1.
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
2.
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
3.
38 Canadian Brigade Group
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38 Canadian Brigade Group is a formation of the Canadian Forces and Canadian Armys 3rd Canadian Division. The brigade group is composed of Primary Reserve units in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, geographically,38 CBG is Canadas largest brigade group. The brigade headquarters is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the brigades units are spread out over many communities, and most of the soldiers serving in the brigades units are reservists, part-time soldiers who serve within units in those communities. The brigade groups is prepared to deploy and augment the Regular Force of the 3rd Canadian Division in domestic operations as well as support battle groups, the brigade has served in several domestic operations, including Operation Assistance, and Operation Peregrine. Many soldiers of the deployed to Afghanistan, as well as on UN. The commanding officer of the 38 Canadian Brigade Group is Colonel Geoff Abthorpe, the 38 Canadian Brigade Group sergeant-major is Chief Warrant Officer Albert Boucher, CD. Also under command of the group headquarters is the 38 Canadian Brigade Group Arctic Response Company Group
4.
Primary Reserve
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The reserve force is represented, though not commanded, at the national level by the Chief of Reserves and Cadets. This is usually a general or Rear Admiral. The Naval Reserve is the formation of the Royal Canadian Navy. It is organized into 24 Naval Reserve Divisions, shore-based training facilities located in communities across the country, each NRD has a small cadre of full-time reservists and regular force members to coordinate training and administration, but is for the most part directed by the divisions part-time leadership. Training is conducted year round with regular force counterparts at the three Canadian Forces Fleet Schools and reservists frequently deploy on regular force ships to augment ships companies. The Naval Reserve supplies all personnel for the 12 Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels, the Naval Reserve has a funded manning level of 4,000. The Army Reserve of the Canadian Army is the largest part of the Primary Reserve and it is sometimes referred to by its original and historic name, the Militia. During operations the Army Reserve is tasked to provide trained and equipped troops to augment the regular army. It forms the framework needed to raise an army during wartime. This fighting mission has not changed much since the Second World War and this perpetuates the regimental system in the reserve army so that it is available as such for the timely absorption of recruits in case of war or in aid of the civil power. Such as when the need may one day arise, to call out more than 26,000 supplementary reservists and cadet instructors, to reinforce the order of battle, however, in practice the regimental system exists as an important military institution for Canada. In addition to the tactical contribution provided for today’s Total Force they also provide a deep-rooted community tie, the true strength of the Army Reserve is the strong connection that the extended regimental family fosters with the community. Many of these activities are overseen by the honorary colonel. Although the vast Canadian geography and demographic factors impact unit composition they mostly functions in much the same way, during peacetime the Regimental establishment will only be the equivalent of a much reduced battalion of a couple hundred troops and less in some cases. The regiment’s subordinate units consist of one training company that may include a platoon devoted to inducting recruits, the Training Company provides candidates for basic courses run at the brigades Battle School and combat arms training conducted at the Divisional Training Centre. Once the soldiers are trade-qualified, they return to their units to serve in the company that is ready. Each unit will usually deploy a reduced company of two platoons, one of these consisting of younger soldiers who have just passed through qualification training. The battle group is commanded by a lieutenant-colonel selected on a rotational basis from one of the brigade units
5.
Winnipeg
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Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is located near the centre of North America and is 110 kilometres from the U. S. border. It is also the place of the confluence of the Red, the city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg, the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water. The region was a centre for aboriginal peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. French traders built the first fort on the site in 1738, a settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. As of 2011, Winnipeg is the seventh most populated municipality in Canada, being located very far inland, the local climate is extremely seasonal even by Canadian standards with average January lows of around −21 °C and average July highs of 26 °C. Known as the Gateway to the West, Winnipeg is a railway, Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games. It is home to professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose. Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and the Red River of the North and this point was at the crossroads of canoe routes travelled by First Nations before European contact. Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg, the name is a transcription of the Western Cree words for muddy or brackish water. Estimates of the date of first settlement in this area are varied, in 1805, Canadian colonists observed First Nations peoples engaged in farming activity along the Red River. The practice quickly expanded, driven by the demand by traders for provisions, the rivers provided an extensive transportation network linking northern First Peoples with those to the south along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Ojibwe made some of the first maps on birch bark, sieur de La Vérendrye built the first fur trading post on the site in 1738, called Fort Rouge. French trading continued at this site for decades before the arrival of the British Hudsons Bay Company after France ceded the territory following its defeat in the Seven Years War. Many French and later British men who were trappers married First Nations women, their mixed-race children hunted, traded and they gradually developed as an ethnicity known as the Métis because of sharing a traditional culture. Lord Selkirk was involved with the first permanent settlement, the purchase of land from the Hudsons Bay Company, the North West Company built Fort Gibraltar in 1809, and the Hudsons Bay Company built Fort Douglas in 1812, both in the area of present-day Winnipeg. The two companies competed fiercely over trade, the Métis and Lord Selkirks settlers fought at the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. In 1821, the Hudsons Bay and North West Companies merged, Fort Gibraltar was renamed Fort Garry in 1822 and became the leading post in the region for the Hudsons Bay Company
6.
Manitoba
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Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is one of the three provinces and Canadas fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 649,950 square kilometres with a varied landscape. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited what is now Manitoba for thousands of years, in the late 17th century, fur traders arrived in the area when it was part of Ruperts Land and owned by the Hudsons Bay Company. In 1869, negotiations for the creation of the province of Manitoba led to an uprising of the Métis people against the Government of Canada. The rebellions resolution led to the Parliament of Canada passing the Manitoba Act in 1870 that created the province, Manitobas capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is Canadas eighth-largest census metropolitan area. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, four of the provinces five universities and all four of its professional sports teams are in Winnipeg. The name Manitoba is believed to be derived from the Cree, the name derives from Cree manitou-wapow or Ojibwa manidoobaa, both meaning straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit, a place referring to what are now called The Narrows in the centre of Lake Manitoba. It may also be from the Assiniboine for Lake of the Prairie, the lake was known to French explorers as Lac des Prairies. Thomas Spence chose the name to refer to a new republic he proposed for the south of the lake. Métis leader Louis Riel also chose the name, and it was accepted in Ottawa under the Manitoba Act of 1870 and it adjoins Hudson Bay to the northeast, and is the only prairie province to have a saltwater coastline. The Port of Churchill is Canadas only Arctic deep-water port and the shortest shipping route between North America and Asia, Lake Winnipeg is the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Hudson Bay is the worlds second-largest bay, Manitoba is at the heart of the giant Hudson Bay watershed, once known as Ruperts Land. It was a area of the Hudsons Bay Company, with many rivers. The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and more than 110,000 lakes, Manitobas major lakes are Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Winnipeg, the tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Some traditional Native lands and boreal forest on Lake Winnipegs east side are a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Manitoba is at the centre of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, with a volume of the water draining into Lake Winnipeg. This basins rivers reach far west to the mountains, far south into the United States, major watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill rivers
7.
