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War is Declared
The War Has Started. Germany has declared war on both France and Russia. Germany attacks Belgium, which causes Britain to declare war on Germany because Britain agreed to protect Belgium. Since Britain was at war, this automatically made Canada at war as part of the British Empire. Germany had attempted to use their Schlieffen Plan. They would attempt to quickly conquer France so that they would be ready to face Russia soon after. Britain and Canada aimed to stop them before they took France. -
Period: to
World War One
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Currie Enters the War
Arthur Currie takes command of the Canadian 2nd brigade in 1914, offered by Sam Hughes. Sam would later turn against Currie and attempt to badmouth him in the future. Arthur Currie originally planned to turn the offer down and stay in Victoria. He had some unresolved financial issues to take care of. However, Sam Hughes’ son, Garnet Hughes, urged him into taking the job. -
Currie's with the Big Boys
Arthur Currie was promoted to the one star rank of Brigidier-General on sept 29th, 1914. It was decided that Currie had done well with the Canadian troops, and were given more command of them. -
The First Battle of Ypres
A battle was set for control over the West Belgian town of Ypres, a strategic town. The capture of the town would assist English Channel Ports and the British Army’s supply lines. Both sides were very offensive, especially Germany. However, Germany overestimated the size of the Allies army, and called off their last offense early. The allies would eventually win the battle, but losses were heavy on both sides. Many soldiers who died in that war were young men who had just been recruited. -
Ypres is Won, and Currie Steps Up
The battle of Ypres was another victory under the Canadians' belts. Even when the Germans had attacked with their gas, the Canadians stood fast while others would run. Due to Currie's excellent performance in commanding the batttle, he was promoted once again to a two star Major-General. -
Second Battle of Ypres
Arthur Currie took lead the Canadian troops in the Second Battle of Ypres, when the Germans used chlorine gas and other troops ran. Currie remained calm during the attack and coolly gave orders to the Canadian troops. His clarity and calm state of mind in a time of terror -
Second Battle of Ypres Cont.
was duly noted by the Generals and they were rather impressed with him. During the battle, one of the Canadian doctors had recognized the chlorine gas, and instructed the soldiers to soil a cloth with urine and out it over their face. The ammonium in the urine combated the chlorine, so the troops could continue fighting. -
The Village of St. Eloi
The Village of St. Eloi is known by the underground mine warfare that took place there. Approximately 30 mines were detonated by both sides, in a relatively small area. 95,000lbs were exploded by the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company, which resulted in the taking of St. Eloi. -
The Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of world war one’s most casualty heavy battles. Many people disliked how Douglas Haig fought this battle. It was seen that his solution was to keep sending men over the top until either everyone was dead or the battle was won. The British Army suffered 420,000 casualties, 200,000 for the French, and nearly 500,000 Germans. -
Beaumont Hamel
At Beaumont Hamel, France, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment was nearly wiped out on the first day of the Somme battle. 733 of the 801 men in the regiment were either wounded or killed. The Newfoundlanders were meant to take the third enemy line, but the German’s already knew of this plan, and the Allies failed to weaken their defences, resulting in a brutal slaughter. -
Training for Vimy
In Vimy Ridge, Currie would show the soldiers maps of the battlefield, a privilege normally reserved to Officers and above. Currie would have the troops practice with a mock-up battlefield, practice how far they would go, the soldiers would get a sense of distance between the trenches. General Currie’s most famous quote during this time was “Neglect Nothing.” -
The Battle of Vimy Ridge
Arthur Currie’s troops developed a movement called the “Vimy Glide.” This technique consisted of the troops timing their walk with the rolling of the machine guns. The soldiers practiced being able to move from one trench to the next in the time it took for a machine gun to go through one set of bullets. As soon as the gun -
The Battle of Vimy Ridge Cont.
needed to be reloaded, the soldiers were safe in the trenches. When the German soldiers had heard the machine guns stop, they would start to climb out of their trenches. As soon as they were visible, the Canadian soldiers would be ready and waiting for them. -
Now Knighted
Currie was knighted by King George V with his appointment as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the King's Birthday Honours June 4th 1917. -
Vimy is Taken
Vimy Ridge was a glorious victory for Canada.It had takenonly seven hours for the entire German force in Vimy to be defeated,from 5:30 to 12:30. The Canadians had suffered 12,004 casualties. AFter the battle, Arthur Currie was promoted to Lieutenant-General, 3 stars, and given command of the entire CanadianCorps. -
Currie the Fraud!
Word of Currie’s embezzlement had reached the Cabinet as he was taking control of the Canadian Corps. Currie borrowed money from David Watson and Victor Odlum, two of his wealthier officers, to pay back the $11,000 to avoid a scandal breaking out. However, Borden had already decided to waive the offense to avoid crushing Canadian morale. -
"Hill 70," The Lens
Currie took the French city of Lens, a.k.a. Hill 70, by taking the high ground. The tactic was approved by his higher ups, but Sir Douglas Haig had predicted failure. This was not a jab towards the ability of the troops, since the hill was heavily protected. The same amount of preparation for Vimy Ridge was used, and Hill 70 was taken in 20 minutes on August 15th, 1917. In the three days after, Canadians braved 21 German counterattacks, and succeeded. -
Canada at Cambrai
During the Hundred Day Offensive, Currie and the Canadians took the city of Cambrai. The Canadians had caught them just as they were preparing to withdraw. By 8:30, the deserted town was in Canadian hands. -
Passchendaele
In Passchendaele, Arthur Currie protested the plan to take flooded Gheluveld Plateau. He argued that it would only cause many casualties with little strategic value. He eventually agreed, and he himself went on reconnaissance missions. His reason for agreeing was the promise of massive amounts of artillery guns, 587 of -
Passchendaele Cont.
them. With Currie’s well planned attacks, they managed to gain the area from October 20th to October 30th, and it was then held for 5 days against heavy artillery. The battle of Passchendaele ended on November 11th, 1917. In the end, 16 000 Canadians were lost in this battle, and what little ground was gained was soon taken back by the Germans. -
Armistice
At 11:00 a.m., all fighting was ordered to stop. An armistice was signed, which meant that all fighting was to be discontinued. At this point the war was not officially over, but all parties agreed that the fighting needed to end, for the loss was heavy. -
Currie: Canada's First General
After the war was over, and Sir Arthur Currie had returned to Canada, he was promoted to a four star General. He was the first Canadian to achieve this rank. Later, Currie would be the Inspector General of the Canadian Militia, and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, -
Treaty of Versailles
This treaty was signed by Germany and the Allied Powers at the Palace of Versailles. Germany was deprived of 13.5% of it's territory (seven million people), all of it's oversea possesions, the German army was limited to 100,000 men, and were restricted to not have heavy artillery, tanks, gas, or aircraft. The German Navy could not ship more than 10,000 tins, and no submarines.
