1.
Formation patch
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Formation patches or Formation badges are types of military insignia developed during the 20th Century. Originally intended as battlefield identification of formations, they have persisted into the 21st Century as an element of military heraldry. These marks became common after the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and these distinguishing marks were also alternately known as Battle Patches. Other armies continued to identify regiments through the use of numerals, the United States Army, however, did develop a system of shoulder sleeve insignia with distinctive badges identifying individual divisions. By the time of the Second World War, the armies did not feel a perceived need to identify individual battalions on battledress uniforms. They were initially referred to by the British as Divisional Signs, other Canadian divisions used plain formation patches, and separate unit titles. Notes Bibliography Glyde, Keith Distinguishing Colour Patches of the Australian Military Forces 1915 -1951 Thomas, Malcolm and Cliff Lord New Zealand Army Distinguishing Patches 1911-1991
2.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
3.
Monarchy of Canada
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The Monarchy of Canada is at the very core of both Canadas federal structure and Westminster-style of parliamentary and constitutional democracy. The monarchy is the foundation of the executive, legislature, and judiciary in the federal, the Canadian sovereign is the personification of the Canadian state and, as a matter of constitutional law, is Canada. The current Canadian monarch, since 6 February 1952, is Queen Elizabeth II, as such, Elizabeths son, Prince Charles, is heir apparent. Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 15 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each countrys monarchy is separate. However, the Queen is the member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role. While some powers are only by the sovereign, most of the monarchs operational and ceremonial duties are exercised by his or her representative. In each of Canadas provinces, the monarch is represented by a lieutenant governor, as the territories are not sovereign, they do not have a viceroy. As all executive authority is vested in the sovereign, their assent is required to allow for bills to become law and for letters patent, Canada is one of the oldest continuing monarchies in the world. The emergence of this arrangement paralleled the fruition of Canadian nationalism following the end of the First World War and culminated in the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931. Upon a demise of the Crown, the late sovereigns heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony, hence arises the phrase The King is dead. It is customary for the accession of the new monarch to be proclaimed by the governor general on behalf of the Privy Council. Following an appropriate period of mourning, the monarch is crowned in the United Kingdom in an ancient ritual. This is because, in law, the Crown never dies. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she continues to reign until death. The relationship between the Commonwealth realms is such that any change to the rules of succession to their respective crowns requires the consent of all the realms. Succession is governed by statutes, such as the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701, in 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated and any possible future descendants of his were excluded from the line of succession. As the Statute of Westminster 1931 disallowed the UK from legislating for Canada, including in relation to succession, the latter was deemed by the Cabinet in 1947 to be part of Canadian law, as is the Bill of Rights 1689, according to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Department of External Affairs included all succession-related laws in its list of acts within Canadian law, certain aspects of the succession rules have been challenged in the courts
4.
Canadian Expeditionary Force
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The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. The force fielded several combat formations on the Western Front in France and Belgium, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade and the Canadian Independent Force, which were independent of the Canadian Corps, also fought on the Western Front. The CEF also had a reserve and training organization in England. The Germans went so far as to call them storm troopers for their combat efficiency. In August 1918, the CEFs Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force travelled to revolution-torn Russia and it reinforced an anti-Bolshevik garrison in Vladivostok during the winter of 1918–19. At this time, another force of Canadian soldiers were placed in Archangel, the Canadian Expeditionary Force was mostly volunteers, as conscription was not enforced until the end of the war when call-ups began in January 1918. Ultimately, only 24,132 conscripts arrived in France before the end of the war, Canada was the senior Dominion in the British Empire and automatically at war with Germany upon the British declaration. According to Canadian historian Dr. Serge Durflinger at the Canadian War Museum, of the first contingent formed at Valcartier, Quebec in 1914, fully two-thirds were men born in the United Kingdom. By the end of the war in 1918, at least fifty per cent of the CEF consisted of British-born men, many British nationals from the United Kingdom or other territories who were resident in Canada also joined the CEF. As several CEF battalions were posted to the Bermuda Garrison before proceeding to France, although the Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps both sent contingents to the Western Front, the first would not arrive there til June 1915. By then, many Bermudians had already been serving on the Western Front in the CEF for months, Bermudians in the CEF enlisted under the same terms as Canadians, and all male British Nationals resident in Canada became liable for conscription under the Military Service Act,1917. Two tank battalions were raised in 1918 but did not see service, most of the infantry battalions were broken up and used as reinforcements, with a total of fifty being used in the field, including the mounted rifle units, which were re-organized as infantry. The artillery and engineering units underwent significant re-organization as the war progressed, a distinct entity within the Canadian Expeditionary Force was the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. It consisted of several machine gun battalions, the Eatons, Yukon, and Borden Motor Machine Gun Batteries. During the summer of 1918, these units were consolidated into four machine gun battalions, the Canadian Corps with its four infantry divisions comprised the main fighting force of the CEF. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade also served in France, the 1915 Battle of Ypres, the first engagement of Canadian forces in the Great War, changed the Canadian perspective on war. Ypres exposed Canadian soldiers and their commanders to modern war and they had already experienced the effects of shellfire and developed a reputation for aggressive trench raiding despite their lack of formal training and generally inferior equipment. In April 1915, they were introduced to yet another facet of modern war, the Germans employed chlorine gas to create a hole in the French lines adjacent to the Canadian force and poured troops into the gap
5.
Canadian Army
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The Canadian Army is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Armed Forces. As of September 2013 the Army has 21,600 regular soldiers, about 24,000 reserve soldiers, the Army is supported by 5,600 civilian employees. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is responsible for the Army Reserve. The Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff is Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk, the name Canadian Army only came into official use beginning in 1940, from before Confederation until the Second World War the official designation was Canadian Militia. On 1 April 1966, as a precursor to the unification of Canadas armed services, Mobile Command was renamed Land Force Command in the 1993 reorganization of the Canadian Armed Forces. In August 2011, Land Force Command reverted to the title of the Canadian Army. Some current regiments of the Canadian Army trace their origins to these pre-Confederation militia, Regular Canadian troops participated in the North West Rebellion in 1885, the South African War in 1899, and, in much larger numbers, constituted the Canadian Expeditionary Force in First World War. In 1940, during Second World War, the Permanent Active Militia was renamed the Canadian Army, supplemented by the non-permanent militia, the Army participated in the Korean War and formed part of the NATO presence in West Germany during the Cold War. Despite Canadas usual support of British and American initiatives, Canadas land forces did not directly participate in the Vietnam War or the Iraq War, Command of the Army is exercised by the Commander of the Canadian Army within National Defence Headquarters located in Ottawa. It serves as a headquarters to command a divisional-level deployment of Canadian or allied forces on operations. It includes a number of schools and training organizations, such as the Combat Training Centre at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, the position was renamed Chief of the Land Staff in 1993. Following the reversion of Land Forces to the Canadian Army in 2011, officers are selected in several ways, The Regular Officer Training Plan, where candidates are educated at the Royal Military College of Canada or at civilian Canadian universities. Direct Entry officer Plan, for those who hold a university degree or technology diploma. Candidates complete their degrees while serving in the Army, university Training Plan, designed to develop selected serving non-commissioned members for service as career officers in the Regular Force. Normally, candidates selected for this plan will attend RMC or a university in Canada. Special Requirements Commissioning Plan, is designed to meet the needs of the officer occupations, subsidized special education, which includes the Medical Officer Training Plan or Dental Officer Training Plan. In addition there were other commissioning plans such as the Officer Candidate Training Plan, Canadian infantry and armoured regimental traditions are strongly rooted in the traditions and history of the British Army. Many regiments were patterned after regiments of the British Army, other regiments developed independently, resulting in a mixture of both colourful and historically familiar names
6.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
7.