3rd Canadian Division
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The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War and it was stood down following the war and was later reactivated as the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during the Second World War. The second iteration served with distinction from 1941 to 1945, taking part in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944, a duplicate of the 3rd Canadian Division was formed in 1945 to serve on occupation duty in Germany, and was disbanded the following year. In 2013, Land Force Western Area, a military organization in western Canada, was ordered to be redesignated as 3rd Canadian Division. On 6 June 2014, the 3rd Canadian Division adopted the insignia, traditions, from the middle of 1916, the division has been identified by a distinctive French-Grey patch worn on the uniforms of its soldiers. The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General Malcolm Mercer and its members served in France and Flanders until Armistice Day. While with the 3rd Division at Ypres, Mercer became the highest-ranking Canadian officer killed in action during the First World War. On the same day, Brigadier V. A. Williams, commanding the 8th Infantry Brigade, became the highest-ranking Canadian officer captured in the First World War, also at the Battle of Mount Sorrel. Mercer was replaced by Louis Lipsett, who commanded the division until September 1918, shortly before he too was killed in action on 14 October 1918, Major-General Frederick Loomis closed out World War I as the commander. 7th Infantry Brigade, The Royal Canadian Regiment, December 1915 –11 November 1918, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry. 24 December 1915 –11 November 1918, 42nd Battalion Canadian Infantry, December 1915 –11 November 1918, 49th Battalion Canadian Infantry. December 1915 –11 November 1918, 8th Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF. December 1915 –11 November 1918, 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, December 1915 –11 November 1918, 4th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF. December 1915 –11 November 1918, 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, December 1915 –11 November 1918. 9th Infantry Brigade, 43rd Battalion Canadian Infantry, January 1916 –11 November 1918, 52nd Battalion Canadian Infantry. January 1916 –11 November 1918, 58th Battalion Canadian Infantry, January 1916 –11 November 1918, 60th Battalion Canadian Infantry. January 1916 –30 April 1917, April 1917 –11 November 1918. 8 January 1916 – May 1917, 123rd Canadian Pioneer Battalion, to the 3rd Canadian Engineer Brigade
8.
William Nassau Kennedy
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William Nassau Kennedy was the second Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1875 –1876. He was the first commander of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Kennedy enlisted in the Peterborough Rifles in 1857. Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
9.
Battle of Fish Creek
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The Battle of Fish Creek, fought April 24,1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Canadian forces attempting to quell Louis Riels North-West Rebellion. On April 23, as the militia began advancing from Clarke’s Crossing, Dumont took 200 men, when a report arrived that the North-West Mounted Police were advancing on Batoche, Riel returned there with 50 men. Dumont stationed most of his men in the coulée, where set to work digging rifle pits. The militia would cross the coulée the next day, and it was then that the men in the rifle pits would ambush them. Dumont took a party of twenty horsemen forward of the coulée. Their task was to seal the exit when the ambush was sprung, “I want to treat them like buffaloes, ” Dumont said of Middleton’s men. Dumont and his twenty men hid in a poplar bluff, there were not yet any leaves, however. On the morning of April 24, before the infantry could cross the coulée, dumont’s Métis and Boulton’s force then opened fire on each other. The Scouts dismounted and began firing into the coulée, and the body of Canadian infantry advanced to the coulée’s edge. The Métis pounded Middleton’s men with one devastating fusillade before withdrawing into cover, with half of his force on the opposite side of the river, Middleton was unable to bring his full numerical superiority to bear. The only targets the militia could clearly see were the enemy’s tethered horses and they slaughtered about fifty of these. General Middleton behaved with reckless bravery, placing himself in view of the enemy. A bullet tore through his fur hat, and his two aides-de-camp were both wounded by his side, the frustrated Canadians, their casualties mounting, undertook several fruitless rushes into the ravine. A few infantry regulars under Middleton’s command made one charge, another, larger one was carried out by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles militia. This latter advance was parried by Métis use of improvised barricades within the coulée and these uncoordinated advances accomplished nothing but more Canadian casualties. Despite the heavy casualties inflicted upon the enemy, Métis morale deteriorated as the battle wore on, however, Middleton, distressed by the casualties he was taking, erred on the side of caution and opted for retreat. Fish Creek battle site Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan Military Map of Fish Creek
10.
North-West Rebellion
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The Métis believed that Canada had failed to protect their rights, their land and their survival as a distinct people. He had a force of a couple hundred Métis and a number of Aboriginal at Batoche in May 1885. Despite some notable victories at Duck Lake, Fish Creek and Cut Knife. Riel was captured and put on trial and he was convicted of treason and despite many pleas across Canada for amnesty, he was hanged. Riel became the martyr to Francophone Canada and ethnic tensions escalated into a major national division that was never resolved. Although only a few hundred people were affected in Saskatchewan. A much more important long-term impact was the bitter alienation French speakers across Canada showed, Laurent, St. Louis, and Duck Lake on or near the South Saskatchewan River. In 1882, surveyors began dividing the land of the newly formed District of Saskatchewan in the concession system. The Métis lands were laid out in the system of strips reaching back from a river which the Métis were familiar with in their French-Canadian culture. Not having clear title the Métis feared losing their land which, in 1884, the Métis asked Louis Riel to return from the United States, where he had fled after the Red River Rebellion, to appeal to the government on their behalf. The government gave a vague response, the role of aboriginal peoples prior to—and during—the outbreak of the rebellion is often misunderstood. A number of factors have created the misconception that the Cree, thus, widespread dissatisfaction with the treaties and rampant poverty spurred Big Bear, a Cree chief, to embark on a diplomatic campaign to renegotiate the terms of the treaties. When the Cree initiated violence in the spring of 1885, it was almost certainly unrelated to the revolt of Riel, in both the Frog Lake Massacre and the Siege of Fort Battleford, small dissident groups of Cree men revolted against the authority of Big Bear and Poundmaker. For Riel and the Métis, several factors had changed since the Red River Rebellion, the railway had been completed across the prairies in 1883, though sections were still under construction north of Lake Superior, making it easier for the government to get troops into the area. In addition, the North-West Mounted Police had been created, developing a local force. Riel lacked support from English settlers of the area as well as the majority of tribes. Riels claim that God had sent him back to Canada as a prophet caused Catholic officials to try to minimize his support, the Catholic priest, Albert Lacombe, worked to obtain assurances from Crowfoot that his Blackfoot warriors would not participate in a rebellion. Map of Battle Sites Chronology of Events The District of Saskatchewan, to the east, the Carrot River sub-district with 1,770 people remained quiet
11.
