The Great War’s biggest battles

Ypres, April to May, 1915

Ypres was the first major battle fought by Canadians in the Great War. The Canadians were situated between two British divisions and one French division along the Ypres Salient, a bulge in the Allied line just outside Ypres, Belgium. The Germans had the advantage of higher ground surrounding Allied trenches in three different directions.

On April 22, a light northeast wind was blowing as the Germans released 160 tons of mustard gas that drifted towards the French trenches in a cloud almost four miles wide.

French commanders suspected that this was a smoke screen tactic, and ordered troops to remain in position. The men were overtaken by the cloud, and began gasping and choking. Those who survived turned and ran in panic.

The Germans moved ahead, but were so surprised by the success of the gas attack, they had inadequate troops to take full advantage of the Allied retreat. They stopped after less than one mile, and took control of an area known as Kitchener’s Wood.

Canadian troops fought through the night and made two counter-attacks the following morning on Kitchener’s Wood, driving the Germans out and enabling Allied troops to close the gap in the line.

The Germans attacked with mustard gas again on April 24, this time against the Canadian contingent.

The Canadians were forced to retreat to their secondary trench positions, but still managed to hold off the attacking Germans until reinforcements arrived 48 hours later, gaining them acclaim for their bravery and ability.

The Canadians suffered 6,000 casualties, of which about 2,000 died.

Gallipoli, April 1915 to January 1916

A joint British and French operation was planned to capture the Dardanelles Straits, providing a lane to the Black Sea. It would also link the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Marmora, providing access to ally Russia.

Winston Churchill is reported to have been the driving force behind the ill-fated campaign, which, it was believed, would knock German ally Turkey out of the war, while Greece and Bulgaria would be forced to join on the side of the Entente powers.

Troops were sent by sea to the heavily-defended peninsula of Gallipoli, and were met by a force of Turkish soldiers on the cliffs overlooking the shore.

In August of 1915, more than 1,000 soldiers from Newfoundland Regiment were sent to Gallipoli to fight alongside the 29th Division of the British Army. In total, 480,000 troops were dedicated to the campaign at some point.

The Allies had poor planning and lacked knowledge of the difficult terrain, while Turkish soldiers fought valiantly to protect their own soil.

The battle raged for a total of nine months, and the Allies finally withdrew in January 1916 after suffering 250,000 casualties and more than 46,000 dead. Turkey also suffered 250,000 casualties in the battle.

The failure of the campaign led to the formation of the Dardanelles Commission by the British government. The final report has yet to be released.

Verdun, February to December, 1916

The city of Verdun in north-east France, surrounded by a series of underground forts, was a symbol of French resistance.

The Germans began planning a massive offensive on the city in early 1916 after shifting their focus from the Eastern Front to the Western Front.

The offensive began on February 21 by the German Fifth Army under Crown Prince Wilhelm. The Germans broke down French defences, as troops fought intense, local battles on hilly terrain in north-eastern France.

A counteroffensive by the French in the fall of 1916 forced German forces almost back to their starting point.

During the battle, the Germans initiated the use of phosgene gas, which, as with mustard gas, caused the French soldiers to cough and choke before killing them.

The battle ended in December, making it the longest in the Great War, and one of the bloodiest. French casualties numbered almost 400,000, with the Germans suffering 350,000.

Despite the higher number of French casualties, the battle was judged a French victory since the city of Verdun remained under French control. The front lines changed little as a result of the battle.

Jutland, May to June, 1916

The battle of Jutland was a naval clash between British and German fleets in the North Sea, more than 60 miles off the coast of Jutland, Denmark.

The British expected a grand victory in the battle, since they had an advantage: they were able to read German coded messages, and learned of German High Seas Commander Reinhard Scheer’s plan to launch attacks on the British coast.

Scheer set off at the end of May, 1916, with the entire High Seas Fleet. But the Royal Navy had intercepted his plans, and set the Grand Fleet in hot pursuit.

