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impact, they could have punched through with additional troops and blasted into
Ypres and then France. The war could have taken an entirely different course.
As it was, it was the Canadian Division that acted decisively. With no support
from the damaged Algerians, Canadian forces moved into St. Julien. Then the 10th
Battalion of the 2nd Canadian Brigade and the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish)
of the 3rd Brigade attacked the enemy at Kitchener's Wood despite no reconnaissance
and under heavy fire. Three-quarters of the Canadians at Kitchener's Wood were
casualties.
At St. Julien, Lance Corporal Fred Fisher of the Canadians' 13th Battalion machine-gun
detachment took on advancing German troops with five men. He died on a second
attempt on April 23 and was awarded Canada's first Victoria Cross for his actions.
On April 24, the Germans launched a second gas attack aimed at the Canadian units
west of St. Julien. By now the gas had lost its |
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element of surprise (and some of its terror) and Canadians attempted to block
its effects with urine-soaked handkerchiefs with very limited effectiveness.
Despite a tactical blunder by Brigadier-General R.E.W. Turner and little British
support, Brigadier-General Arthur Currie's 2nd Brigade fought fiercely to hold
the Germans back but finally the Germans took St. Julien, a position they held
despite short-term incursions by Canadian troops. The Canadians suffered enormous
losses of men and ground, but did not give up. Although the salient was pushed
back by the Germans a distance of four kilometres, the Canadians did not allow
a fatal break in the line. They had proved their worth, as they would do again
in the Third Battle of Ypres, a bloodbath called Passchendaele. |
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General
Currie
It was at The Second Battle of Ypres that Brigadier-General Arthur Currie
made a name for himself as a brilliant and level-headed military strategist.
He would go on to mastermind the assault on Vimy Ridge. |
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