Armoured warfare
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Armoured warfare, mechanised warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a component of modern methods of war. The premise of armoured warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units. Under these conditions, any sort of advance was very slow. Tanks were first developed in Britain and France in 1915, as a way of navigating the barbed wire, British Mark I tanks first went to action at the Somme, on 15 September 1916, but did not manage to break the deadlock of trench warfare. The first French employment on 16 April 1917, of the Schneider CA, was also a failure, in the Battle of Cambrai British tanks were more successful, and broke a German trenchline system, the Hindenburg Line. Despite the generally unpromising beginnings, the military and political leadership in both Britain and France during 1917 backed large investments into armoured vehicle production and this led to a sharp increase in the number of available tanks for 1918. The German Empire to the contrary, produced only a few tanks, twenty German A7V tanks were produced during the entire conflict, compared to over 4,400 French and over 2,500 British tanks of various kinds. Tactically, the deployment of armour during the war was typified by an emphasis on direct infantry support. The tanks main tasks were seen as crushing barbed wire and destroying machine-gun nests, theoretical debate largely focussed on the question whether a swarm of light tanks should be used for this or a limited number of potent heavy vehicles. Though in the Battle of Cambrai a large concentration of British heavy tanks effected a breakthrough, the manoeuvrability of the tank should at least in theory regain armies the ability to flank enemy lines. Following the First World War, the technical and doctrinal aspects of armoured warfare became more sophisticated and diverged into multiple schools of doctrinal thought, during the 1920s, only very few tanks were produced. There were however, important theoretical and technical developments, various British and French commanders who had contributed to the origin of the tank, such as Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, B. H. Liddell Hart and J. F. C. Fuller, theorised about a future use of independent armoured forces, containing a large concentration of tanks. Especially Liddell Hart wrote many books about the subject, partly propagating Fullers theories, such doctrines were faced with the reality that during the 1920s the armoured vehicles, as early road transport in general, were extremely unreliable, and could not be used in sustained operations. Mainstream thought on the subject was more conservative and tried to integrate armoured vehicles into the infantry and cavalry organisation. To save weight, such designs had thin armour plating and this inspired fitting small-calibre high-velocity guns in turrets, J. Collins, after Fuller refused the function. The unit carried out operations on Salisbury Plain and was observed by the major nations, the United States, Germany
8.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
9.
Operation Overlord
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Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings, a 1, 200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. The coast of Normandy was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed Utah and Omaha, the British at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a military deception, Operation Bodyguard. This misled the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings, Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion. A failed counterattack by German forces on 8 August left 50,000 soldiers of the 7th Army trapped in the Falaise pocket, the Allies launched an invasion of southern France on 15 August, and the Liberation of Paris followed on 25 August. German forces retreated across the Seine on 30 August 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord, in June 1940, Germanys leader Adolf Hitler had triumphed in what he called the most famous victory in history—the fall of France. The defending British Expeditionary Force, trapped along the northern coast of France, was able to evacuate over 338,000 troops to England in the Dunkirk evacuation. After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing for the creation of a front in Western Europe. Two tentative plans code-named Operation Roundup and Operation Sledgehammer were put forward for 1942–43, instead, the Allies launched the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and invaded Italy in September. These operations provided the troops with valuable experience in amphibious warfare, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the next year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Churchill favoured making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the Mediterranean theatre, but was over-ruled by his American allies, British Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander, to begin detailed planning. The initial plans were constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. In part because of lessons learned in the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, the failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly close air support, and specialised ships able to travel extremely close to shore. Morgan considered four sites for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected. The Pas de Calais is the closest point in continental Europe to Britain and was the location of sites for V-1 and V-2 rockets. The Germans considered it to be the most likely initial landing zone, Normandy was hence chosen as the landing site
10.
Battle of the Scheldt
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Led by Guy Simonds, the battle took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands during World War II from October 2 to November 8,1944. The well-established Wehrmacht defenders staged an effective delaying action, during which the Germans flooded the Scheldt Estuary, both land and water were mined, and the Germans defended their line of retreat with artillery and snipers. But the advance halted with the British in possession of Antwerp, little was done about the blocked port of Antwerp during September because Operation Market Garden was to form a buffer between Germany and Antwerp, which it succeeded in doing. In the meantime, German forces in the Scheldt were able to deploy defensively, the first attacks occurred on September 13. In early October after operation Market Garden, Allied forces led by the Canadian First Army set out to bring the give the port of Antwerp access to the sea, Montgomery then decided that the importance of Antwerp was such that the actual capture of Dunkirk could be delayed. Under command at that time was Canadian II Corps, with the Polish 1st Armoured Division, 49th and 52nd Divisions attached, Montgomery promised the support of RAF Bomber Command in attacking the German fortifications and that of the USAAF 8th Air Force On the day concerned. The 51st Infantry Division was to give up its transport to enable the movement of forces into position for the battle, abandoning the capture of Dunkirk freed the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The plan for opening the Scheldt estuary involved four main operations conducted over daunting geography, the first task was to clear the area north of Antwerp and secure access to South Beveland. Second was to clear the Breskens pocket north of the Leopold Canal, third, dubbed Operation Vitality, was the capture of South Beveland. The final phase would be the capture of Walcheren Island, which had been fortified into a powerful German stronghold, as part of the Atlantic Wall, Walcheren Island was considered to be the strongest concentration of defences the Nazis had ever constructed. The Polish 1st Armoured Division headed for the Dutch-Belgian border further east, an attack was mounted in the vicinity of Moerkerke, crossing the canals and establishing a bridgehead before counter-attacks forced a withdrawal with heavy casualties. The 1st Polish Armoured Division enjoyed greater success to the east as it advanced northeast from Ghent, on October 2, the Canadian 2nd Division began its advance north from Antwerp. Stiff fighting at Woensdrecht ensued on October 6, the objective of the first phase, the Germans—reinforced by Battle Group Chill—saw the priority in holding there, controlling direct access to South Beveland and Walcheren Island. There were heavy casualties as the Canadians attacked over open, flooded land, driving rain, booby traps and land mines made advance very difficult. On October 13, what would come to be known as Black Friday, the Calgary Highlanders were to follow up with a more successful action, and their Carrier Platoon succeeded in taking the rail station at Korteven. Heavy fighting at Hoogerheide also ensued, but by October 16, Woensdrecht was secured, cutting the link to South Beveland. The Canadians had achieved their first objective, but suffered heavy casualties, at this point, recognizing the opportunity, Field-Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery issued a directive that made the opening of the Scheldt estuary the top priority of 21st Army Group. To the east, the British Second Army attacked westward to clear the Netherlands south of the Maas River, meanwhile, Simonds concentrated forces at the neck of the South Beveland peninsula
11.
David Watson (general)
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Major General Sir David Watson, KCB CMG was a Canadian journalist, newspaper owner, and general. Born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of William Watson and Jane Grant and he later became general manager of the paper and general manager of its publisher. He started his career as a private in the 8th Regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant and then to captain in 1903, major in 1910, in 1914, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was soon given command of the 2nd Battalion, CEF. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1915 and took command of the 5th Brigade and he was promoted to Major-General and took command of the 4th Canadian Division upon its creation in 1916. He led his various commands in most of the major Canadian battles of World War I including Second Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Amiens, Second Arras, after the war, he resumed his job at the Quebec Chronicle and became the majority owner. He was also chairman of the Quebec Harbour Commission, Croix de guerre – France Croix de Guerre – Belgium C. M. G
12.
George Kitching
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Major-General George Kitching CBE, DSO, CD was a senior Canadian Army officer who saw active service in World War II. George Kitching was born on 9 September 1910 in Guangzhou, China and he died on 15 June 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was the guest of Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld a couple of days before when he fell ill, Kitching got his military training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. The British Army gave him several postings in Asia, including Singapore, in 1939 he joined the Canadian Army. He was appointed to several position before attending Staff College, Camberley to become a senior officer, again he held several positions, mainly at the staff of Headquarters 1st Canadian Division and Headquarters I Canadian Corps, before he got his first command in August 1942. Within a few months he was back at the Headquarters of the 1st Canadian Division for the preparations of the invasions of Sicily and Italy, in November 1943 he was promoted to brigadier to command the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade, followed by the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. Kitching brought the division to Normandy where they were involved in the battle around the Falaise Pocket, according to the historian Angelo Caravaggio, Kitching was then victimized for the poor performance of the division in Normandy. Caravaggio claims that contemporary sources were altered after the sacking of Kitching and are therefore unreliable. Kitching could hardly command his own due to the constant interference from Simonds. Caravaggio comes to the conclusion that Kitching and his division performed very well under the difficult circumstances. He claims that Simonds is the one to blame for the late closure of the Falaise Pocket. The end result of the battle was that Kitching was demoted to brigadier, charles Foulkes, commander of I Canadian Corps, had more confidence in his abilities and brought him in as Brigadier, General Staff. He was involved in all operations of the first Canadian corps until the surrender of the German Forces in the Netherlands, after the war he stayed in the military till 1965. He held in that time positions like Quartermaster General and Director General of Army Personnel, in 1956 he was promoted to major-general for the second time in his career. Kitching is a patron and member of the Board of Trustees of Lester B. Pearson College in Victoria. Mud and Green Fields, The Memoirs of Major-General George Kitching Major-general George Kitching, CBE, DSO, CD Major-General George Kitching Video in memory of major-general Kitching on YouTube
13.
