|
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
In December of 1914 it
was decided that the Canadian regiment Princess
Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry would be added to the
British 27th Division and would leave their training
base on Salisbury Plain in South Western England and e
transported to France. At this point in the training and
mobilization of Canadian troops and regiments, there
were not enough Canadian units to form Divisions and
corps so they were placed within British formations.
On February 4th, 1915
the first Canadian Division was ready for deployment and
after an inspection on Salisbury Plain by King George V,
they marched off the plain and boarded trains. After a
short trip to Avonmouth they embarked on ships for
France. Under the command of Lieutenant General Edwin
Alderson, the division was made up of 3 infantry and 3
artillery brigades. In addition to these combat units
the division also had engineers, mounted troops and
ammunition column and a divisional train. Additional
units remained at Salisbury Plain to form the framework
of the training facilities for additional Canadian
troops on their way from Canada.
 |
The Canadian
1st Division arrived in St Nazaire France on
February 16th where they were entrained and
started their trip North t the front lines.500
miles later they arrived about 20 miles from
Ypres and began to march towards the front where
they joined the British forces under the command
of Sir Douglas Haig and took up the left wing at
the town of Fleurbaix as a part of the IV corps.
|
Conflict came quickly
as the Battle of Neuve Chapelle flared up quickly on
March 10th and Canada was really at war. |