Initially, the British suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat. The Germans followed and the battle raged on, this time with the British forces taking control.

But British intelligence was poor and there was some confusion surrounding orders among the fleet, leaving the Germans time to escape.

Both sides declared victory in the battle — the Germans because they had destroyed more ships than the British (Germany lost 11 ships, Britain 14), and Britain because it remained in control of the North Sea.

Somme, June to November, 1916

After the failure at Gallipoli, the Somme offensive was planned by the Allies as a decisive battle to end the war.

The battle at Verdun had depleted available French troops, making it mostly a British offensive. The British 29th Division and the Newfoundland Regiment, under Sir Beauvoir de Lisle, left Egypt for Europe in the spring of 1916.

In June, British General Douglas Haig ordered a week-long bombardment of German lines near the Somme River in northwest France.

On the morning of July 1, 1916, 100,000 British troops climbed out of the trenches and walked towards the German line. The outdated military tactic failed as the Germans were well-prepared for the offensive.

The result was the worst day in British military history: 20,000 dead and over 40,000 wounded. Among them were 301 soldiers from the Newfoundland Regiment. Canada sent two regiments to capture the German-occupied village of Courcelette in the Somme Valley in September. The Canadians won an unlikely victory and captured the town, earning accolades for the Quebec 22nd Regiment.

The battle ended in November after heavy rains turned the battlefield into a swamp. The Germans suffered 660,000 casualties and the Allies 623,000, among them 24,000 Canadians.

The Allies gained only eight miles in the bloody battle.

Passchendaele, October to November, 1917

After Russia withdrew from the war and part of the French army mutinied after a failed spring offensive, Allied troops were under intense pressure and in need of relief nearing the end of last year. The Canadians would be the ones to provide it at Passchendaele.

The first and second battles at Ypres had been launched by Germany in 1914 and 1915, but the third, an offensive to capture the Belgian town of Passchendaele in 1917, looked to be impossible.

British Prime Minister David Lloyd George was opposed to the offensive. Canadian Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie was also opposed after determining that the terrain of the battlefield was too swampy to pass. But Sir Douglas Haig was determined to destroy German submarine bases on the Belgian coast, after warnings from British Admiral John Jellicoe that shipping losses would knock Britain out of the war by 1918 unless Belgian bases could be secured.

On October 26, 20,000 soldiers advanced towards the town under heavy bombardment. German forces used mustard gas against the Allies, but Haig persisted and ordered his troops to press ahead.

The 3rd Canadian Division was ordered north to capture Bellevue Spur, and the 4th Canadian Division was sent south to Passchendaele Ridge.

The British and Canadian soldiers finally reached Passchendaele on October 30. They waded through waist-deep mud and heavy shelling, finally capturing the town on November 7.

More than 15,000 Canadians were dead or wounded. Haig has been criticized for prolonging the attack despite such heavy losses, but the Canadians have been praised for their determination and hard work during the battle.

Vimy, April, 1917

Vimy Ridge, a 14-kilometre-long escarpment in France, was controlled by the Germans in April of last year.

The ridge was well-fortified by the Germans and the French had failed to take the ridge back, although they had pushed the Germans back almost to the Douai Plain, leaving them little room to manoeuvre.

The Canadians planned a ground assault using 100,000 troops, and dug miles of tunnels where troops could pass unscathed around the ridge.

Operating under British General Julian Byng, the offensive began on April 9 with a heavy bombardment of the ridge. Using over 1,000 artillery pieces, the Canadians sprayed the ridge with shells, using the barrage as protection and advancing just behind the gunfire.

In the midst of a snowstorm, Arthur Currie’s Canadian 1st Division captured the German front line positions in just 30 minutes, and took only 30 more to capture the second line.

After four days, the Canadians had secured the ridge entirely. The mission was judged a spectacular success, and the tactics used in the battle widely recognized as innovative.

The mission came at a cost, however – 3,598 soldiers were killed and another 10,602 were injured in the battle.