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Life Goes On
Forever Changed
The impact of the Great War on Canada was profound. In 1914, when the
war began, Canada was a largely agricultural society, with a nascent industrial
base and no army to speak of. As well, Canada, which had no presence in world
politics, was considered a small colony of the British Empire, when it was considered
at all. The war, and Canada’s significant contribution to the success of
the Allied forces, would forever change that. In four years, Canada became a
country, a sovereign nation with a voice, albeit a small one, in world affairs
and a reputation for unparalleled determination and bravery. The contribution
of our soldiers, particularly in the last hundred days, under the leadership
of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, was second to none, and, it could be
argued, broke the German army and helped end the war.
All of this came at a great price. The war, which began with a now almost unbelievable sense
of idealism, was soon recognized for what it
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would forever be remembered – a
mechanized slaughterhouse that claimed the lives of millions and millions of
men and women. Machine guns, artillery, barbed wire, poison gas, tanks and the
horrors of trench warfare turned what was once considered gallant adventure into
a nightmare that would change 20th century society forever. The senseless death
and dismemberment of men in the hellish battles of Gallipoli, the Somme and Passchendaele
could never be justified by the mere metres of land gained |
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Soldiers on way to
dressing station
At the Somme, soldiers head back behind the frontline
to a dressing station where nurses will tend to their wounds. |
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