Shades of green
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Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma or lightness, or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint being a green or other hue mixed with white, a large selection of these various colors is shown below. Green is common in nature, especially in plants, many plants are green mainly because of a complex chemical known as chlorophyll which is involved in photosynthesis. Many shades of green have been named after plants or are related to plants, due to varying ratios of chlorophylls, the plant kingdom exhibits many shades of green in both hue and value. Artichoke is a color that is a representation of the color of a raw fresh uncooked artichoke, another name for this color is artichoke green. The first recorded use of green as a color name in English was in 1905. This is the color called green in Pantone. The source is Pantone 18-0125 TPX Asparagus is a tone of green that is named after the vegetable, Crayola created this color in 1993 as one of the 16 to be named in the Name the Color Contest. It is also the color of a wild asparagus plant blowing in the wind of the 1949 classic film Sands of Iwo Jima, another name for this color is asparagus green. The first recorded use of green as a color name in English was in 1805. Avocado is a color that is a representation of the color of the surface of an avocado. The color avocado is a dark yellow-green color, avocado was a common color for metal surfaces, as well as the color harvest gold, during the whole decade of the 1970s. They were both also popular colors for shag carpets, both colors went out of style by the early 1980s. Dark green is a shade of green. A different shade of green has been designated as green for certain computer uses. Fern green is a color that resembles ferns, a Crayola crayon named fern was created in 1998, which is a lighter shade of the top color shown on the right. The first recorded use of green as a color name in English was in 1902. Forest green refers to a green color said to resemble the color of the trees, the first recorded use of forest green as the name of a color in the English language was in 1810
12.
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
13.
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
14.
8th Battalion (90th Winnipeg Rifles), CEF
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The 8th Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The Battalion was authorized on 10 August 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 1 October 1914 and it disembarked in France on 13 February 1915, where it fought as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920, the 8th Battalion recruited in Brandon and Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kenora and Port Arthur, Ontario and was mobilized at Valcartier, Quebec. The 8th Battalion had six Officers Commanding, Lt. -Col, L. J. Lipsett, CMG,22 September 1914 –13 September 1915 Lt. -Col. H. H. Matthews, DSO,28 September 1915 –18 June 1916 Lt. -Col, K. C. Bedson,14 July 1916 –3 August 1916 Lt. -Col. J. M. Prower, DSO,3 August 1916 –20 April 1918 Lt. -Col, raddall, DSO,20 April 1918 –9 August 1918 Lt. -Col. A. L. Saunders, DSO, MC,13 August 1918 – Demobilization Three members of the 8th Battalion were awarded the Victoria Cross. Company Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on the night of 24 April 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres. He was one of the three Great War Victoria Cross recipients who lived in the 700 block of Pine Street in Winnipeg, in 1925, Pine Street was renamed Valour Road. Frederick George Coppins were both awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions on 9 August 1918 during the Battle of Amiens, the 8th Battalion was awarded the following battle honours, YPRES,1915,17 *YPRES,1917 Gravenstafel St. Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919 by Col. G. W. L, nicholson, CD, Queens Printer, Ottawa, Ontario,1962
15.
1st Canadian Division
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The 1st Canadian Division is an operational command and control formation of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, based at CFB Kingston. Formed during the First World War in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin. Following the war, the division was stood down only to be re mobilized as a formation on 1 September 1939 as the 1st Canadian Infantry Division for service in the Second World War, the division was also reactivated twice during the Cold War. In 2010, the division was reactivated for a third time, several units under command of the First Contingent were excluded from the divisional organization, including the 17th Battalion, 18th Battalion, and several companies of Newfoundland soldiers. The strength of the division was placed at 17,873 all ranks, the 10th Battalion replaced the 6th Battalion, which left the 2nd Brigade to become a cavalry unit, later serving in the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. Pioneer units were added later in the war, including the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion from Mar 1916 to Feb 1917, the 107th Canadian Pioneer Battalion also came under command between Mar 1917 and May 1918, before being absorbed by the 1st Canadian Engineer Brigade. He was selected — to the relief of many — in lieu of Sir Sam Hughes and it had been Hughess wish to command the Canadians in action. Alderson, who had commanded Canadian units before, won out over three prospective Canadian appointees, who, while serving with the British Army, were considered too inexperienced. Training in the winter of 1914 was rigorous, and conditions on Salisbury Plain were harsh due to cold, a royal inspection of the division early in 1915 foretold a move to France. After being stationed at Salisbury Plain in England, the 1st Canadian Division embarked for France during February 1915, the division moved to the Ypres Salient in April, and faced its first real test during the defence of St. Julien beginning on 22 April. The Canadians withstood German attack—aided, for the first time on the Western Front, by the use of poison gas—and finally retired to positions on 26 April. The Second Battle of Ypres, as the action came to be known. Two weeks later, the division was in action again at Festubert, aiding in a diversionary offensive by the British armies, the Canadians suffered 2,204 casualties for gains of only 600 yards. Another futile attack was launched at Givenchy-en-Gohelle in June 1915, after which the moved to Ploegsteert. The Canadians began a period of static warfare which would last them throughout the winter. In September, the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division meant that a corps headquarters could take to the field to command the division. Major-General Arthur Currie took command of the division in September, active operations resumed again in the spring of 1916, participating in the Battle of Mount Sorrel, and then restoring the situation at Sanctuary Wood
16.
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
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Normandy landings
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The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday,6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, planning for the operation began in 1943. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces, the amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06,30, the target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their positions, particularly at Utah. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs, at Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled, using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead, museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year. Between 27 May and 4 June 1940, over 338,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force, after the German Army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing his allies for the creation of a second front in western Europe. In late May 1942 the Soviet Union and the United States made a joint announcement that a. full understanding was reached with regard to the urgent tasks of creating a front in Europe in 1942. Instead of a return to France, the Western Allies staged offensives in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. By mid-1943 the campaign in North Africa had been won, the Allies then launched the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and subsequently invaded Italy in September the same year. By then, Soviet forces were on the offensive and had won a victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Initial planning was constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill promised Stalin that they would open the second front in May 1944. Four sites were considered 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
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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
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Korean War
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The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, U. S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments, both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union, on that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83, Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation, twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UNs military personnel. After the first two months of war, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter, in September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, at this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951, after these reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of fighting became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate, North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in combat for the first time in history. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed, the agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Periodic clashes, many of which are deadly, continue to the present, in the U. S. the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a police action as it was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. In South Korea, the war is referred to as 625 or the 6–2–5 Upheaval. In North Korea, the war is referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War or alternatively the Chosǒn War. In China, the war is called the War to Resist U. S