Christopher Vokes
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Major General Christopher Vokes CB, CBE, DSO, CD was a senior Canadian Army officer who fought in World War II. Born in Armagh, Ireland, the son of a British officer, Major Frederick Patrick Vokes and Elizabeth Vokes, Major Frederick Patrick Vokes was the engineering officer at the Royal Military College of Canada. The family lived in Married Quarters at Ridout Row, Royal Military College of Canada, Christopher Vokes brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Alexander Vokes, took a leading part in the assault on Dieppe in August 1942. In early 1944 he was sent to Italy as commanding officer of the 9th Armoured Regiment, from 1921 to 1925, he attended the Royal Military College of Canada #1633 and was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Engineers. He then attended McGill University from 1926 to 1927 where he received a Bachelor of Science degree and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Society, from 1934 to 1935, he attended Staff College, Camberley in England. In Depression-Era Canada, many bases were improved by civilians working in relief camps under supervision of professional military officers. The original engineer drawings for the rifle range butts were signed by Chris Vokes. Barrack Blocks in Dundurn resemble similar buildings constructed at Camp Valcartier in the time frame. In 1942, he was promoted to brigadier and was put in charge of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade where he was part of the Allied invasion of Sicily, in 1943, he became commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and promoted to Major-General. He was the commander of the division during the Battle of Ortona, after which he was criticized for unimaginative tactics, Montgomery ordered the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to attack along the coast towards Ortona early in December. During an attack on a ravine southwest of Ortona, Vokes continued to send battalion after battalion to attack the mine-fortified German defense for nine days, for this he became known as the Butcher among his men. An impatient Montgomery sent messages wondering why the attack took so long, at the same time, the Canadians became aware of the fact that they were fighting not only Panzer-Grenadiers, but also the 1st Parachute Division, whom they recognized by their characteristic helmets. On the 21st December the Canadians broke through, and German forces destroyed the old town, after the battle, a furious Vokes broke out in tears due to his divisions losses –2300 casualties, among them 500 dead, as well as many cases of war neuroses. In 1944, he took command of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. From June 1945 to May 1946, he was the General Officer Commanding the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Europe, returning to Canada, he commanded the Armys Central Command and then Western Command. He died of cancer in Oakville, Ontario in 1985, sword & Epaulettes of College No.1633. Maj. -Gen Christopher Vokes Tough officer led 1st Division on Sicily beach, Chris Vokes, My Story Major General Chris Vokes, CB, CBE, DSO, CD with John P. Maclean. Gallery Publishing,1985,233 pages Christopher Vokes at The Canadian Encyclopedia
14.
Canadian Corps
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The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916. The organization of a 5th Canadian Division began in February 1917 but it was not fully formed when it was broken up in February 1918. The majority of soldiers of the Canadian Corps were British-born until near the end of the war and they were mostly volunteers, as conscription was not implemented until the end of the war. Ultimately, only 24,132 conscripts made it to France before 11 November 1918, the corps was commanded by Lieutenant General Sir E. A. H. Political considerations caused command to be passed to Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, when Byng was promoted to a higher command during the summer of 1917, he was succeeded by General Sir Arthur Currie, the commander of the 1st Division, giving the corps its first Canadian commander. Currie was able to reconcile the desire for independence with the need for Allied integration. He resisted pressure to replace all British officers in high-ranking positions, among the British officers were Alan Brooke and William Ironside. Both became Field Marshals and held the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff. The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April,1917, in an attack that was a turning point in the war, and as Currie called it. During the German Spring Offensive of the spring and summer of 1918, between August 8 and 11,1918, the corps spearheaded the offensive during the Battle of Amiens. Here a significant defeat was inflicted on the Germans, causing the German commander-in-chief, General Erich Ludendorff and this battle marked the start of the period of the war referred to as Canadas Hundred Days. At the end of war the Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions took part in the occupation of Germany, upon their return home the veterans were greeted by large and welcoming crowds all across the country. Total fatal battle casualties during the war was 56,638,13. 5% of the 418,052 sent overseas and 9. 26% of the 611,711 who enlisted. Following its formation in late 1915, the Canadian Corps readied to fight major battles as a unified entity, additional actions were fought by one or more units of the corps. The corps evolved steadily following the 1915 summer campaign, as Godefroy notes, the Canadian Expeditionary Force worked ceaselessly to convert all of its available political and physical resources into fighting power. One striking feature of the evolution was its ability to exploit all opportunities for learning. This was an activity, involving all levels from the commander to the private soldier
15.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
17.
Provinces and territories of Canada
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Canadas geography is divided into administrative divisions known as provinces and territories that are responsible for delivery of sub-national governance. Over its history, Canadas international borders have changed several times, the ten provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. Several of the provinces were former British colonies, Quebec was originally a French colony, the three territories are Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, which govern the rest of the area of the former British North America. Together, the provinces and territories make up the worlds second-largest country by area, the powers flowing from the Constitution Act are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively. In modern Canadian constitutional theory, the provinces are considered to be co-sovereign divisions, the territories are not sovereign, but simply part of the federal realm, and have a commissioner who represents the federal government. Notes, There are three territories in Canada, unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay, the following table lists the territories in order of precedence. Prior to Confederation, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada, over the following years, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were added as provinces. The Hudsons Bay Company controlled large swathes of western Canada referred to as Ruperts Land and the North-Western Territory until 1870, subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. The remaining Arctic islands were transferred by Britain to Canada in 1880,1898 saw the Yukon Territory, later renamed simply as Yukon, carved from the parts of the Northwest Territories surrounding the Klondike gold fields. On September 1,1905, a portion of the Northwest Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba were expanded northward, Manitobas to the 60° parallel, Ontarios to Hudson Bay, in 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status. In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada with Newfoundland facing a period of economic crisis. In 2001, it was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1903, the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbias northwestern boundary. This was one of two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. In 1999, Nunavut was created from the portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the portion of The North, while Nunavut is in the east. All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering 3,921,739 km2 in land area and they are often referred to as a single region, The North, for organisational and economic purposes
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Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
20.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
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Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
22.
Armistice Day
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The date was declared a national holiday in many allied nations, and coincides with Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, public holidays. The first Armistice Day was held at Buckingham Palace, commencing with King George V hosting a Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic during the hours of 10 November 1919. The first official Armistice Day events were held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919. This would set the trend for a day of Remembrance for decades to come, in 1919, South African Sir Percy Fitzpatrick proposed a two-minute silence to Lord Milner. People observe a one or more commonly a two-minute moment of silence at 11,00 a. m. local time, similar ceremonies developed in other countries during the inter-war period. m. Presumably to coincide with the traditional 11,00 a. m. time for Armistice ceremonies taking place in Europe due to the time difference between Eastern Australia and Europe. Veterans in New Zealand have used silence to pay homage to departed comrades in general at veteran functions, as the toast of Fallen or Absent Comrades. In Britain, beginning in 1939, the silence was moved to the Sunday nearest to 11 November in order not to interfere with wartime production should 11 November fall on a weekday. They adopted the name Remembrance Day or Remembrance Sunday, other countries also changed the name of the holiday just prior to or after World War II, to honor veterans of that and subsequent conflicts. The United States chose All Veterans Day, later shortened to Veterans Day, to honor military veterans. Both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday are commemorated formally, in recent years Armistice Day has become increasingly recognised, and many people now attend the 11,00 a. m. In New Zealand and Australia observance ceremonies take place, but the day is not a public holiday, anzac Day, on 25 April, is a public holiday and day of remembrance. In Canada,11 November is a time to both living and dead veterans. Patriotic displays are created annually, and veterans are offered free transit and cab rides in a number of cities, including Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Mississauga, London, Calgary, and Vancouver. In the U. S. the function of Veterans Day is subtly different from that of other 11 November observances, instead of specifically honoring war dead, Veterans Day honors all American veterans living and dead. Armistice Day remains the name of the holiday in France and Belgium, in Italy the end of World War I is commemorated on 4 November, the day of the Armistice of Villa Giusti. In Denmark, Netherlands and Norway, the end of World War I is not commemorated as the three countries remained neutral, Denmark instead observes Flagday on 5 September in commemoration of both living and dead soldiers who served in any conflict. The same counts for 4 May in Netherlands
23.
