.

10. FIRST BATTLE of LOOS-1915
NOTE: Coal Lift Towers
Kipling Loses His Son

11. LT GEN SIR ARTHUR CURRIE
HILL 70
LT GEN SIR ARTHUR CURRIE

12. HIS TRAITS Meticulous planner Excellent tactician
Studied results of 1916 misery on the SOMME
Applied lessons learned
Innovative
Not well-loved by troops
Valued the troops
Courage to challenge his superiors

13. MORE CLEVER THAN MOST

14. Corps Commander’s Recce
Currie did his own recce.
A frontal assault on LENS was foolish.
Currie regarded control of either Hill 70 or Sallaumines Hill as tactically more important than control of the city of Lens
Currie persuaded General Henry Horne, British First Army Commander, to take Hill 70, not the city of Lens, the main objective of the limited offensive. Currie believed that the advantageous observational position of Hill 70 would permit well directed artillery to effectively deal with the expected counterattacks.

15. HILL 70
THE BATTLE

16. MARCHIN’ IN-STRAGGLIN’ OUT

17. THE BATTLE - MISSION
Termed a “small operation” of World War I between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German Sixth Army, the mission of First Canadian Corps:
To conduct a diversionary attack on LENS in order to FIX the German Sixth Army so that it cannot participate in the 3rd Battle of YPRES

18. THE BATTLE – COMMANDER’S INTENT
The Canadian Corps will execute a limited operation to quickly occupy the high ground at Hill 70, establish defensive positions, and utilizing combined small arms and artillery fire, repel German counterattacks to inflict as many casualties as possible. The defence against the expected German counter attacks termed “killing by artillery”. Currie – “pay the price of victory with shells not human sacrifice”

19. THE BATTLE – CONCEPT of OPS
THREE DIVISIONS UP. ONE IN RESERVE.
4TH DIVISION FEINT IN SOUTH. 1ST AND 2ND ATTACK NORTH AND CENTRE.
FOUR BRIGADES ATTACK. 10 BATTALIONS ASSAULT.
BATTALIONS LEAPFROG TO GREEN LINE.
MACHINE GUN STRONGPOINTS. 1 MG/25 INFANTEERS.
OBSERVATION FORWARD. REDUNDANT COMMS TO THE GUNS.
EVERYONE DIG LIKE HELL. PROTECTED RESUPPLY TRENCHES.
REPEL COUNTER-ATTACKS - KILLING BY ARTILLERY.

21. Machine Gun Strongpoints
Lewis and Vickers - 240

23. THE BATTLE – INNOVATIONS
EMPHASIS ON COUNTER BATTERY FIRE EARLY
IMPROVED ROLLING ARTILLERY BARRAGE
GASOLINE SMOKE SCREEN
AIR AND ARTILLERY OBSERVERS CONNECTED TO GUNS BY WIRELESS

24. Rolling Barrage

25. NEW TECHNOLOGY TO AVAOID MUD, ENHANCE VISIBILITY
EASE COMMUNICATIONS
OBSERVE THE ENEMY

26. THE BATTLE - PREPARATIONS
Roads, Rails and Tramways
Logistics resupply and main armaments repair
Rehearsals - troops were rotated through the reserve area to conduct training and rehearsals in preparation for the assault
Protected tunnels forward – names inscribed
Raids, bombardment and gas attacks
special companies of the artillery and RE augmented the regular level of harassment by firing/releasing a total of 3,500 chlorine gas drums and 900 gas shells into Lens
artillery neutralized 40 out of an estimated 102 enemy batteries in the area

28. THE BATTLE-PREPARED FOR GAS

29. THE BATTLE – JUMPING OFF
4:25 AM, 15 August. Royal Engineers fired drums of burning oil into the suburb of Cite St. Elisabeth and at other selected targets in order to supplement the rolling artillery barrage and build up a smoke-screen
Right flank, the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division executed the diversionary operation, drawing German retaliatory fire away from the main operation. Fake tanks in deception plan.

30. THE BATTLE – RESULTS 15/18 Aug
BLUE Line taken within 20 minutes
GREEN Line taken within 2 hours less Chalk Quarry
Germans began using their immediate reserves to mount local counterattacks
Over the following three days, the Germans executed no less than 21 counterattacks against Canadian positions…all repulsed
The Germans also began to use poison gas in earnest, including the blistering agent sulphur mustard.

32. WATER COOLED mg
EARLY GAS MASK

33. THE BATTLE – RESULTS 21-25 Aug
2nd and 4th Canadian Divisions attack LENS directly on 21 August. Keep 6th Army “fixed”.
The initial attack proved to be a miserable failure with the majority of the attackers being killed, wounded or taken prisoner
Finally took Green Crassier and all other 21 Aug objectives by 25 Aug.