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The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
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The Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 3rd Canadian Divisions 38 Canadian Brigade Group and is headquartered at the Minto Armoury in Winnipeg and it is the oldest highland regiment in Western Canada. The 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada contributed one company to the 16th Battalion, the 43rd Battalion, CEF, which was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 1 June 1915. It disembarked in France on 22 February 1916, where it fought as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division in France, the battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920. The 174th Battalion, CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916, there, on 7 May 1917, its personnel were absorbed by the 14th Reserve Battalion, CEF to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917, the 179th Battalion, CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 3 October 1916. There, on 21 October 1916, its personnel were absorbed by the 17th Reserve Battalion, the battalion disbanded on 17 July 1917. The regiment mobilized The Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, CASF for active service on 1 September 1939 and it was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, The Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, CASF on 7 November 1940. It embarked for Great Britain on 12 December 1940, the battalion took part in OPERATION JUBILEE, the Dieppe Raid, on 19 August 1942. It returned to France on 7 July 1944, as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, the overseas battalion disbanded on 30 November 1945. The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014. Battle honours in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour, as early as 1905 the local Scottish community in Winnipeg, led by the St Andrews Society, began lobbying the government to raise a Highland regiment. Under increasing pressure from the Scottish lobbyists the government relented and the steps taken to form Western Canadas first Highland regiment. On 29 September 1909, the officers met and committees dealing with finances, uniforms. Almost all of the accoutrements were manufactured in Scotland, obtained from William Anderson & Sons Ltd. On 1 February 1910, the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada were officially gazetted, headquartered in the former Dominion Lands Office at 202 Main Street, on 9 October 1910, the Regiment received its first stand of Colours, presented by Mrs D. C. Cameron, wife of the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel, along with the regimental number the new Canadian regiment chose to also perpetuate the uniform of the Imperial Camerons. This association with the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders became official on 31 January 1911, on 22 June 1911, a contingent of 61 Camerons, parading with their allied regiment, participated in the coronation of King George V
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10th Battalion (Canadians), CEF
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The 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a Canadian field force unit created during the First World War. Technically distinct from the Militia from which its soldiers were drawn the unit served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, specifically in the 1st Canadian Division from 1914 to 1919. The battalion participated in every major Canadian battle of the First World War, the unit was known to its contemporaries simply as The Fighting Tenth. The 10th Battalion is perpetuated by The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Calgary Highlanders, the Canadian Expeditionary Force was a separate entity created by Canadas Minister of Militia in 1914 for service to Britain in the First World War. Technically distinct from the land forces in existence at the time. The Provisional 10th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was created around cadres of Militiamen from two existing units, the 103rd Regiment and the 106th Regiment, the unit was assembled at Valcartier in Quebec, and sailed for the United Kingdom with the first Canadian contingent in late 1914. Their commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Russ L. Boyle, a veteran of the war in South Africa and in 1914 the commander of the 15th Light Horse, an Alberta cavalry unit. The unit trained on Salisbury Plain, and went into the trenches in France in early 1915 with the rest of the Division, the battalion was awarded 20 battle honours for its service in France and Flanders. Ypres, 1915–17 — The Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 was the first major action for the 1st Canadian Division and it was also the first instance on the Western Front of the use of poison gas as a weapon of war. A wide scale German attack using this gas routed two entire French divisions, but the First Canadian Division held firm, at a cost of some 6,000 of its 10,000 men. It was during this battle that the St. Julien battle was fought, the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 describes very large operations in this area, including the Battle of Passchendaele. As a note on pronunciation – while the people of Flanders pronounce this name as ee-pray, to many Canadians who served and died there, it was known more familiarly simply as Wipers. Gravenstafel — The Gravenstafel Ridge was a low rise east of Ypres, saint-Julien — The town of St. Julien was located east of Ypres, in the south-western part of Belgium known as Flanders. The 10th Battalion was called forward on the night of 22–23 April to counterattack the strong German formation advancing through a gap in the line created by the rout of two French divisions. The assault cost the life of the 10ths Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Boyle, nonetheless, the German advance was stopped. This action moved the overall commander of the French Army to describe the attack as the single bravest act of the entire war, mount Sorrel — Another unsuccessful assault, this counter-attack by the 10th Battalion was launched on a small knoll in the Ypres Salient on 3 June 1916. Despite the relatively low height of this feature, it provided an excellent viewpoint over the flat terrain in the area and was of considerable strategic importance. Somme,1916 — The Canadians were not involved in the phases of this campaign
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27th Battalion (City of Winnipeg), CEF
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The 27th Battalion, CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 17 May 1915 and it disembarked in France on 18 September 1915, where it fought as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 15 September 1920, the 27th Battalion recruited in Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kenora and Rainy River, Ontario and was mobilized at Winnipeg. The 27th City of Winnipeg Battalion was the first independent battalion to be raised in Manitoba in the First World War. Officially it was not given a name and fell among the many nameless Canadian battalions raised to conform with the new numbering system introduced by Col. Sam Hughes, Canadas defence minister in 1914. The battalion was raised as part of a response to the demand for fresh reinforcements early in 1915 and it became part of the 2nd Division, 6th Infantry Brigade along with its sister 28th Battalion, 29th, and 31st Calgary Battalions. A common private of the 27th Battalion during the First World War could expect to earn between $1.00 and $1.10 a day, or around $30 a month. The 27th Battalion, with the 2nd Division, arrived in France in September,1915, together these two divisions formed the Canadian Corps and were led by General Alderson. It was reported the officers of the 27th had not slept for over 100 hours, after the battle he broke down and cried, he was removed from command being diagnosed with shell shock. The Battle of St. Eloi had claimed 40 of his men’s lives, the Somme Valley became the new objective of the Canadian Corps. When the Canadians arrived in the Somme Valley the British had been fighting for 3 months, one of the most notable battles of Somme the 27th Battalion participated in was the Battle of Courcelette on September 15,1916. This battle marked the first time in history tanks were used in warfare, however, all six tanks that used that day were knocked out, they were incredibly unreliable. The Canadians suffered around 7,000 casualties during the battle lasted until the 22nd of September. Battalions wanted to ensure they received the glory and credit for their captures, one way of doing this was marking the prisoners with the battalions insignia or the unit’s designation. According to Tim Cook, the Germans ranked the Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions among the top eight most deadliest, the 2nd Division came overseas following the 1st Division and consequently had big expectations riding on them. Neither the British nor the French could hold their ground and had to fall back and it was largely due to the stubbornness of the Canadians that the Allies were able to repulse the attack. 27th Battalion, CEF, is perpetuated by The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the 27th Battalion had three commanding officers during the war, Lt. -Col. J. R. Snider,17 May 1915 –15 April 1916 Lt. -Col, daly, CMG, DSO,15 April 1916 –4 April 1918 Lt. -Col