Battle of Vimy Ridge
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The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, the battle, which took place from 9 to 12 April 1917, was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. The objective of the Canadian Corps was to control of the German-held high ground along an escarpment at the northernmost end of the Arras Offensive. This would ensure that the southern flank could advance without suffering German enfilade fire, supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The town of Thélus fell during the day of the attack. The final objective, a fortified knoll located outside the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, the German forces then retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line. Recent historical research has called this patriotic narrative into question, showing that it developed in the part of the twentieth century. The nation-building story only emerged fully formed after most of those who experienced the Great War directly or indirectly had passed from the scene, a 100-hectare portion of the former battleground serves as a memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Vimy Ridge is an escarpment 8 km northeast of Arras on the edge of the Douai Plain. The ridge rises gradually on its side, and drops more quickly on the eastern side. At approximately 7 km in length, and culminating at an elevation of 145 m or 60 m above the Douai Plains, the ridge provides a natural unobstructed view for tens of kilometres in all directions. The ridge fell under German control in October 1914 during the Race to the Sea as the Franco-British and German forces continually attempted to outflank each other through northeastern France. The French Tenth Army attempted to dislodge the Germans from the region during the Second Battle of Artois in May 1915 by attacking their positions at Vimy Ridge and Notre Dame de Lorette. The French 1st Moroccan Division managed to capture the height of the ridge but was unable to hold it owing to a lack of reinforcements. The French made another attempt during the Third Battle of Artois in September 1915, the Vimy sector calmed following the offensive with both sides taking a largely live and let live approach. In all, the French suffered approximately 150,000 casualties in their attempts to control of Vimy Ridge. The British XVII Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, relieved the French Tenth Army in the sector in February 1916, the Royal Engineers immediately deployed specialist tunnelling companies along the front to combat the German mining operations. In response to increased British mining aggression, German artillery and trench mortar fire intensified in early May 1916, the Germans captured several British-controlled tunnels and mine craters before halting their advance and entrenching their positions
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44th Battalion (Manitoba), CEF
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The 44th Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 44th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 23 October 1915. It disembarked in France on 12 August 1916, where it fought as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France, the battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920. In August 1918, the 44th Battalion was renamed the 44th Battalion, the 44th Battalion recruited in and was mobilized at Winnipeg, Manitoba. The 44th Battalion had three Officers Commanding, Lt-Col, E. R. Wayland,22 October 1915 –11 December 1915 Lt. -Col. J. H. Sills,27 December 1915 –16 January 1917 Lt. -Col, Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G. W. L. Nicholson, CD, Queens Printer, Ottawa, Ontario,1962
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46th Battalion (South Saskatchewan), CEF
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The 46th Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 46th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 23 October 1915, on 11 August 1916 it disembarked in France, where it fought with the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920, the unit has come to be known as The Suicide Battalion. The 46th Battalion lost 1,433 killed and 3,484 wounded – a casualty rate of 91.5 percent in 27 months, the 46th Battalion recruited throughout Saskatchewan and was mobilized at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The 46th Battalion had two Officers Commanding, Lt. -Col, H. Snell,22 October 1915 –29 August 1916 Lt. -Col. H. J. Dawson, CMG, DSO,29 August 1916-Demobilization One member of the 46th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross, sergeant Hugh Cairns was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Valenciennes on 1 November 1918. Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G. W. L, nicholson, CD, Queens Printer, Ottawa, Ontario,1962
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Royal Westminster Regiment
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The Royal Westminster Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Subsequently, the regiment raised the 47th Battalion, CEF, which was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 13 November 1915. It disembarked in France on 11 August 1916, where it fought as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France, the battalion disbanded on 30 August 1920. A member of the 47th Battalion, Corporal Filip Konowal, received the Victoria Cross for his single handed destruction of a German machine gun position, the battalion disbanded on 17 July 1917. In 1920 the unit was amalgamated with the 6th Regiment and in 1924 it was reformed as The Westminster Regiment, the regiment was re-designated as a machine gun battalion and titled The Westminster Regiment in 1936. With the German invasion of Poland, the regiments 1st Battalion was mobilized on September 2,1939, the 2nd Battalion, Westminster Regiment served in the reserve force stationed in Canada. At that time of mobilization the regiment consisted of Battalion HQ, A and B Companies in New Westminster, C Company in Mission, the Commanding Officer was Lt Col C. J Loat, with Major Little Joe Sager as Deputy Commanding Officer. Major Sager became CO at the end of 1939, on May 27,1940, the unit deployed to Camp Dundurn Saskatchewan for additional training. Late in September 1940 the unit was deployed again, not overseas as they had hoped, the unit was converted to a motor battalion and designated The Westminster Regiment in early 1941. On May 27,1941, the unit entrained at the CPR station in Vancouver for deployment to Camp Borden, at Borden the unit became part of the 1st Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division. The regiment sailed from Halifax on HMT Andes for Great Britain on November 13,1941, the unit disembarked in Liverpool on November 24,1941. Subsequently the unit was moved to Farnham, Hove, Pippingford Park, in March 1943 the Westminsters CO, Lt Col Sager, was promoted to Brigadier and given command of 4 Canadian Infantry Brigade. Command of the regiment passed to Lt Col RL Tindall, who had been second in command of the Perth Regiment. On November 15,1943, the regiment sailed aboard RMS Samaria for Algiers, next the unit was sent by rail to Phillipeville and immediately embarked on the HMT Cameronia for Naples, Italy where they joined the 8th Army. The regiment went into the line and engaged in combat first at the town of Guardiagrele, the units first casualties were suffered on January 22,1944, during patrolling on this static part of the front. After eight days on the line the unit was withdrawn to the Sangro River on the night of 25–26 January, the regiment returned to the line on January 31, relieving the 1/9 Gurkhas at Sararola. He would command the unit for the remainder of the war, on March 1,1944, the regiment was relieved from the line by the Perth Regiment and sent for rest in Roatti. It was soon re-deployed as part of a group under Westminster CO Lt Col Corbould
27.
50th Battalion (Calgary), CEF
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The 50th Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 50th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 27 October 1915, the 50th Battalion recruited in and was mobilized at Calgary, Alberta. The 50th Battalion had four Officers Commanding, Lt-Col E. G. Mason,27 October 1915 –11 November 1916 Maj. R. B. Eaton,11 November 1916 –1 January 1917 Maj. C. B. Worsnop, DSO,1 January 1917 –11 March 1917 Lt. Col. L. F. Page, DSO,11 March 1917-Demobilization One member of the 50th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross, Private John George Pattison was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 10 April 1917 during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. He was subsequently killed in action at Lens, France, on 3 June 1917 The battalion was ordered to Ancre Heights in October. Ancre Heights was the scene of Canadas first involvement in the Battle of the Somme, which had begun on July 1, later, the 50th was ordered into the fighting and during the battle, the 50th Battalions non-commissioned officers suffered heavily. Positioned in the wave, they were killed by hidden German machine-gun posts that had been bypassed by the initial assault. From the Somme, the battalion was moved northward to Artois in November 1916, from January to March, the 4th Divisions artillery provided part of the pre-battle barrage. In March, the Canadian Corps changed the commander of the battalion, mason was transferred to another battalion and replaced Lieutenant-Colonel Page. In April, the Canadians made their offensive, starting the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The 50th Battalion and the rest of the 4th Canadian Division were assigned to attack Hill 145, after many attempts to capture the hill, they finally managed to take it from the Bavarian Reserve force. For the next two days, the 4th Canadian Division and 50th Battalion tried to attack the little known as the Pimple. Finally, the Bavarians, low on food and having suffered casualties, surrendered the Pimple. The 50th, having suffered casualties, were taken out of the line. After Vimy the 50th Battalion, with the rest of the Canadian Corps and they fought the Germans in the streets of Lens and in the generating plant, which a group of Germans had fortified. After a hard-fought battle there, the Canadians gained a reputation as elite or storm troops, during this battle, they were taken out of the line for a little bit, and put into billets. They stayed with French families in their small houses
28.
75th Battalion (Mississauga), CEF
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The 75th Battalion, CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 75th Battalion was authorized on 10 July 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 29 March 1916. It disembarked in France on 12 August 1916, where it fought as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France, the battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920. The 75th Battalion recruited in Toronto, Hamilton and London, Ontario and was mobilized at Toronto, the 75th Battalion had three officers commanding, Lt. -Col. S. G. Beckett,1 April 1916 –1 March 1917 Lt. -Col, C. B. Worsnop, DSO,11 March 1917 –16 April 1917 Lt. -Col. Harbottle, DSO,16 April 1917-Demobilization One member of the 75th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross, medical Officer Captain Bellenden Hutcheson was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 2 September 1918 at the Drocourt-Quéant Line. The 75th was formed by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel G. Beckett, following training in Niagara and Toronto, the 75th left for overseas on 29 March 1916 and arrived on 9 April 1916. On arrival in England they formed part of the newly created 11th Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division, within the month, the 75th Battalion was at the Somme and fought with great distinction in the battles at Regina trench and Desire trench. In December, the 75th had been moved to Vimy Ridge where they with the rest of the Canadian Army dug in, on the night of 1 March 1917, a large phosgene gas raid was undertaken in which the Commanding Officer, LCol Beckett was killed. The 75th Battalion, CEF is perpetuated by The Toronto Scottish Regiment, the Reverend Donald R. McKillican, CD Major The Hodden Grey A Short History of The 75th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force World War I and the Toronto Scottish Regiment 1915-1995 Toronto, Ont. Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G. W. L, nicholson, CD, Queens Printer, Ottawa, Ontario,1962
29.
