|
World
War I |August 1914 |
Recruitment |
Sam Hughes |
To England |To
France | 2nd Battle
of Ypres | Battle of
St Julien | The Navel War
| Festubert |
Givenchy |
Canadian Corps |
The Air War |
Newfoundland | The
Somme | St Eloi Crater
| Mount Sorrel |
Hill 70 |
Passchendaele | Vimy Ridge
| Amiens |
Cambrai |
Mons | Flanders Fields
| Victory
During the First World
War Newfoundland was not a part of Canada. It's
strongest relationship was with Great Britain and as a
Dominion within the Empire, Newfoundland committed it's
support to Britain on the outbreak of the war. Although
the Royal Newfoundland regiment had a history going back
to 1795, it had not been in existence since 1870 and had
to be raised, organized and trained form scratch.
The population of
Newfoundland in 1914 was about 241,000 and from this
number volunteers quickly filled up the need for an
entire battalion which was maintained through the entire
war. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment was quickly
assembled and shipped to England where it's real
training began. The strength was doubled during this
period from about 500 men to over 1000.
The battalion was then shipped off to
Egypt where it was prepared to participate in the
Gallipoli Campaign and in 1915 it was deployed with the
British 29th division at Suvla Bay Turkey which made
this the only American unit to serve in that campaign.
The nickname which the Regiment acquired was the blue
puttees which was the covering they wore on their lower
legs and feet and was traditionally a drab olive colour
but due to wartime shortages they were only able to get
blue coloured puttees.
The Suvla Bay landing took place on
September 20th, 1915 and the Newfoundland regiment,
along with the British, Australian, and New Zealand
troops, struggled against oppressive odds to take the
Gallipoli Peninsula from the Turkish forces. This battle
continued until January 9th, 1916 when, among the last
rearguard troops, the Newfoundlanders were finally
withdrawn and given some downtime before being
transported to France where they were prepared for life
on the Western Front.
The regiment was inserted into the line
in April of 1916 along the Somme sector of the
battlefield and the Newfoundlanders were prepared
for a great attack to take place on July 1st which would
be known as the Battle of the Somme. The objective for
the Newfoundland Regiment, as a part of the 29th British
Division, would be the town of Beaumont-Hamel which was
on the Northern edge of the attack to be made. Facing
the Newfoundlanders was the 26th Wurttemberg Division
which was an experienced and tested unit.
On July 1st, 1916 a huge explosion rocked
the front lines along the Newfoundlanders lines as
18,000 kilograms of explosives ripped a large hole in
the German lines. This was the result of British
engineers digging under the German lines and placing the
explosives under the Germans in order to open up a hole
in their lines. The explosion was large but also alerted
the Germans who came streaming out of their dug in
positions and quickly populated the defensive lines.
When the British units came charging across no mans land
on the attack, they were quickly mowed down and the
attack faltered and stopped. Unfortunately a German
flare was mistaken for an allied Flare and the
Newfoundland Regiment along with the 1st Battalion of
the Essex Regiment left their trenches on St Johns Road
at 8:45 AM and began the attack. As the Newfoundlanders
crested the slope on the battlefield they were fully
exposed to the full fury of the dug in, experienced,
German regiment. They were slaughtered and within 15
minutes of the attack beginning the Newfoundland
regiment had almost ceased to exist. 780 offices and
soldiers had started the attack and only 110 returned
unscathed. All officers were causalities and only 68
answered the roll call the following day.
The regiment was moved
to a quieter area of the front and slowly rebuilt. as
reinforcements arrived and the strength of the regiment
was slowly built up again, they had to face a gas attack
by the Germans in Flanders and by October were
re-engaged on the Somme front at Gueudecourt. They
fought several other battles during the First World War
including the Battle of Arras where they lost 485 men
but stopped the German attack. They stopped the German
attacks at Cambrai in November 1917, at Bailleul in
April 1918 and were involved in the Hundred Days
Offensive which helped bring the war to a close.
The battle at Beaumont Hamel was the key
event in the war for the Newfoundlanders and July 1st
was designed as memorial day in Newfoundland after that
as well as Canada Day since its entry into
Confederation.
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