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Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
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The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps is the infantry corps of the Canadian Army and includes regular and reserve force regiments. Originally formed as the Canadian Infantry Corps on 2 September 1942 to encompass all existing infantry regiments, including regiments of foot guards, in the Canadian Army. The three maple leaves conjoined on one stem, taken from the Royal Arms of Canada, represent service to Canada, the crossed rifles denote infantry and have been used in badges of infantry units as well as of the officer cadet programme. Red and white are the colours of Canada. INFANTRY and INFANTERIE are a form of the bilingual branch title, in 1968, with the unification of the Canadian Army into the Canadian Armed Forces, the name of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps was changed to simply the Infantry Branch. As of April 2013, the traditional designation Royal Canadian Infantry Corps has been officially restored, to close with and destroy the enemy. Well armed individuals with fighting spirit and dogged determination constitute the backbone of the infantry battalion, all the rest - vehicles, stores and equipment - merely exist to assist the infantry soldier to carry out the mission. It is by determination and the use of weapons and ground that the battalion succeeds in battle. List of civilian organizations with the prefix Royal prepared by the Department of Canadian Heritage
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Color
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Color or colour is the characteristic of human visual perception described through color categories, with names such as red, yellow, purple, or blue. This perception of color derives from the stimulation of cells in the human eye by electromagnetic radiation in the spectrum of light. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associated with objects through the wavelength of the light that is reflected from them and this reflection is governed by the objects physical properties such as light absorption, emission spectra, etc. By defining a color space, colors can be identified numerically by coordinates, there may also be more than three color dimensions in other color spaces, such as in the CMYK color model, wherein one of the dimensions relates to a colours colorfulness). The photo-receptivity of the eyes of species also varies considerably from our own. Honeybees and bumblebees for instance have trichromatic color vision sensitive to ultraviolet but is insensitive to red, papilio butterflies possess six types of photoreceptors and may have pentachromatic vision. The most complex color vision system in the kingdom has been found in stomatopods with up to 12 spectral receptor types thought to work as multiple dichromatic units. The science of color is sometimes called chromatics, colorimetry, or simply color science and it includes the perception of color by the human eye and brain, the origin of color in materials, color theory in art, and the physics of electromagnetic radiation in the visible range. Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its wavelength and its intensity, when the wavelength is within the visible spectrum, it is known as visible light. Most light sources emit light at different wavelengths, a sources spectrum is a distribution giving its intensity at each wavelength. Although the spectrum of light arriving at the eye from a given direction determines the color sensation in that direction, in each such class the members are called metamers of the color in question. The table at right shows approximate frequencies and wavelengths for various pure spectral colors, the wavelengths listed are as measured in air or vacuum. A common list identifies six main bands, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, Newtons conception included a seventh color, indigo, between blue and violet. It is possible that what Newton referred to as blue is nearer to what today is known as cyan, the color of an object depends on both the physics of the object in its environment and the characteristics of the perceiving eye and brain. Some objects not only light, but also transmit light or emit light themselves. This effect is known as color constancy, opaque objects that do not reflect specularly have their color determined by which wavelengths of light they scatter strongly. If objects scatter all wavelengths with roughly equal strength, they appear white, if they absorb all wavelengths, they appear black. Opaque objects that reflect light of different wavelengths with different efficiencies look like mirrors tinted with colors determined by those differences
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Battle honour
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In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date, theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours. Since battle honours are emblazoned on colours, artillery units. These honour titles were permitted to be used as part of their official nomenclature, similar honours in the same tenor include unit citations. Battle honours, theatre honours, honour titles and their ilk form a part of the variety of distinctions which serve to distinguish military units from each other. For the British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as an army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, before then, a regiments colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the units past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the 15th Hussars for the Battle of Emsdorf in 1760, thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The battle honour is held by the successor regiment, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour, thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today. A battle honour may be granted to infantry/cavalry regiments or battalions, as well as ships and squadrons, they are granted to sub-units such as companies. Battle honours are presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the units distinguished act took place. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour, conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. Similarly, while in Korea, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry earned both Kapyong and Korea 1951–1953, supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However and uniquely the Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by King William IV the right to use the Latin Ubique, meaning everywhere and this is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The practice was extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces
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Pioneer (military)
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A pioneer is a soldier employed to perform engineering and construction tasks. The term is in similar to sapper. Pioneers were originally part of the branch of European armies. Subsequently, they formed part of the branch, the logistic branch, part of the infantry. Historically, the role of pioneer units was to assist other arms in tasks such as the construction of field fortifications, military camps, bridges. Prior to and during the First World War, pioneers were often engaged in the construction, during the 20th century, British Commonwealth military forces came to distinguish between small units of assault pioneers belonging to infantry regiments and separate pioneer units. The United States Marine Corps has sometimes organized its sappers into Pioneer Battalions, the word pioneer is originally from France. The word was borrowed into English, from Old French pionnier and it was used in a military sense as early as 1626–1627. Most of the regiments of artillery have half a company of pioneers. Our regiments of infantry and cavalry have 3 or 4 pioneers each, provided with aprons, hatchets, saws, spades, extensive use was made of pioneers in the British Indian Army because of the demands of campaigning in difficult terrain with little or no infrastructure. In 1780, two companies of pioneers were raised in Madras, increasing to 16 in 1803 divided into two battalions, bombay and Bengal pioneers were formed during the same period. In the late century, a number of existing Indian infantry regiments took the title. The twelve Indian Pioneer regiments in existence in 1914 were trained and equipped for road, rail and engineering work, as well as for conventional infantry service. While this dual function did not qualify them to be regarded as elite units, prior to World War I, each sepoy in a Pioneer regiment carried a pickaxe or a light spade in special leather equipment as well as a rifle and bayonet. NCOs and buglers carried axes, saws and billhooks, heavier equipment, such as explosives, was carried by mule. The unit was well equipped for simple field engineering tasks. During the War, the increased specialisation required of Pioneers made them too valuable to use as regular assault infantry, All four Pioneer Corps were disbanded in 1933 and their personnel mostly transferred into the Corps of Sappers and Miners, whose role they had come to parallel. In addition, their role of frontier road building had now been allocated to civilian workers
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Halberd