87th Battalion (Canadian Grenadier Guards), CEF
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The 87th Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the unit began recruiting in September 1915 in Montreal, the surrounding districts, on August 11/12, the battalion crossed over to France and served the duration of the war as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Infantry Division. The battalion returned to Canada in June 1919, R. W. Frost, DSO Major H. LeR. J. V. P. ODonahoe, DSO Major J. S. Ralston, the Canadian Infantry in the First World War
30.
102nd Battalion, CEF
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The 102nd Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 102nd Battalion was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 18 June 1916 and it disembarked in France on 12 August 1916, where it fought as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion disbanded on 30 August 1920, the 102nd Battalion recruited in Northern British Columbia and was mobilized at Comox, on Vancouver Island. The 102nd Battalion had four Officers Commanding, Lt. -Col, john Weightman Warden, DSO,18 June 1916 –11 January 1918 Lt. -Col. F. Lister, CMG, DSO, MC,11 January 1918 –27 September 1918 Lt. -Col, ryan, DSO,28 September 1918 –19 November 1918 Lt. -Col. Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919 by Col. G. W. L, nicholson, CD, Queens Printer, Ottawa, Ontario,1962
31.
38th Battalion (Ottawa), CEF
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The 38th Battalion, CEF was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force. It was mobilized in Ottawa and recruited in Ottawa, Brockville, Perth, Prescott, an initial draft of five officers and 251 other ranks was sent to England on June 24,1915. The battalion embarked at Montreal on August 1,1915, aboard the Caledonian and its strength was 35 officers and 959 other ranks. The battalion embarked at Bermuda on May 30,1916, aboard the Grampian and its strength was 35 officers and 1001 other ranks. The battalion arrived in France on August 13,1916, becoming part of the 4th Canadian Division and it was later reinforced by the 7th Canadian Reserve Battalion. The battalion returned to England on May 6,1919, arrived in Canada on June 13,1919, was demobilized in Ottawa on June 15,1919, the 38th Battalion, CEF, is perpetuated by The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. The battalion supported a brass band, whose battalion air was the medley of Will Ye No Come Back Again, and Yell Tak the High Road. The battalion colours, donated by the Ottawa Home Guard, were presented by Sir Joseph Pope on August 1,1915 and they were returned to Ottawa and deposited temporarily in Chalmers Church in 1919. Later, they were transferred to the Ottawa Regiment, the 38th Canadian Infantry Battalion is perpetuated by The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. Gordon Stewart, commanding officer of the 43rd Duke of Cornwalls Own Rifles, Ottawa and it was the first complete infantry unit to be raised in Ottawa, its badge bears the citys motto, Advance. In January 1915, Colonel Stewart was appointed major of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division. In January 1915, arrangements were made to utilize the former Ottawa Ladies College for battalion headquarters, on February 5 the 38th took charge of the building, and on February 8 the first daily orders were posted. The first company to be organized was A Company, under the command of Capt. R. F. Parkinson of the 43rd Regiment, its personnel was largely made up of the old 43rd. B Company was also recruited by the end of January under the command of Capt. A. C. Ross of the Governor-Generals Foot Guards, C Company was mobilized in the outlying districts of eastern Ontario under the command of Capt. A. W. Gray. D Company was supplied entirely from the Officers Training Corps of McGill University, the 38th left Ottawa for Barriefield Camp on May 25. Soon after its arrival, it was required to provide a company for a reinforcing draft to proceed overseas immediately. D Company was chosen, and sailed May 29,1915, a replacement D Company was organized in eastern Ontario under the command of Capt. W. S. Wood. A second reinforcing draft was ordered from the 38th,5 officers and 250 other ranks were selected from A, B, Ross, it included the following officers, Lieutenant A. C
32.
The Winnipeg Grenadiers
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The Winnipeg Grenadiers was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army formed on 1 April 1908 under General Order No.20. The unit did not have any active personnel enrolled at the formation, on 1 February 1910 all companies and headquarters were moved to Winnipeg. On 2 May 1910 the designation was changed to the 100th Winnipeg Grenadiers, the first officers were gazetted to the regiment on 18 May 1910. Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Norlande Ruttan who came from the Retired List commanded the regiment on organization, the regiment was reorganized under General Order No.120 on 1 October 1915 to an establishment with four companies. The Winnipeg Grenadiers originated in Morden, Manitoba on 1 April 1908 and it was redesignated the 100th Winnipeg Grenadiers on 2 May 1910 and The Winnipeg Grenadiers on 12 March 1920. On 16 November 1936, it was amalgamated with the 10th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC and it was redesignated the 2nd Battalion, The Winnipeg Grenadiers on 7 November 1940, the 2nd Battalion, The Winnipeg Grenadiers on 15 March 1941 and The Winnipeg Grenadiers on 28 January 1946. It was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle on 28 February 1965, the 10th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC originated in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 1 June 1919, as the 10th Machine Gun Brigade, CMGC. It was redesignated the 10th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC on 15 September 1924, on 16 November 1936, it was amalgamated with The Winnipeg Grenadiers. The perpetuation of the 10th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC was assigned to The Winnipeg Grenadiers, the Winnipeg Grenadiers perpetuate the 11th Battalion, CEF, the 78th Battalion, CEF, and the 100th Battalion, CEF. Details from the 100th Winnipeg Grenadiers were placed on service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties. On 4 January 1917, its personnel, along with the personnel of the 100th Battalion, CEF, were absorbed by a new 11th Reserve Battalion, the battalion was disbanded on 12 October 1917. The battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920, the battalion was disbanded on 1 September 1917. Ethelbert Curley Christian of the 78th Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers was wounded at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and was the only quadruple amputee of either World War to survive, the regiment mobilized The Winnipeg Grenadiers, CASF, on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, The Winnipeg Grenadiers, CASF, on 7 November 1940 and it served in Jamaica and Bermuda on garrison duty from May 1940 to October 1941. On 27 October 1941 it embarked for Hong Kong, where it was destroyed fighting in defence of the colony during the Battle of Hong Kong. Company Sergeant-Major John Robert Osborn, VC was a 42-year-old Warrant Officer Second Class, and he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the fighting for Hong Kong on 19 December 1941. His Victoria Cross citation reads, in part, The enemy threw a grenade landed in a position where it was impossible to pick it up. Shouting a warning to his comrades this gallant Warrant Officer threw himself on the grenade which exploded killing him instantly and his self-sacrifice undoubtedly saved the lives of many others
33.
85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders), CEF
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The 85th Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 85th Battalion was authorized on 14 September 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 12 October 1916, disembarking in France on 10 February 1917, it fought as part of the 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920, the Battalion is most famous for capturing Hill 145 in their first battle. Today, the Vimy Memorial stands on Hill 145, the 85th Battalion recruited throughout Nova Scotia and was mobilized at Halifax. The kings and regimental colours of the battalion are laid up in Government House in Halifax, the Eighty-Fifth Canadian Infantry Battalion Nova Scotia Highlanders in France and Flanders. Halifax, Royal Print & Litho Limited
34.
Battle of Le Transloy
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The Battle of Le Transloy was the last offensive of the Fourth Army of the British Expeditionary Force in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in France, during the First World War. Command of the German Air Service was centralised and the new Luftstreitkräfte was able to challenge Anglo-French air superiority with the reinforcements and new, superior fighter aircraft. The German flyers further reduced the ability of the Anglo-French airmen to support the armies with artillery-observation and contact patrols, in the rare periods of clear weather. The German armies lost much ground and had fewer casualties in October than in September. The reinforcement of the Somme front, with troops and equipment from Verdun also contributed to the German defeat in the First Offensive Battle of Verdun and the loss of forts Douaumont and Vaux. Rain, fog and mud was a problem for the Germans. The British and French benefitted from superior numbers, which enabled the Allied commanders to relieve divisions after shorter periods in the line. On 28 August, the Chief of the General Staff General Erich von Falkenhayn simplified the German command structure on the Western Front by establishing two army groups. Gruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht controlled the 6th, 1st and 2nd armies, from the Belgian coast to the boundary of Gruppe Deutscher Kronprinz, heeresgruppe Gallwitz–Somme was dissolved and General Max von Gallwitz reverted to the command of the 2nd Army. The emergency in Russia caused by the Brusilov Offensive, the entry of Rumania into the war and French counter-attacks at Verdun, Falkenhayn had been sacked from the OHL on 28 August and replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff. This Third OHL ordered an end to attacks at Verdun and the despatch of troops to Rumania, colonel Fritz von Lossberg, Chief of Staff of the 2nd Army, was also able to establish Ablösungsdivisionen 10–15 miles behind the battlefield, ready to replace tired divisions. German counter-attacks became bigger and more frequent, making the Anglo-French advance slower, after the Anglo-French attacks in mid-September, a comprehensive relief of the front-line divisions had been possible. On 21 September, after the battle of Flers–Courcelette, Hindenburg ordered that the Somme front was to have priority in the west for troops, during September, the Germans had sent another thirteen fresh divisions to the British sector and scraped up troops wherever they could be found. The 2nd Army had been starved of reinforcements in mid-August, to replace exhausted divisions in the 1st Army, reinforcements for the Somme front in September, began to reduce the German inferiority in guns and aircraft. Field artillery reduced its barrage frontage from 400–200 yards per battery, as the Germans had been pushed out of their original defences, Lossberg established new positions based on principles of depth, dispersal and camouflage, rather than continuous lines of trenches. Rigid defence of the front-line continued but with as few soldiers as possible, relying on the power of machine-guns firing from behind the front-line. The largest German counter-attacks of the Somme battle took place from 20–23 September, rather than pack troops into the front-line, local, corps and army reserves were held back, in lines about 2,000 yards apart, able to make progressively stronger counter-attacks. Trenches were still dug but were no longer intended to be fought from, being used for shelter during quiet periods, for the movement of reinforcements and supplies and as rallying points and decoys
35.
