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Declaration of War
Canada's Governor General, Prince Arthur, declares war on Germany a day after Britain -
Second Battle of Ypres
Germany uses chlorine gas at the Second Battle of Ypres, held primarily by colonials. The Army of Africa (France) and British India divisions borke while the Canadians held the line. Brigade commander Arthur Currie was promoted to major-general and given the command of the First Canadian Division. -
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Battle of the Somme
57,550 Allied casualties on the first day of the British offensive,including apx. 90% of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment (NFLD was not part of Canada at the time). Canadian casulties reached 24,029 by the end. -
Canadians enter Battle of the Somme
Canadian Corps, under the command of Arthur Currie, relives New Zealand's Anzac Corps. -
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Mouquet Farm
Canadians hold Mouquet Farm until September 26 and surrender the following day. -
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Battle of Vimy Ridge
The first time all the Candian divisions acted together as a corp and Arthur Currie's invention of the creeping barrage to keep German defenders from mowing down his men. The operation suceeded at the cost of over 10,000 casualties; apx. 35% of which were fatalities. -
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Battle of Arras
Canadian forces, under the command of the British, were tasked with attacking Arras in an attempt to draw German soldiers away from Chemin de Dames, 80 km to the south. Canadians made several gains, most notably Vimy Ridge, and with the British drew the Germans from the Ainse sector. Unfortunately casualties were severe (158,000 Allies, 120-130,000 Germans) and the French failed to make the most of their opportunity, taking 2610,000 casualties and suffering mutinies. -
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Battle of Hill 70
The four divisoions of the Canadian Corps under Arthur Currie, as was becoming more natural than British command, took and held Hill 70 in Lens, France near the Belgian border. The purpose was to hold the location against German counter attacks by the 6th, made up of five divisions, and divert attention from the Third Battle of Ypres. The battle saw some of the heaviest usage of gas attacks by the Germans. -
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Canada at the Second Battle of Passchendaele
Canadians head the final push after the British expend excessive numbers of soldiers in their push toward Passchendaele. Currie made small advances and focused on defence as he foresaw the operation as a waste of lives. 15,654 casualities, 4,028 dead, proved him right as the Germans fell back to another series of trenches. -
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Hundred Days Offensive
The push ordered by the British with the arrival of American troops. By the time the war ended there were 45,835 Canadian casualities, -
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Battle of Amiens
For the first time the Canadain and Austrailian Corps, known for their aggression and tactics, attacked together in one of the best kept secret offensives led by the British. The attack involved 25 divisions, 12 being French, 580 tanks and is notable for 22,200 Allied casualties to the German's 24,000 and 50,000 taken prisoner, highlighting the shift in the war where the Germans took greater casualties than their attackers. -
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Battle of the Canal du Nord
After falling back to the other side of the canal and Sensee River, the Germans dug in. Major-Generals Arthur Currie and Julian Byng devised a surprise attack under the cover of darkness and forced a retreat by midday, opening the road to Cambria. -
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Battle of Cambria
Using 324 tanks, the Allies overwhelmed the lightly guarded trenches and the 2nd Canadian Division entered the town on the 8th, meeting light resistence until they moved NE and forced the 2nd to dig in. The 3rd, who were tasked with cleanup, suffered only 20 casualities, among them thge inventor of insulin Frederick Banting, who served as a medic. -
End of the Great War
Canadians took Mons, Belgium as the war wound down. A total of 67,000Canadian soldiers were killed and another 173,000 wounded.
