 |
the Allied defenses. If it were not for the courage of the Canadians,
the Germans could have blasted through into France. As it was, the salient was
shrunk but the Allied line held at a loss of 6,000 Canadians.
By July of the following year, the British, unable to make headway at the front,
needed a "Big Push" into German territory. General Douglas Haig decided
to make the assault The Somme. It would turn out to be a disaster. Although
few Canadians were involved in the battle, the First Newfoundland Regiment was.
A couple of hours after the first assault on July 1, 25 officers and 776 soldiers
of the Newfoundland regiment entered the fray. Unprotected, they were mowed down
by artillery and machine-gun fire. The next day, 710 men were missing, wounded
or dead. There were only 68 survivors.
In early September, the Canadian Corps moved from Ypres to the Somme. The Canadian
divisions were part of the breakthrough battle of The Somme, the assault on Courcelette. |
|
|
|
After the disaster of The Somme, the British needed a success, the success "The Big Push" was to have been. In April, 1917, the Canadian Corps helped deliver
it at Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge is a seven-kilometre-long, 145-metre-high escarpment
about ten |
|
|
|
| |
Artillery Barrage
Scenes of artillery barrage, where the First Newfoundland
Regiment served, in The Somme. October 1916. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