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A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. The word halberd may come from the German words Halm, in modern-day German, the weapon is called a Hellebarde. In HEMA, professional halberd practitioners are referred to as halberdiers, the halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It always has a hook or thorn on the side of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants. It is very similar to forms of the voulge in design. The halberd was usually 1.5 to 1.8 metres long, the halberd was inexpensive to produce and very versatile in battle. A Swiss peasant used a halberd to kill Charles the Bold, researchers suspect that a halberd or a bill sliced through the back of King Richard IIIs skull at the Battle of Bosworth. The halberd was the weapon of the early Swiss armies in the 14th. The German Landsknechte, who imitated Swiss warfare methods, also used the pike, the halberd all but disappeared as a rank-and-file weapon in these formations by the middle of the sixteenth century. The halberd has been used as a court bodyguard weapon for centuries, and is still the ceremonial weapon of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican, the halberd was one of the polearms sometimes carried by lower-ranking officers in European infantry units in the 16th through 18th centuries. In the British army, sergeants continued to carry halberds until 1793, the 18th century halberd had, however, become simply a symbol of rank with no sharpened edge and insufficient strength to use as a weapon. It did, however, ensure that infantrymen drawn up in ranks stood correctly aligned with each other, bardiche, a type of two-handed battle axe known in the 16th and 17th centuries in Eastern Europe Bill, similar to a halberd but with a hooked blade form. 74–94, Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, brandtherm, Dirk & OFlaherty, Ronan, Prodigal sons, two halberds in the Hunt Museum, Limerick, from Cuenca, Spain and Beyrǔt, Syria, pp. 56–60, JRSAI Vol.131. R. E. Oakeshott, European weapons and armour, From the Renaissance to the industrial revolution, 44–48
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Skirmisher
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Skirmishers are light infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed to act as a vanguard, flank guard, or rearguard, screening a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line — an irregular open formation much more out in depth and breadth than a traditional line formation. Their purpose is to harass the enemy — engaging them in light or sporadic combat in order to delay their movement, disrupt their attack. Skirmishers can be either regular army units temporarily detached to perform skirmishing, light infantry, light cavalry, and irregular units often specialize in skirmishing. Though often critical in screening the army from sudden enemy attacks. In modern times, following the obsolescence of such heavy troops, all infantry has become indistinguishable from skirmishers, and those acting as skirmishers are said to skirmish. A battle with only light, relatively indecisive combat is called a skirmish. In ancient and medieval warfare, skirmishers typically carried bows, javelins, slings, skirmishers could also be effectively used to surround opposing soldiers in the absence of friendly cavalry. Once preliminary skirmishing was over, skirmishers participated in the battle by shooting into the enemy formation. Due to their mobility, skirmishers were also valuable for reconnaissance, in classical Greece, skirmishers originally had low status. Often Greek historians ignored them altogether, though Xenophon distinguished them explicitly from the statary troops and it was far cheaper to equip oneself as lightly armed as opposed to a fully armed hoplite – indeed it was not uncommon for the lightly armed to go into battle equipped with stones. Hence the low status of skirmishers reflected the low status of the sections of society who made up skirmishers. Additionally, hit and run tactics contradicted the Greek ideal of heroism, plato gives the skirmisher a voice to advocate flight without shame, but only to denounce it as an inversion of decent values. Skirmisher infantry would gain respect in the subsequent years as their usefulness was more widely recognised. Celts did not, in general, favour ranged weapons, the exceptions tended not to include the use of skirmishers. The Britons used the sling and javelin extensively, but for siege warfare, among the Gauls likewise, the bow was employed when defending a fixed position. The Celtic lack of skirmishers cost them dearly during the Gallic Invasion of Greece of 279 BC, in the Punic Wars, despite the Roman and Carthaginian armies different organisations, skimishers had the same role in both, to screen the main armies. The Roman army of the republican and early imperial periods frequently recruited foreign auxiliary troops to act as skirmishers to supplement the citizen Legions
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Remembrance Day
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Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918, the First World War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. The memorial evolved out of Armistice Day, which continues to be marked on the same date, the first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace the following morning. The red remembrance poppy has become an emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields written by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. After reading the poem, Moina Michael, a professor at the University of Georgia, wrote the poem, We Shall Remember, the custom spread to Europe and the countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth within three years. Madame Anne E. Guerin tirelessly promoted the practice in Europe, in the UK Major George Howson fostered the cause with the support of General Haig. Poppies were worn for the first time at the 1921 anniversary ceremony, at first real poppies were worn. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, the Flowers of the Forest, O Valiant Hearts, I Vow to Thee, My Country and Jerusalem are often played during the service. Services also include wreaths laid to honour the fallen, a blessing, the central ritual at cenotaphs throughout the Commonwealth is a stylised night vigil. The Last Post was the bugle call at the close of the military day. This makes the ritual more than just an act of remembrance, the act is enhanced by the use of dedicated cenotaphs and the laying of wreaths—the traditional means of signalling high honours in ancient Greece and Rome. Services are held at 11 am at war memorials and schools in suburbs and cities across the country, at which the Last Post is sounded by a bugler and a one-minute silence is observed. In recent decades, Remembrance Day has been eclipsed as the national day of war commemoration by ANZAC Day. When Remembrance Day falls on a working day in Melbourne and other major cities. While this occurs, the majority of passers by stop and observe a moment of silence while waiting for the bugler to finish the recital, in Barbados, Remembrance Day is not a public holiday. It is recognised as 11 November, but the parade and ceremonial events are carried out on Remembrance Sunday, the day is celebrated to recognise the Barbadian soldiers who died fighting in the First and Second World Wars. The parade is held at National Heroes Square, where a service is held. The Governor-General and Barbadian Prime Minister are among those who attend, along with government dignitaries
30.
Battle of Batoche
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The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion, which pitted the Canadian authorities against a force of insurrectionist Métis. The defeat of the Métis led to the surrender of Louis Riel on May 15 and their small arms fire did little damage to the armoured ship, but they lowered Batoches ferry cable, into which the Northcote steamed unsuspectingly, slicing off its masts and smokestacks. Crippled, the ship drifted harmlessly down the South Saskatchewan River, ignorant of the Northcotes fate, Middleton approached the church at Mission Ridge on the morning of 9 May in order to bring his plan into effect. Some Métis in two south of the church began firing at Boultons Scouts, but artillery was brought up to shell the houses. The Métis sharpshooters fled toward the settlement, the troops advanced toward the church. As they approached the church and nearby rectory, they saw some people near those buildings whom they took to be the enemy, second Lieutenant Arthur L. Howard, a Gatling gun expert on leave from the Connecticut National Guard, fired his Gatling gun at the rectory. Then a white flag was unfurled, Howards firing stopped, and several priests, nuns, finding the mission occupied only by civilians, Middleton brought his artillery out onto the ridge and began shelling the town. The soldiers began advancing past the church, and got half a kilometre before they came under heavy fire from both sides of the trail. Their enemies, hidden in well-constructed rifle pits, were invisible, the now-dismounted irregular militia cavalry, Boultons and Frenchs Scouts, were deployed on the right. The 10th Royal Grenadiers, militia infantry from Toronto, were in the centre, with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles and Howard and his Gatling on the left, to protect the artillery. The infantry of the Midland Battalion, militia from eastern Ontario, were kept in reserve near the church, a very dangerous situation developed when a group of Métis rushed the artillery. Only Howards directing a stream of Gatling fire at the attackers prevented a disaster. From these few minutes the frustrated soldiers got the clear view of the Métis fighters that they were to have until the final moments of the battle. After the attack was repulsed, the artillery was pulled back a couple of hundred meters, the Métis then redeployed their men to try to outflank the militia, and heavy fighting ensued. After noon, the artillery was ordered forward again, and it began fruitlessly bombarding the invisible Métis rifle pits, the gunners were under heavy fire, in a very unsafe position. The Midlanders, who had brought forward from the church, wanted to charge their unseen enemies. Canadian advances saw less success but were conducted, keeping casualties to a minimum. A Métis attempt to surround the Canadian lines failed when the meant to screen the sortie failed to spread
31.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
32.
