2. WWI Canada’s Military Contribution

3. The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)  When the war began, Prime Minister Robert Borden offered Britain 25,000 troops.  Within a month, more than 30,000 Canadians had joined the CEF!  Why?  They believed the war would be short.  They saw it as an exciting adventure.  It was a way to escape financial problems.  They felt it was their patriotic duty.

4. The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)  However, not everyone was welcome to join the CEF:  The people who were excluded included  Women  Aboriginal Canadians  African Canadians  Japanese Canadians  Eventually, the CEF did accept these groups, but  Women were only used as nurses and ambulance drivers  Minorities were almost never promoted

5. The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)  Why was the CEF important to Canada?  The CEF has been credited with helping to create a National Identity in Canada.  It was the first time that Canadians from coast to coast had been brought together to fight side by side.  This made people living in Canada feel a little more Canadian and a little less British.

6. The Battle of Ypres (April 1915)  This is the first battle in which the Germans used chlorine gas against Canadian troops.  Soldiers were blinded, burned and suffocated by the gas.  6,000 Canadians were killed, wounded or captured.  Incredibly, the Canadians managed to hold on to their lines, and neither side gained the advantage.

13. The Battle of the Somme (July-November 1916)  British General Douglas Haig ordered British, French and Canadian troops to attack German positions near the Somme River.  The strategies he used were outdated; he simply ordered soldiers to march across open fields towards the enemy.  Results:  Casualties were great!  85% of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was killed or wounded in the first half hour.  24,000 Canadians were killed or wounded, along with 1 million soldiers from the other countries.

17. The Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 1917)  British General Julian Byng prepared the CEF for an attack on Vimy Ridge  The French had tried to take Vimy 3 times, but failed.  Byng developed good strategies (tunnels, maps, Vimy Glide) and trained the troops very well before the attack.  Between April 9 and April 12, the CEF managed to capture the entire ridge!  The CEF gained more ground, captured more weapons and took more prisoners than any previous allied offensive.  The victory made Canadians proud and helped to create a greater sense of national identity.

22. The Battle of Passchendaele (Autumn 1917)  Canadian General Arthur Currie and the CEF were ordered to help take Passchendaele Ridge in Belgium.  This ridge had little strategic value, but Haig wanted it to be taken because he had lost it earlier in the war.  Earlier battles had left huge crater holes in the ground which were filled with mud.  Soldiers and horses often drowned in these conditions.  This ridge was taken, but 15,000 Canadians were killed along with 500,000 soldiers from both sides.