1. Somme, Passchendaele, Vimy Ridge, Ypres, 100 Day Campaign
Major Battles of WWI
Somme, Passchendaele,
Vimy Ridge, Ypres,
100 Day Campaign

2. Why do we learn about these battles?
Each one of these battles is unique and significant to Canadians and in history
The battles utilize new weaponry, involve the CEF, helped to determine the outcome of the war, demonstrated the need for new war strategy to avoid high death tolls
Demonstrated wars of attrition were a thing of the past

5. The Second Battle of Ypres
Belgian town of Ypres
1915 April 22 French and Canadian troops attacked by German poison gas
blinded, burned
Chlorine gas
Outlawed by international agreement since 1907
Month long Battle
6500 Canadians killed
Neither side gained any ground

6. “We thought that it was a bombardment like any other, until the smoke started to creep towards us. Men began choking, gasping for breath…. We had never experienced this before.” Soldier in Flanders, Belgium, 1915

8. The Battle of Somme
July 1916 Allies launched attack against German Trenches near the Somme River in France
Battle lasted 5 months and Allies only captured 13 KM
1.25 Million casualties
24700 Canadian casualties
Newfoundland regiment lost 90% of it’s men
Shell Shock

9. Why did the Attack Fail?
Allies bombed German lines for days BUT the bombs did not destroy German defenses or the barbed wire around trenches
Commanders used useless and now outdated tactics- “over the top” sent waves of men to die
1st day British troops died yet the battle went on

10. The Battle of Vimy Ridge
1914 Germans took strategic position of Vimy Ridge Belgium
British and French forces spent 2 years trying to take it back
1916 Canadian troops chosen to lead new assault

11. How We Won Vimy Ridge
Lieutenant-general Julian Byng trained troops by rehearsing the attack
Before attack, artillery attacks for a month on German positions
Sappers (army engineers) built secret tunnels to move troops closer to the ridge

12. Victory at Vimy Ridge April 9th 1917 Canadian Corps attack Vimy Ridge
By April 12 last German position taken!
Canadians did more in 3 days than any previous British offensive did in 3 years
Cost of attack
3500 men died
7000 men wounded

13. How Vimy Ridge Promoted National Autonomy
Vimy Ridge was the first time Canadian divisions fought together
Success gave a sense of National pride and a reputation as a fighting force
Memorial in Belgium made official Canadian soil

14. The Battle of Passchendaele
Oct 1917, the Canadian Expeditionary Force was asked to break through the German lines and retake the town of Passchendaele in Belgium
Known as a short lived victory at the cost of endless lives due to bad management

15. Problems at Passchendaele
Previous attacks left huge craters which heavy rains turned into a muddy swamp
Difficult terrain=high casualties
General Haig ordered the attack anyway

17. Results of Passchendale
Victory for Canadians BUT
Each side casualties
More than Canadian casualties
Gained only 7 or 8 KM
Germans soon recaptured the town

18. The 100 Days Campaign Background:
March 1918 Russia signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Out of the war- truce on the Eastern Front
Germany knew it needed a fast victory before US troops reach France
March 1918 Germany marched deep into France
Attacked Allies weak points
Ypres, Somme, Passchedaele lost
75 KM from Paris

19. The 100 Days Campaign
1918 American arrive and worked with Allies to stop German advance
100 Days Campaign was a series of attacks by the Allies which helped to defeat the Germans and end the war
Canadian attacks some of the most successful