The Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Vimy Ridge, and the Battle of Passchendaele

By Justin Ehler

The Battle of Ypres

The Battle of Ypres happened in April May, 1915, in the city of Ypres, France. Canadians, French, Algerians and British fought together as allies against Germany. The allies faced many obstacles, including the poisonous chlorine gas being used by the Germans. Many solders died because of this poisonous gas, but the Canadian did not bear the brunt of this attack, due to the strategies of Canadian medical officers. They told the soldiers to soak their handkerchiefs in urine, and to put these clothes over their faces. When the gas came in contact with the unine, it was neutralized. They also faced the issue of faulty weapons. The Ross Rifles that they received often jammed or overheated, rendering many of them useless. More than 250,000 soldiers were killed in the Battle of Ypres. This is approximately 30%, or 1 in 3, of all soldiers sent to battle. In the end, the allies kept the Germans from advancing, but they sustained heavy losses. The city of Ypres was nearly gone, as it had been reduced to piles of rubble.

Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme happened in November of 1916. This is known as one of the bloodiest battles in history, with over one million deaths. The original plan of the allies was to fight offensively on three fronts: The Western, Eastern, and Italian. But this plan was ruined when the Germans launched a full-out attack on the French fortress called Verdun, which the French were willing to defend at all costs. The attacks would start on February 21st, 1916, and would not end until December of that year. During this time, the French lost over 800,000 men. This made it very difficult for them to fight in the Battle of the Somme. st On July 1 , 1916, the British were ready for attack. More than one hundred thousand troops came out of their trenches, running towards the German trenches in full daylight. Nearly 58,000 were killed, wounded, or lost during this attack. The hardest hit was the First Newfoundland Regiment, which lost 233 of their 801 men, and had nearly 400 wounded at the end of the attack. Only 68 men from Newfoundland were unwounded. General Haig decided to continue using the tactic of the last attack, sending thousands of people towards the German trenches, sometimes costing as many as 4,000 people in a single day. Over the course of the next few months, the Canadians played a big part in the gains of the allies. But, between the 1st of July and November, with only 6 miles in advances, the Allies had lost 623,907 men, and the Germans lost 465,525 men. The Canadians alone lost 24,029 men, but they gained a reputation as being very strong, effective soldiers.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge happened in April of 1917. Our goal during this battle was to capture the Ridge, and get it back from the Germans. More than 40,000 Canadian troops were trained for this battle. Along with the British forces, there were more than 170,000 in total. The allies faced many challenges during this battle. They had to deal with large amounts of wind, snow, and sleet while working. Also, since they were at the bottom of this hill, and the Germans at the top, it was nearly impossible to do things without the Germans seeing. In order to stop the Germans from spying on them, Canadian engineers made large poles, and hung rough, brown fabric from them. This fabric blended into the landscape, and gave the Germans the illusion that we were not here. Meanwhile, we could prepare quietly for battle. th On April 9 , 1917, at 5:28 a.m. we opened fire against the Germans. The attacks lasted a mere 4 days, but in the end, the Canadians had done what many others had failed to do: we captured Vimy Ridge. The last attack was carried out on the pimple, the last of the German strongholds. By midafternoon, we had gained control of all of Vimy Ridge. The Canadians lost 3,598 men, and more than 6,500 more were injured. We managed to take more than 4,000 prisoners.

The Battle of Passchendale

The Battle of Passchendale started on July 31st, 1917 at Messines. The Battle is also known as the 3rd battle of Ypres. The objective of the allies was to capture submarine bases from the Germans on the Belgian coast. At this time, German submarines were destroying many of the allies ships, as the allies were not expecting submarines in battle. They used large amounts of artillery, more than four million shells. This destroyed the drainage systems, which in turn allowed the ground to get very wet and muddy. Because of this, tanks could not be used, and soldiers had to be very careful not to fall into the mud. This mud slowed the allies greatly, and made it very difficult for any real progress to be made. Britain suffered many lost troops to the Germans because of this. Four months had passed, and nearly no progress had been made. Douglas Haig, who was the Field Marshal, decided that the attack should continue anyway, even though it was October, and none of the main objectives had been achieved. At this point, the Canadians were called in, to take the place of the Australian Corps and to help get Passchendale from the Germans. When the Canadians came to the battlefield, it was muddier than ever. They remembered this place many of them had fought in the area in the Battle of Ypres. The Canadians decided to rebuild roads and drainage systems, and to build gun platforms, in order to help them fight more efficiently. Of course, they were being bombed constantly, so work was very difficult. Their first attack, on October 26th, allowed them to gain some ground, but at a cost of 2,481 troops. th On October 30 , a second attack was started. This time, they used more artillery, and they gained nearly 1,000 yards. Another 1,321 were dead or wounded because of this attack. Other attacks by the Canadian took place on November 6th and November 10th. All in all, the Canadians lost 15,654 soldiers. Canadian troops received nine Victoria Crosses, which are the highest award for bravery in the British forces.