1 / 10

The CEF in battle

The CEF in battle. The second battle of Ypres. Some of the bloodiest battles in the early years of the war were fought around the Belgian city of Ypres Ypres is located in the Flanders district.

patia
Download Presentation

The CEF in battle

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The CEF in battle

  2. The second battle of Ypres • Some of the bloodiest battles in the early years of the war were fought around the Belgian city of Ypres • Ypres is located in the Flanders district. • In 1915 French and Canadian troops were blinded and burned, or even killed when the Germans introduced chlorine gas. • Chlorine gas had been outlawed since 1907 in an international agreement

  3. Ypres • The Germans had clearly violated these conditions. • The gas would drift low across the battlefields. • Soldiers tried to escape from the deadly fumes that destroyed their lungs. Many men suffocated or choked to death. • There was still no clear advantage in the fields of Flanders, although 6000 Canadians were killed or wounded.

  4. The Battle of the Somme • July 1926 British and French forces launched a massive attack along low ridges near the Somme River • Commander Haig insisted on using tactics that he knew had worked in previous wars • As wave after wave of troops were ordered to march across open fields, they were gunned down by German machine guns.

  5. Almost 85% of the Royal Newfoundland regiment were killed or wounded in a half hour • When the battle drew to a close in November there had been over a million casualties. • It was considered equal in casualties, although Haig claimed victory. • 24,000 Canadians were lost in the battle, many Canadians were badly shaken by having witnessed the slaughter.

  6. Frank Maheux • I passed the worst fighting here since the war started. We took all kinds of prisoners but God we lost heavy, all my camarades killed or wounded… Dear Wife, it is worse than hell, the ground is covered for miles with dead corpses all over… Pray for me dear wife, I need it very bad… As long as I live I’ll remember it. • Quoted in Desmond Morton, When Your Number’s Up 1993, 158

  7. The Battle of Vimy Ridge • Since the original offensive in 1914, the Germans had controlled Vimy Ridge. • This was a very strategically important piece of land in northern France • The French had tried at least 3 times to overtake Vimy, but were not successful • Canadian troops led by General Julian Byng (a famous British commander) lead a new assault on Vimy

More Related