Battle of the Ancre Heights
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The Battle of the Ancre Heights, is the name given to the continuation of British attacks after the Battle of Thiepval Ridge from 26–28 September during the Battle of the Somme. The battle was conducted by the Reserve Army from Courcelette near the Albert–Bapaume road, the Reserve Army conducted large attacks on 1,8,21,25 October and from 10–11 November. Many smaller attacks were made in the periods, amid interruptions caused by frequent heavy rain. A German retreat from the salient that had formed around St. General Max von Gallwitz the 2nd Army commander, noted in early October that so many of his units had moved to the 1st Army north of the Somme. The German counter-attacks were costly failures and by 21 October, the British had managed to advance 500 yards and take all, a French offensive during the Battle of Verdun on 24 October, forced the Germans to suspend the movement of troops to the Somme front. Fifth Army operations resumed in the Battle of the Ancre, the Third Army was to provide a flank guard north of the Reserve Army, by occupying a spur south of Gommecourt. The French Tenth Army south of the Somme, was to attack on 10 October north of Chaulnes. Normal autumn weather in the Somme region would be an obstacle but an amount of rain and mist grounded aircraft and created vast mud fields. Haig issued a much less ambitious directive on 7 October but the weather, German tactical changes and reinforcements on the Somme front. After meeting with Rawlinson and Gough, Haig cancelled the Third Army operation on 17 October, the Reserve Army plan for a converging attack towards the Ancre, was limited to an attack up the valley on 23 October. Gough issued a new order on 15 October and began another reorganization on the north side of the Ancre. There was more rain on 19 October, which led a delay of the II Corps operation until 21 October. The attack succeeded but the rains returned on 24 October and the attack next day was postponed. Gough proposed an attack on 9 November but preferred to wait for better weather, Haig agreed that no attack should begin until the ground was dry enough for infantry to move freely, when there was a forecast of two days of fair weather and another postponement followed. In August the German armies on the Somme had been subjected to great strain, IX Reserve Corps had been shattered in the defence of Pozières, the 18th Reserve Division having lost 8,288 casualties. Ten fresh divisions had been brought into the Somme front and a division had been put into the line opposite the British. Movement behind the German front was made difficult by constant Anglo-French artillery-fire, which added to equipment shortages by delaying deliveries by rail and by interrupting road maintenance
36.
Capture of Regina Trench
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It was the longest such trench on the German front during the First World War. An attack on 8 October, by the 1st Canadian Division, on 21 October, the 4th Canadian Division attacked the western portion of Regina Trench, as the 18th Division, 25th Division and the 39th Division of II Corps, attacked the part further west. The Canadians met little opposition and gained the objective, as the II Corps divisions captured Stuff Trench in thirty minutes, three counter-attacks were repulsed by the Canadians and by 22 October, more than a thousand Germans had been taken prisoner. The east end of the trench was captured by the 4th Canadian Division during the night of 10/11 November. The British pushed on towards Stuff and Schwaben redoubts until the end of the month and Reserve Army attacks resumed in the Battle of the Ancre Heights, which began on 1 October. The British had made use of their artillery and although German artillery ammunition consumption in September rose to 4.1 million shells from the 1. An offensive by the Reserve Army was planned for mid-October and Gough began a reorganization on the side of the Ancre. On 30 September, the Marine Brigade moved up through Baum Mulde, staufen Riegel was found to have disappeared, due to the effect of the British artillery bombardments. Staufen Riegel had been dug as a route to Staufenfeste and was on the reverse slope. Reserves could be sheltered nearby at Baum Mulde, which was difficult for British artillery to bombard from the south, nightly supply and frequent relief enabled the Marines to hold their positions. At 3,15 p. m. the Canadian Corps attacked Regina Trench on the ground west of Courcelette Trench to consolidate up to Dyke Road. British aircraft flew overhead at 100 feet observing for the artillery, strafing the ground when they saw movement, the British artillery lifted towards Baum Mulde and Miraumont and the 8th Division troops saw waves of Canadian infantry advancing, while the division was being relieved by the Marine Brigade. The Germans fired rockets to alert the German artillery, which opened fire immediately, an attack by the 23rd Division of III Corps to the right, had also succeeded and gained touch with the Canadians. A few survivors managed to get through the wire and were overwhelmed, the central battalion reached Kenora Trench and dug in under small-arms fire, partly from a flank and the left-hand battalion reached its objective in Regina Trench. The 3rd Canadian Division battalion to the left, was back by a German counter-attack. By nightfall the 5th Canadian Brigade held most of Kenora Trench and outposts in the West Miraumont road, the 3rd Canadian Division attacked with two 8th Canadian Brigade battalions on the right but a German barrage fell on the front line, a few minutes before zero hour. Preparations began for another attack but bad weather forced a delay, on 6 October, the 1st Canadian Division took over on the right flank of the Canadian Corps which lay east of the Pys road. The 1st Canadian Division attacked on 8 October at 4,50 a. m. in cold rain
37.
Battle of the Ancre
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The Battle of the Ancre, was fought by the Fifth Army, against the German 1st Army. The battle was the final large British attack of the Battle of the Somme, the British attack was to fulfil complementary objectives. Political discontent in London would be muted by a big victory, as would doubts of British commitment by its allies and British loyalty to the Chantilly strategy of 1915 would be upheld. The capture of Beaumont Hamel and Serre would go some way to redeem the failure of 1 July, the attack was the largest in the British sector since September and had a seven-day preliminary bombardment, which was twice as heavy as that of 1 July. Beaumont Hamel, St. Pierre Divion and Beaucourt were captured, edmund Blunden called the battle a feat of arms vieing with any recorded. The enemy was surprised and beaten, four German divisions had to be relieved due to the number of casualties they suffered and over 7,000 German troops were taken prisoner. The failure of the Fourth Army attack of 18 October, caused another revision of the plan, Gough issued a new operation order on 15 October and began another reorganisation on the north side of the Ancre. The II Corps operation on 21 October succeeded but the rains returned on 24 October, the main attack was postponed until 25 October, then cancelled and Gough was given discretion to continue with postponements by Haig. On 5 November, Haig suggested an attack, if the state of the ground justified the effort. Gough proposed an attack on 9 November but preferred to delay the main effort, Haig agreed that there should be no attack until the ground was dry enough for infantry to move freely and there was a forecast of two days of fair weather, another postponement followed. On 3 November, Major-General Rudolph Cavan the XIV Corps commander, wrote to Rawlinson, objecting to the renewal of attacks on Le Transloy, having already lost 5,320 casualties. Rawlinson informed Haig that he was going to limit the next attack, Haig explained that the Fourth Army would be attacking at other points on 5 November and Cavan agreed to make certain that the French left flank was protected. Apart from attacks near Saillisel, the French Sixth Army began to consolidate for the winter, on 10 November, Gough set the attack for 5,45 a. m. on 13 November. To be ready for the big attack intended for 12 October, in early October the north bank was held by the 39th Division of V Corps up to the boundary with the Third Army at Hébuterne. On 1 October, the 2nd Division was moved in on the left of the 39th Division to hold the ground from Redan Ridge to the army boundary. By 7 October XIII Corps had the 51st and 19th Divisions in line and on 8 October, Gough issued instructions for the attack on the north bank from 4–12 October and arranged for the 1st and 3rd Cavalry divisions to move close to the front line. The British front line north of the Ancre had been moved forward across no-mans-land and it was intended to isolate the battlefield with artillery and bombard Pys, Irles, Miraumont and Puisieux and the main trenches leading to the battlefield. On the II Corps front, artillery fire was to simulate an attack on the ground east of the old German second line as would XIII Corps artillery on the German approaches to the northern flank
38.