Second Battle of Ypres
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It was the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front. For the first time, a colonial force defeated a European power on European soil. The eastern part of the salient was defended by one Canadian, the II Corps and V Corps of the Second Army comprised the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Divisions and the 4th, 27th, 28th, Northumbrian, Lahore and 1st Canadian Divisions. Although poison gas had been used before, at the Battle of Bolimów three months earlier, the gas had liquified in the cold and become inert, German troops carried 5,730 gas cylinders, weighing 90 pounds each, to the front by hand. The cylinders, opened by hand, relied on the wind to carry the gas towards enemy lines. Because of this method of dispersal, a number of German soldiers were injured or killed while carrying out the attack. The French troops in the path of the gas cloud sustained about 6,000 casualties, many died within ten minutes, and many more were blinded. Chlorine gas forms hypochlorous acid when combined with water, destroying moist tissue such as the lungs, the chlorine gas, denser than air, quickly filled the trenches and forced the troops out into heavy enemy fire. Although many French troops ran for their lives, others stood their ground, the German High Command had not foreseen the effectiveness of the new weapon and all available troops had been transferred to Russia, leaving few reserves in the west. General von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, had ordered the attack as an effort by the German 4th Army. German troops advanced at 5,00 p. m. but dusk, apprehension about the effect of the gas, Canadian troops defended the flank of the break-in by urinating into cloth and holding them to their faces to counter the effects of the gas. At Kitcheners Wood, the 10th Battalion of the 2nd Canadian Brigade was ordered to counter-attack in the gap created by the gas attack. They formed up after 11,00 p. m. on 22 April, both battalions attacked with over 800 men, in waves of two companies each, at 11,46 p. m. Without reconnaissance, the battalions ran into obstacles halfway to their objective, engaged in fire from the wood. The attack cleared the former oak plantation of Germans at a 75-percent casualty rate, the village of St. Julien was in the rear of the 1st Canadian Division until the poison-gas attack of 22 April, when it became the front line. Julien into the rear of the Canadian front line and he was killed the following day. On the morning of 24 April, the Germans released another gas cloud towards the re-formed Canadian line just west of St. Julien, word was passed to the troops to urinate on their handkerchiefs and place them over their nose and mouth. The countermeasures were insufficient, and German troops took the village, the next day the York and Durham Brigade units of the Northumberland Division counter-attacked, failing to secure their objectives but establishing a new line closer to the village
33.
Battle of Passchendaele
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The Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres,5 miles from a junction at Roulers. The next stage of the Allied plan was an advance to Thourout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roulers, further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with Operation Hush, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from attacks in December. In 1918, the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast, a campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Belgian independence had been recognised in the Treaty of London which created a sovereign, the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 22 August. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais, followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory. On 16 October, the Belgians and some French reinforcements began the defence of western Belgium, when the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 18 November, the First Battle of Ypres ended in failure, large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Second Battle of Ypres, Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment, Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border. Other operations were begun by the British to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions, engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinghe and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions from 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March –16 April at the St. Eloi Craters, in January 1917, the Second Army held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe with eleven divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides and from January to May, the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, in January 1916, General Herbert Plumer, the Second Army commander, began to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthulst Forest. General Henry Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February, planning continued but the Battle of Verdun, at meetings in November 1916, Haig, the French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre and the other Allies met at Chantilly
34.
Battle of Festubert
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The Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army, a continuous three-day bombardment by the British heavy artillery was planned, to cut wire and demolish German machine-gun posts and infantry strong-points. The objectives were 1,000 yards forward, rather than the 3,000 yards depth of advance intended at Aubers Ridge, the battle was the first British attempt at attrition. The Battle of Festubert was the continuation of the Battle of Aubers Ridge, the attack was made by the British First Army under Sir Douglas Haig against a German salient between Neuve Chapelle to the north and the village of Festubert to the south. The assault was planned along a 3-mile front and would initially be made mainly by Indian troops and this would be the first British army night attack of the war. The battle was preceded by a 60-hour bombardment by 433 artillery pieces that fired about 100,000 shells and this bombardment failed to significantly damage the front line defences of the German 6th Army but the initial advance made some progress in good weather conditions. The attack was renewed on 16 May and by 19 May the 2nd Division, on 18 May, the 1st Canadian Division, assisted by the 51st Division, attacked but made little progress in the face of German artillery fire. The British forces dug in at the new front line in heavy rain, the Germans brought up reinforcements and reinforced their defences. From 20–25 May the attack was resumed and Festubert was captured, the offensive had resulted in a 3-kilometre advance. The British lost 16,648 casualties from 15/16–25 May, the German defenders had c. 5,000 casualties, including 800 men taken prisoner. French casualties during the Second Battle of Artois were 102,533 men, the 100th anniversary of the battle saw a range of commemorations held across the world. Some of the most poignant were those held in the Highlands of Scotland, in particular in shinty playing communities, which were affected disproportionately by losses in the battle. A week later, the Beauly Shinty Club renamed their pavilion after the Paterson brothers, Donald and Alasdair, donalds bagpipes were recovered with his other effects in the early 1980s and were played at both commemorations
35.
Battle of Mont Sorrel
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The German forces initially captured the heights at Mount Sorrel and Tor Top before entrenching on the far slope of the ridge. Located in the Ypres Salient,3 kilometres east of Ypres, Belgium, the peaks were the only portion of the crest of the Ypres ridge which remained in Allied hands. In northern France, men and resources were being marshalled in preparation for the large British-French Somme Offensive, the build-up in the Somme did not go unnoticed by the German Supreme Army Command. The German Second Army, which was holding the north of the Somme, had observed preparations for an offensive since the end of February 1916. Short of resources due to operations at Verdun, the Germans could only mount local operations in an effort to divert British resources from the Somme, Byng inspected the Canadian Corps positions and noted that the Canadian troops were overlooked by German positions and under constant danger of enemy fire. He assigned 3rd Canadian Division commander, Major-General Malcolm Mercer to draw up a plan to overrun the more dangerous German positions in a local attack, as the Canadians began preparations for an assault, the Germans were in the process of executing an assault plan of their own. The XIII Corps spent six weeks planning and carefully preparing their attack on the Mount Sorrel, Tor Top, the Germans constructed practice trenches resembling the Canadian positions near Tor Top to rehearse the assault, well behind their own lines. In mid-May, aerial reconnaissance near Mont Sorrel indicated that German forces were preparing an attack, Royal Flying Corps observers had noted the existence of works curiously resembling the Canadian positions, well behind the German lines. The Germans were also observed digging new sap trenches which implied that an assault was intended, the Canadian Corps had just begun developing plans to overrun the more dangerous German positions, when the Germans executed an assault of their own. On the morning of 2 June, the German XIII Corps began a heavy artillery bombardment against the Canadian positions. Nine-tenths of the Canadian forward reconnaissance battalion became casualties during the bombardment, Mercer was wounded three times and died early on June 3, Williams was wounded in the face and head and taken prisoner. At 1, 00pm, German pioneers detonated four mines near the Canadian forward trenches, before the Germans attacked with six battalions, five battalions in support. When the German forces attacked, mainly against positions held by the 8th Canadian Brigade, for several critical hours both the 3rd Canadian Division and the 8th Canadian Brigade were leaderless and their level of defence suffered accordingly. Brigadier-General Edward Spencer Hoare Nairne, of the Lahore Divisional Artillery, however, German forces were still able to capture Mont Sorrel and Hill 61. After advancing up to 1,100 metres, the XIII Corps troops dug in, although the road to Ypres was open and undefended, no German officer took the initiative to exceed instructions and capitalize on the success experienced by the German forces. Lieutenant-General Byng assembled a hastily organized counterattack in the hours of 3 June. The counterattack was scheduled to begin at 2,00 am on 3 June 1916, the signal to attack was to be six simultaneous green rockets. Some rockets misfired and did not burst, resulting in an uneven assault whereby each unit moved from their lines at different times
36.
Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front, more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The French and British had committed themselves to an offensive on the Somme during Allied discussions at Chantilly, Oise, in December 1915. Initial plans called for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive, the first day on the Somme was, in terms of casualties, also the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470 casualties. These occurred mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line, the battle is notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank. At the end of the battle, British and French forces had penetrated 10 km into German-occupied territory, the Anglo-French armies failed to capture Péronne and halted 5 km from Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter. Debate continues over the necessity, significance and effect of the battle, David Frum opined that a century later, the Somme remains the most harrowing place-name in the history of the British Empire. Allied war strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6–8 December 1915, in December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig replaced Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF. Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders close to BEF supply routes, to drive the Germans from the Belgian coast, Haig was not formally subordinate to Marshal Joseph Joffre but the British played a lesser role on the Western Front and complied with French strategy. A week later the Germans began an offensive against the French at Verdun, by 31 May, the ambitious Franco-British plan for a decisive victory, had been reduced to a limited offensive to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun with a battle of attrition on the Somme. The Chief of the German General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war by splitting the Anglo-French Entente in 1916, Falkenhayn chose to attack towards Verdun to take the Meuse heights and make Verdun untenable. The British would then have to begin a hasty relief offensive, Falkenhayn expected the relief offensive to fall south of Arras against the Sixth Army and be destroyed. If such Franco-British defeats were not enough, Germany would attack the remnants of armies and end the western alliance for good. Eloi, south of Ypres and reduced the German counter-offensive strategy north of the Somme, to one of passive, the Battle of Verdun began a week after Joffre and Haig agreed to mount an offensive on the Somme. The battle changed the nature of the offensive on the Somme, as French divisions were diverted to Verdun, German overestimation of the cost of Verdun to the French contributed to the concentration of German infantry and guns on the north bank of the Somme. The German offensive at Verdun was suspended in July, and troops, guns, the Brusilov Offensive, absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. During the offensive the Russians inflicted c. 1,500,000 losses including c. 407,000 prisoners, three divisions were ordered from France to the Eastern Front on 9 June and the spoiling attack on the Somme was abandoned
37.
Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
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The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to the German Spring Offensive, after a pause for redeployment, instead, Haig began to plan for an offensive at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The main attack was launched by the British Third Army, with the United States II Corps attached, the second battle began on 21 August with the opening of the Second Battle of Bapaume to the north of the river itself. That developed into an advance which pushed the German Second Army back over a 55 kilometre front, from south of Douai to La Fère, south of Saint-Quentin, Albert was captured on 22 August. On 26 August, the British First Army widened the attack by another twelve kilometres, sometimes called the Second Battle of Arras. The Australian Corps crossed the Somme River on the night of 31 August, and broke the German lines at the Battle of Mont St. Quentin and the Battle of Péronne. The British Fourth Armys commander, General Henry Rawlinson, described the Australian advances of 31 August –4 September as the greatest military achievement of the war, on the morning of 2 September, after a heavy battle, the Canadian Corps seized control of the Drocourt-Quéant line. The battle was fought by the Canadian 1st Division, 4th Division, heavy German casualties were inflicted, and the Canadians also captured more than 6,000 unwounded prisoners. By noon that day the German commander, Erich Ludendorff, had decided to withdraw behind the Canal du Nord, by 2 September, the Germans had been forced back to the Hindenburg Line, from which they had launched their offensive in the spring. In late September/early October, one of the battles of the whole war was the breach of the Hindenburg Line by British. Soon after, the Canadians breached the Hindenburg Line at the Battle of Cambrai, a key part of the German supply line ran parallel with the front. This policy worked but it some very determined work at the St. Quentin Canal, among the prepared defences. List of Canadian battles during World War I Hundred Days Offensive Bomford, beaten Down by Blood, The Battle of Mont St Quentin-Péronne 1918. 1918, Gamble for Victory, The Greatest Attack of World War I, Spring Offensive, New Zealand and the Second Battle of the Somme. The Third Armys Advance to Victory, Western Front 1918, retreat and Rearguard – Somme 1918. Media related to Second Battle of the Somme at Wikimedia Commons
38.
Battle of Thiepval Ridge
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The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive mounted by the Reserve Army, during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Fourth Army attack in the Battle of Morval, the final British objectives were not reached until a reorganisation of the Reserve Army and the Battle of the Ancre Heights. September became the month most costly in casualties for the German armies on the Somme, some debate had occurred among the Reserve Army staffs on attack tactics. Jacob considered that the lines played little part in the success of the attack. Jacob also advocated afternoon attacks, since the six made by his corps had succeeded, the Reserve Army commander, Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough, was less certain but did lay stress on the supports crossing the danger zone swiftly. The 18th Division, moved south after three weeks training in the Third Army area, joining II Corps on 8 September. All company, battalion and brigade commanders reconnoitred the ground and a lecture was given by Brigadier-General P. Howell, Howell briefed the division on the local situation and recent experience, which the unit commanders found helpful, having been in Flanders since August. Two divisional field artilleries were attached to the division and II Corps put a battery of 6-inch howitzers, on 21 September, the trenches south of Thiepval were taken over from the 49th Division and work begun to prepare them for the attack. The road from Authuille to Thiepval was repaired and hidden behind a brushwood screen, as soon as the counter-barrage stopped the troops were to advance rapidly in small columns. Three stages were set for the advance, with halts of ten minutes, on the left the corps was to take Thiepval in the second stage and then reach Schwaben Redoubt, which overlooked the slope down to St Pierre Divion. It was emphasised that the Germans were to be driven off all the crest to deny the Germans observation towards Albert, the German front line west of Thiepval was to be captured during the advance. The creeping barrage was to move at 100 yards in three minutes, then at 100 yards in two minutes, when no mans land and the German front position had been crossed, six of the eight tanks available were allotted to II Corps. Divisional reliefs were to be delayed to keep the attacking troops fresh, beginning on the night of 22/23 September on the right, the Thiepval attack was to be followed by an attack astride the Ancre River. The cellars under Thiepval Château had been extended into a complex of tunnels, used as storehouses, a sunken road running up the middle of the village to the cemetery, had been lined with dug-outs and in the original front-line to the west were 144 deep dug-outs. Thiepval had been held by Württemberg Infantry Regiment 180 since 1914, the regiment had not been moved and was allowed to make its own arrangements, using Bapaume as a base. Zollern Redoubt guarded the first line between Courcelette and Thiepval, Staufen and Schwaben redoubts anchored the west end of the first, Mouquet Farm to the east of Thiepval had become dangerously isolated,350 yards beyond any support trenches, connected only by a half-demolished trench. The losses incurred in its defence weakened the garrison in the area, beyond the south-west of Thiepval, the original German front position ran northwards to St Pierre Divion and the Ancre. The German garrisons were alerted that an attack was imminent on 22 September and German artillery began harassing fire on British trenches, the British assembly for the attack early on 26 September went undisturbed
39.
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