34. 21 – 25 AUGUST 1917

35. THE BATTLE – THE GLORY Six Victoria Crosses (“only” 4 at Vimy)
In 10th Battalion (Calgary Highlanders) alone:
1 x VC (Pte Harry Brown)
3 x DSOs
10 x MCs
60 x MMs (a Canadian record)

36. Hill 70 Victoria Crosses Pte Michael James O’Rourke (7th Bn)
Pte Harry Brown (10th Bn)
Sgt Frederick Hobson (20th Bn)
Maj Okill Massey Learmonth (2nd Bn)
CSM Robert Hill Hanna (29th Bn)
Cpl Filip Konowal (47th Bn)

37. THE BATTLE – THE SACRIFICE
Approximately 9,200 Canadian casualties
3,150 killed
6,050 wounded, missing, captured
Compared to Vimy - 11,297 Canadian casualties
Currie – “…a great and wonderful victory”.
Haig – “one of the finest minor operations of the war”.

39. NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
HILL 70
NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

40. JAM – Just Another Memorial?
Hill 70 was:
A Canadian victory top to bottom;
Hard won with 6 VCs;
A step from Colony to Country;
A seat at Versailles.
Currie considered for promotion to Field Marshal.
Respect for Canadian military capability reinforced in spades (pun intended).
Hill 70 Memorial Project Team will provide what the Government missed in 1922.

41. THE HILL 70 MEMORIAL PROJECT

42. Project Objective
The objective of this project is to erect a suitable memorial to the soldiers of the Canadian Corps on Hill 70 in time for the 100th anniversary of this historic and significant victory.
Pomp and circumstance – memorial to be dedicated in the presence of 100 man guard and bands. Guests warmly invited.

43. PROJECT TEAM HILL 70 DIRECTOR – MARK HUTCHINGS
ARCHITECTS - TIM MURRAY, SARAH MURRAY
PROJECT MANAGERS- DOUG GREEN, WARREN EVERETT
MEDIA RELATIONS- BILL NEILL
FUNDRAISER- ROB BAXTER
HISTORIAN- MIKE MCNORGAN
CEREMONIAL – JOHN RODERICK
EDUCATORS - JOHN SCOTT COWAN, SUSAN EVERETT
ENGINEER - DON KENNEDY
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT – WSP London and Paris
LAWYER- ED BRADLEY QC, CROWN ATTORNEY

44. Hill 70 Memorial Site

45. SLAG RAMP

46. Aerial View – Memorial Site

47. Monument Design Concept

48. MORE THAN A MONUMENT A BOOK MINTED COIN SERIES STAMP VC PARK
HILL 70
MORE THAN A MONUMENT
A BOOK
MINTED COIN SERIES
STAMP
VC PARK
WALL OF PARTICIPATING UNITS AND BRANCHES
LEGACY BURSARIES
WEBSITE
LINK HILL 70 TO THE MAPLE LEAF MEMORIAL TRAIL?

49. HILL 70
PROJECT SCHEDULE
OPEN CRA CHARITY, INVESTMENT ACCOUNT, ETC
GAIN FRENCH GOVERNEMTN SUPPORT (proceeding well)
GAIN CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORT (proceeding well)
MAY 2014 – SELECT/ACQUIRE EXACT SITE (awaiting MOU from City of LOOS)
JUNE 2014 – PROVIDE LANDSCAPE and MONUMENT DESIGN FINAL (proceeding well)
2014 – ENGR TESTS ( agreement with WSP proceeding well)
2014 – COORD WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES (roger, so far)
2016- BUILD MONUMENT
APRIL OPENING CEREMONIES
HANDOVER TO CWGC or APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY

50. BRANCH CONTRIBUTIONS

51. QUESTIONS?
HILL 70
August 1917

52. CWGC CEMETERY LOOS
200 meters from the Memorial Plaza

53. HILL 70 – 15 to 18 August 1917

54. there was a tremendous victory for the Canadian army in the first world war when it captured Hill 70 at Loos in More VCs were won there than at Vimy, and for the first time it was an entirely Canadian Operation. Yet there is no monument whatever to the men who made such a remarkable sacrifice for Canada.

55. We will be asking for all units which perpetuate a CEF BN which was part of the Corps will be asked to contribute funds to pay for a laser cut granite cap badge of the unit to be mounted in one of the walls of the monument. If you would also like to send men to participate in the 100 man guard of honour or part or all of your excellent band for the opening ceremony we would be delighted. The opening is currently being planned for Saturday 8 April 2017 ( one day before the Vimy ceremony so we can participate as part of the build up to the main national event there,  and so all the troops, visitors, and VIPs will already be on site).

56. We are now about to formally brief the MVA, MND, and Min of Heritage
We are now about to formally brief the MVA, MND, and Min of Heritage. Many of their staff are already aware, as are the CDS,  the VCDS., and the Comd CA