Battle of Hill 70
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The Battle of Hill 70 was a battle of World War I between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France between 15 and 25 August 1917. The objectives of the assault were to inflict casualties and to draw German troops away from the 3rd Battle of Ypres, a later attempt by the Canadian Corps to extend its position into the city of Lens itself failed. Both sides suffered casualties and Lens remained under German control. In both the German and the Canadian assessments of the battle it succeeded in its attrition objective, the battle consisted of extensive use of poison gas by both sides, including the newly introduced German Yellow Cross shell containing the blistering agent sulfur mustard. Ultimately, the goals of the Canadian Corps were only partially accomplished, the industrial coal city of Lens, France had fallen under German control in October 1914 during the Race to the Sea. Hill 70 was a treeless expanse at the end of one of the many spurs, in September 1915, the British had overrun the hill during the Battle of Loos but had not managed to hold it. The operation was intended to engage as many German formations as possible, command of the Canadian Corps had only recently changed. A month earlier, Canadian Corps commander Julian Byng was promoted to General, Arthur Currie, the 1st Canadian Division commander, was promoted to Lieutenant-General and assumed command of the Canadian Corps. Currie regarded control of either Hill 70 or Sallaumines Hill as tactically more important than control of the city of Lens. Merely to occupy the city while the Germans held the ground, would place the attackers in an unfavourably lower. At a conference of corps commanders, Currie persuaded the First Army commander General Henry Horne to make Hill 70, not Lens, controlling Hill 70 would provide excellent observation over the German lines, in preparation for more offensives. Currie believed the Germans would attempt to counter-attack if Hill 70 were captured, nevertheless, Currie believed that the advantageous observational position of Hill 70 would permit well directed artillery to effectively deal with any counter-attacks. In an attempt to deceive the Germans, minor operations were conducted in an effort to suggest a forthcoming attack by the British First Army south of La Bassée Canal. Bad weather led to the postponement of the attack on Hill 70 from late July until mid-August. In the interim, special companies of the Royal Engineers augmented the regular level of harassment by firing a total of 3,500 gas drums and 900 gas shells into Lens by 15 August. Troops were rotated through the area to conduct training and rehearsals in preparation for the assault. The best that could be done was to attempt to mislead the Germans with respect to time, to this end I Corps staged exercises with dummy tanks on 14 August, directly west of Lens
39.
Second Battle of Passchendaele
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The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, the Canadian Corps relieved the exhausted II Anzac Corps, continuing the advance started with the First Battle of Passchendaele and ultimately capturing the village. Beyond gaining favourable observation positions, the battle was intended to gain drier winter positions on higher ground, the assault position was directly south of the inter-army boundary between the British Fifth and Second Armies. As a result, the Canadian Corps was to attack with support of formations from the British Fifth Army to the north, the offensive was executed in a series of attacks each with limited objectives, delivered at intervals of three or more days. The execution dates of the phases were tentatively given as 26 October,30 October and 6 November with a smaller action on 10 November. The attacks captured the German-held high ground along the Passchendaele–Westrozebeke ridge, on 20 November, Haig ended the battle, except for local attacks to gain better defensive positions. In July 1917, British Field Marshal Douglas Haig launched a series of offensives and this was an attempt to break down the resistance of the German Fourth Army and advance out of the Ypres Salient. Initial successes had been achieved at the Battle of Messines and subsequent Battle of Pilckem Ridge, torrential rain in August interrupted the tempo of the British advance and led to little progress at the Battle of Langemarck. In view of the failure of the British Fifth Army to make headway in August, Haig decided to transfer more offensive weight towards the south-east. The main command was therefore switched from General Hubert Goughs Fifth Army to the British Second Army under command of General Herbert Plumer, Plumer planned a series of more limited attacks, taking advantage of recent experience, rather than Goughs attempts at a more optimistic semi-open warfare version. Less ambitious infantry advances at the Battle of Menin Road, Battle of Polygon Wood, Battle of Broodseinde and Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge produced a 4, 000-yard advance in two weeks. The German attempts at resisting the advances led to losses on their part, especially at Broodseinde. In the low ground west of the Passchendaele Ridge, three months of constant shelling had blocked the watercourses that normally provided drainage, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps were transferred from the Lens sector to the Ypres Salient to capture Passchendaele. Interestingly, it was virtually the same front as had been occupied by the 1st Canadian Division back in April 1915, the Canadian Corps operation was to be executed in a series of three attacks, each with limited objectives, delivered at intervals of three or more days. However, Haig was anxious to avoid any delays, particularly given that he wished to assist the French attack on Mailmaison. Currie and the British Second Army commander, Herbert Plumer, re-examined the situation, the dates for the subsequent phases were tentatively given as 30 October and 6 November. Extensive preparations were needed before any advance could be made, a number of problems were found with the artillery and positions transferred from the Australians. Of the 250 heavy howitzers that existed on paper, only 227 could be found, of the 30618 pounder field guns, less than half were in action
40.
Battle of Amiens (1918)
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Allied forces advanced over 11 kilometres on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war, with Henry Rawlinsons British Fourth Army playing the decisive role. The battle is notable for its effects on both sides morale and the large number of surrendering German forces. This led Erich Ludendorff to describe the first day of the battle as the day of the German Army. On 21 March 1918, the German Army had launched Operation Michael and these offensives were intended to translate this advantage into victory. Operation Michael was intended to defeat the right wing of the British Expeditionary Force, a final effort was aimed at the town of Amiens, a vital railway junction, but the advance had been halted at Villers-Bretonneux by British and Australian troops on 4 April. By the end of the Marne-Rheims offensive, the German manpower advantage had been spent and their supplies, the Allied generalissimo, General Ferdinand Foch, ordered a counteroffensive which led to the Second Battle of the Marne, after which victory he was promoted to Marshal of France. The Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne to the north, Foch now tried to move the Allies back onto the offensive. Foch disclosed his plan on 23 July 1918, following the Franco-American victory at the Battle of Soissons, the plan called for reducing the Saint-Mihiel salient and freeing the railway lines that ran through Amiens from German shellfire. The commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, when the British retreat had ended in April, the headquarters of the British Fourth Army under General Sir Henry Rawlinson had taken over the front astride the Somme. On 30 May, all the Australian infantry divisions were united under the corps HQ, Rawlinson had submitted Monashs proposals to Haig in July and Haig had forwarded them to Foch. At a meeting on 24 July, Foch agreed to the plan but insisted that the French First Army, Rawlinson opposed this as his and Monashs plans depended on the large-scale use of tanks to achieve surprise, by avoiding a preliminary bombardment. The French First Army lacked tanks and would be forced to bombard the German positions before the advance began. Eventually, it was agreed that the French would participate, and it was also agreed to advance the proposed date of the attack from 10 August to 8 August, to strike the Germans before they had completed their withdrawal from the Marne salient. Rawlinson had already finalised his plans in discussion with his Corps commanders on 21 July, for the first time, the Australians would attack side by side with the Canadian Corps. Both had a reputation for aggressive and innovative tactics and a record of success over the past two years. The tactical methods had been tested by the Australians in a local counter-attack at the Battle of Hamel on 4 July, the German defenders of Hamel were deeply dug in, and their position commanded a very wide field of fire. Similar positions had resisted capture for two months in the Battle of the Somme, the Australians had used surprise rather than weight at Hamel. The artillery had opened only at the moment the infantry and tanks advanced
41.
Battle of the Canal du Nord
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The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along a portion of the Canal du Nord. It began one day after the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one day before an offensive in the Flanders region of Belgium, the assault position was directly along the inter-army boundary between the British First Army and Third Army. Both armies were tasked with continuing the advance started with the Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line, Battle of Havrincourt and Battle of Epehy. The British Third Army was additionally tasked with securing the Escaut Canal so as to be in a position to support the British Fourth Army during the Battle of St. Quentin Canal. The British assault on the Drocourt-Quéant Line on 2 September 1918 resulted in the Germans being overrun along a 7, in an effort to gain direct observation of all bridges over the Sensée River and the Canal du Nord the British attack was supposed to continue the following day. However, the German preempted the British attack by withdrawing along a wide front, further to the south, the German Eighteenth and Ninth Armies were to follow in succession, resulting in the abandonment of the entire salient gained during the Spring Offensive by 9 September. In the north the German Fourth and Sixth Armies retreated between Lens and Ypres, abandoning without a fight the Lys salient and the gains made during the Battle of the Lys. British air patrols on the morning of 3 September reported seeing no Germans between the Dury Ridge and the Canal du Nord, likewise, the British Third Army was able to occupy the towns of Quéant and Pronville without any fighting and observed the Germans widely falling back. As the British troops advanced to meet the new German front line they reported the east bank of the Canal du Nord strongly held, the only exception was at Palluel where the Germans maintained a bridgehead on the western side of the canal. The construction of the Canal du Nord began in 1913 and was intended link the Oise River to the Dunkirk-Scheldt Canal, however, with the outbreak of the First World War construction was halted and the work was left in varying stages of completion. On 3 September Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies Généralissime Ferdinand Foch outlined the future course of the Allied offensive campaign along the Western Front. To avoid the risk of having extensive German reserves massed against a single Allied attack, the plan called for Allied attacks at four separate points in the German line, to be launched on four successive days. Army Group Flanders under King Albert I of Belgium would conduct the most northern operation and attack German positions in Flanders and move towards Ghent and Bruges. The British Fourth Army and French First Army would attack the Germans along the Saint-Quentin Canal in an effort to breach the Hindenburg Line between Holnon and Vendhuile. To the south, the First United States Army and French Fourth Army would mount the Meuse-Argonne Offensive between Reims and Verdun, moving along the Meuse River and through the Argonne Forest. The Canal du Nord defensive system was the Germans last major prepared defensive position opposite the British First Army and it was nevertheless a significant obstacle as the Germans had taken measures to incorporate the unfinished canal into their defensive system. The greater arm of the Hindenburg Support Line crossed the canal at Mœuvres and this was supplemented by the Marquion-Cantaing Line which ran along a north-south axis one mile east of the canal and the Marcoing Line located just west of Cambrai
42.
