Major Canadian battles in World War 1 included: 1) The First Battle of Ypres in 1915, where 6035 Canadians suffered casualties in 48 hours defending a salient against German forces using artillery and chlorine gas. 2) The Battle of Beaumont Hamel in 1916, where 733 of 801 Newfoundlanders were killed or wounded in less than an hour during the opening attack of the Battle of the Somme. 3) The Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, where over 40,000 Canadians took the strategic ridge from German forces after a three week artillery barrage with 10,602 Canadians wounded and 3,598 killed.

1. Major Canadian Battles in WW1

2. First Battle of Ypres April 22-24 1915 6035 Canadian casualties in 48 hours, over 2000 died Canadians held a salient (a bulge) in the line in front of the town On the 22 Germans attacked with artillery and chlorine gas, followed up by infantry attacks The French, who were to the left of the Canadians retreated, the Canadians counterattacked and filled the gap left by the French

4. Battle of Beaumont Hamel July 1, 1916 Opening battle of the larger, Battle of The Somme Artillery was to soften up infantry targets but either missed or was ineffective Germans knew of the coming Allied attack Newfoundlanders moved overnight to Allied trenches At 8:45 they attacked across no man’s land They were to attempt to march in formation, uphill, through barbed wire, in broad daylight, 900 meters to enemy lines, then fight The battle was over in less than an hour 733 of 801 Newfoundlanders were killed or wounded

6. Battle of VimyRidge April 9-12 1917, over 40,000 Canadian soldiers involved The ridge was the highest point in a large area Previous attacks had been made by the French and British, now it was Canada’s turn There was massive preparation, including observation balloons and a 3 week artillery barrage The battle began on April 9, Canadians took the ridge that afternoon On April 12 Canadians took Hill 145 and “the pimple” a hill on the North end of the ridge 10,602 Canadians wounded, 3,598 dead

8. Battle of Passchendaele July 31-November 1917, Canadians involved on October 26, 20,000 Canadians involved Heavy rains and artillery turned the battlefield into a field of mud so thick soldiers and horses drowned Objective was to take the village of Passchendaele On October 30 the assault on the village began, one week later it was taken 15,654 Canadian casualties, 4,028 of which were killed