Convoy
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A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas. Arriving at the scene of an emergency with a well-ordered unit. Naval convoys have been in use for centuries, with examples of merchant ships traveling under naval protection dating to the 12th century, the use of organized naval convoys dates from when ships began to be separated into specialist classes and national navies were established. By the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, effective naval tactics had been developed to ward off pirates. Some convoys contained several hundred merchant ships, the most enduring system of convoys were the Spanish treasure fleets, that sailed from the 1520s until 1790. When merchant ships sailed independently, a privateer could cruise a shipping lane, ships sailing in convoy presented a much smaller target, a convoy was as hard to find as a single ship. As a result of the convoy systems effectiveness, wartime insurance premiums were consistently lower for ships that sailed in convoys, losses of ships travelling out of convoy however were so high that no merchant ship was allowed to sail unescorted. In the early 20th century, the changed the balance of power in convoy battles. Steaming faster than merchant ships and firing at long ranges, a battleship could destroy many ships in a convoy before the others could scatter over the horizon. To protect a convoy against a ship required providing it with an escort of another capital ship. Battleships were the reason that the British Admiralty did not adopt convoy tactics at the start of the first Battle of the Atlantic in World War I. But the German capital ships had been bottled up in the North Sea, the Admiralty took a long time to respond to this change in the tactical position, and in April 1917 convoy was trialled, before being officially introduced in the Atlantic in September 1917. Other arguments against convoy were raised, further, large convoys were thought to overload port resources. Actual analysis of shipping losses in World War I disproved all these arguments, at least so far as they applied to transatlantic, ships sailing in convoys were far less likely to be sunk, even when not provided with any escort at all. The loss of productivity due to delays was small compared with the loss of productivity due to ships being sunk. Ports could deal more easily with convoys because they tended to arrive on schedule, Convoy duty also exposes the escorting warships to the sometimes hazardous conditions of the North Atlantic, with only rare occurrences of visible achievement. The British adopted a system, initially voluntary and later compulsory for almost all merchant ships
43.
Invasion of Normandy
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The Western Allies of World War II launched the largest amphibious invasion in history when they assaulted Normandy, located on the northern coast of France, on 6 June 1944. The invaders were able to establish a beachhead as part of Operation Overlord after a successful D-Day, Allied land forces came from the United States, Britain, Canada, and Free French forces. The Normandy invasion began with overnight parachute and glider landings, massive air attacks, the invasion began and during the evening the remaining elements of the airborne divisions landed. Land forces used on D-Day sailed from bases along the south coast of England, Allied forces rehearsed their D-Day roles for months before the invasion. On 28 April 1944, in south Devon on the English coast,749 U. S. soldiers and sailors were killed when German torpedo boats surprised one of these landing exercises, Exercise Tiger. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allied forces conducted an operation, Operation Fortitude, aimed at misleading the Germans with respect to the date. There were several leaks prior to or on D-Day, through the Cicero affair, the Germans obtained documents containing references to Overlord, but these documents lacked all detail. Double Cross agents, such as the Spaniard Juan Pujol, played an important role in convincing the German High Command that Normandy was at best a diversionary attack. After being told, Eisenhower reduced Miller to lieutenant colonel and sent him back to the U. S. where he retired, another such leak was General Charles de Gaulles radio message after D-Day. He, unlike all the leaders, stated that this invasion was the real invasion. This had the potential to ruin the Allied deceptions Fortitude North, in contrast, Gen. Eisenhower referred to the landings as the initial invasion. A full moon occurred on 6 June, Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had tentatively selected 5 June as the date for the assault. The weather was fine during most of May, but deteriorated in early June, the Allied troop convoys already at sea were forced to take shelter in bays and inlets on the south coast of Britain for the night. It seemed possible that everything would have to be cancelled and the returned to their embarkation camps. The next full moon period would be nearly a month away, at a vital meeting on 5 June, Eisenhowers chief meteorologist forecast a brief improvement for 6 June. Commander of all forces for the invasion General Bernard Montgomery. Commander of the Allied Air Forces Air Chief Marshal Leigh Mallory was doubtful, on the strength of Staggs forecast, Eisenhower ordered the invasion to proceed. As a result, prevailing overcast skies limited Allied air support, some troops stood down and many senior officers were away for the weekend
44.
1st Armoured Division (Poland)
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The Polish 1st Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by Major General Stanisław Maczek, after the fall of Poland and then France in 1940, the remaining Poles that had fought in both campaigns retreated with the British Army to the United Kingdom. Stationed in Scotland the Polish 1st Armoured Division was formed as part of the Polish I Corps under Wladyslaw Sikorski and they were organized on the British Armoured Division model, equipped with British uniforms, weapons and tanks. They were initially equipped and trained on Crusader tanks but in late 1943 and early 1944 these were replaced with Sherman tanks and they then participated in war games together with the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. By the end of July 1944, the 1st Armoured had been transferred to Normandy, the unit was attached to the First Canadian Army as part of the 21st Army Group. This may have been done to help in communication, as the vast majority of Poles did not speak English when they arrived in United Kingdom from 1940 onwards, the Division joined combat on 8 August during Operation Totalize. It twice suffered serious casualties as a result of fire from Allied aircraft, but achieved a victory against the Wehrmacht in the battles for Mont Ormel. Surrounded and running out of ammunition, they withstood incessant attacks from multiple fleeing panzer divisions for 48 hours until they were relieved, after the Allied armies broke out from Normandy, the Polish 1st Armoured Division pursued the Germans along the coast of the English Channel. It liberated, among others, the towns of Saint-Omer, Ypres, Oostnieuwkerke, Roeselare, Tielt, Ruislede, a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by General Maczek allowed the liberation of the city of Breda without any civilian casualties. The Division spent the winter of 1944-1945 on the bank of the river Rhine, guarding a sector around Moerdijk. In April 1945, the 1st Armoured entered Germany in the area of Emsland, the majority of its soldiers opted not to return to Poland, which fell under Soviet occupation, preferring instead to remain in exile. Many artefacts and memorabilia belonging to Maczek and the 1st Polish Armoured Division are on display in the Polish Institute, 1st Armoured Division - General Stanisław Maczek - comprising, - 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade - Col. T. Majewski 1st Polish Armoured Regiment - Lt. Col. Aleksander Stefanowicz 2nd Polish Armoured Regiment - Lt. Col, S. Koszustki 24th Polish Lancers Regiment - Lt. Col. J. Kański 10th Polish Dragoons Regiment - Lt. Col, władysław Zgorzelski 3rd Polish Infantry Brigade - Col. Marian Wieroński 1st Polish Highland Battalion - Lt. Col. K. Complak 8th Polish Rifle Battalion - Lt. Col, aleksander Nowaczyński 9th Polish Rifle Battalion - Lt. Col. Zygmunt Szydłowski 1st Polish Independent HMG Squadron - Maj. M. Kochanowski Divisional Artillery - Col. B, noel 1st Polish Motorized Artillery Regiment - Lt. Col. J. Krautwald 2nd Polish Motorized Artillery Regiment - Lt. Col, K. Meresch 1st Polish Anti-Tank Regiment - Major R. Dowbór 1st Polish Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment - Lt. Col. O. Eminowicz, later Maj. W. Berendt Other Units 10th Polish Mounted Rifle Regiment - Maj. J. Maciejowski HQ, Military Police, J. Grajkowski administration, military court, chaplaincy, reserve squadrons, medical services
45.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
Canada
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Canadian Expeditionary Force
Canadian Army
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