Right away, you might think this blog post is very controversial considering I am a Canadian myself but I do believe I have some meaningful evidence to support my thought that Canada had the best fighting force of World War I.
First of all, Canadians were very success in the air during World War I. To start, an ace during the war was a pilot or gunner who either shot down or forced an enemy to the ground five times. Owen Sound's very own William 'Billy' Bishop was the RAF's best ace during the war amassing a total of 72 kills, not quite as well as Germany's Manfred von Richthofen's (the Red Baron) record of 80 kills, but enough to earn the tittle of the third best ace of World War I. Out of the top ten aces of the war, two of them were Canadian while Germany had three http://ww1.canada.com/battlefront/canada-spawned-many-of-first-world-wars-greatest-aces. A total of 171 Canadians would be able to bear the title of ace, which is quite remarkable considering Canada had only a population of 7,500,000 compared to Germany's 65,000,000 http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/in-uniform/fliers/. These men were extremely brave in the air considering the life expectancy of a pilot was a mere 3 weeks! Canadian ace Roy Brown is one of two candidates that allegedly shot down and killed the deadly Red Baron, the other candidate being Australian ground troops. As you can see, Canada boosted an amazing air force making that a top contender for the best fighting force in the air.
Now, I will talk about Canada's success in the trenches and bloody battlefields of World War I. The Second Battle of Ypres is a great way to start on proving how Canadians were the best fighting force during the First World War. During April, 1915, both Canadian and French-Africans were holding a line in Ypres, Belgium. When the Germans unleashed chlorine gas on the French, they retreated immediately leaving a huge gap in the line. Canadians would now have to stretch out and "hold the line." When the Germans released their chlorine gas on the Canadians, the soldiers were told by a Canadian Officer to urinate on a rag and hold it to their faces since ammonia counters the effects of chlorine. The Canadians were able to fight of the German attackers for 48 hours until British reinforcements arrived, but it came with a cost. 1 in 5 Canadians were either killed, gassed, wounded, or missing in action http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/battles-and-fighting/land-battles/second-ypres/.
Vimy Ridge was another battle that Canadians displayed their dominance as a fighting force. Before April 9, 1917, both French and British armies had tried to take the Ridge but had failed. When the Canadians arrived, the two generals in charge, British General Julian Byng and Canadian General Arthur Currie, made sure that every Canadian soldier knew the plan to the last detail. Canadians also invented both "flash spotting" and "sound ranging" at Vimy. "Flash spotting" and "sound ranging" were created by Captain Andy McNaughton, a 25 year-old battery staff officer from Guelph. Flash spotting was when pictures were taken from the air of the German lines and look for flashes produce by the muzzle of a gun firing. Then artillery strikes would be order on the enemy positions. Sound ranging is the process that involves a network of listening post fitted with microphones and oscillographs that record the strength and direction of sound waves. Time intervals between listening posts were recorded and then triangulation was used to calculate the exact location of the gun http://www.lermuseum.org/en/chronology/first-world-war-1914-18/1917/flash-spotting-and-sound-ranging-jan-mar-1917/. Before the assault, 81% of German gun positions were destroyed! The creeping barrage tactic was also used to great effect here. What the British and French couldn't do, the Canadians successfully took the Ridge in a mere few days. These techniques would be used by both sides in future wars.
The last battle I'll talk about is the Battle of Passchendaele. It was thought that the city of Passchendaele was impossible to take due to the ever present mud, yet the Canadians were able to take it in a mere 14 days of fighting. This was not done without a cost though, as Canadians suffered 16,000 casualties. 9 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Canadians for their valour at Passchendaele. As soon as the Canadians were moved to a different sector, the Germans took back Passchendaele.
Even Canadian General Arthur Currie was known as one of the best Generals of the war. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George was so impressed by the work of the Canadian Corps that he claimed to his biographer that had the war continued into 1919, he would have sought to replace Field Marshal Haig with General Arthur Currie.
As you can see, Canadians demonstrated throughout the war their valour, their dedication to duty no matter what catastrophe befalls them, and military inventions that leads me to the thought that Canada had the best fighting force of World War I.
First of all, Canadians were very success in the air during World War I. To start, an ace during the war was a pilot or gunner who either shot down or forced an enemy to the ground five times. Owen Sound's very own William 'Billy' Bishop was the RAF's best ace during the war amassing a total of 72 kills, not quite as well as Germany's Manfred von Richthofen's (the Red Baron) record of 80 kills, but enough to earn the tittle of the third best ace of World War I. Out of the top ten aces of the war, two of them were Canadian while Germany had three http://ww1.canada.com/battlefront/canada-spawned-many-of-first-world-wars-greatest-aces. A total of 171 Canadians would be able to bear the title of ace, which is quite remarkable considering Canada had only a population of 7,500,000 compared to Germany's 65,000,000 http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/in-uniform/fliers/. These men were extremely brave in the air considering the life expectancy of a pilot was a mere 3 weeks! Canadian ace Roy Brown is one of two candidates that allegedly shot down and killed the deadly Red Baron, the other candidate being Australian ground troops. As you can see, Canada boosted an amazing air force making that a top contender for the best fighting force in the air.
Now, I will talk about Canada's success in the trenches and bloody battlefields of World War I. The Second Battle of Ypres is a great way to start on proving how Canadians were the best fighting force during the First World War. During April, 1915, both Canadian and French-Africans were holding a line in Ypres, Belgium. When the Germans unleashed chlorine gas on the French, they retreated immediately leaving a huge gap in the line. Canadians would now have to stretch out and "hold the line." When the Germans released their chlorine gas on the Canadians, the soldiers were told by a Canadian Officer to urinate on a rag and hold it to their faces since ammonia counters the effects of chlorine. The Canadians were able to fight of the German attackers for 48 hours until British reinforcements arrived, but it came with a cost. 1 in 5 Canadians were either killed, gassed, wounded, or missing in action http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/battles-and-fighting/land-battles/second-ypres/.
Vimy Ridge was another battle that Canadians displayed their dominance as a fighting force. Before April 9, 1917, both French and British armies had tried to take the Ridge but had failed. When the Canadians arrived, the two generals in charge, British General Julian Byng and Canadian General Arthur Currie, made sure that every Canadian soldier knew the plan to the last detail. Canadians also invented both "flash spotting" and "sound ranging" at Vimy. "Flash spotting" and "sound ranging" were created by Captain Andy McNaughton, a 25 year-old battery staff officer from Guelph. Flash spotting was when pictures were taken from the air of the German lines and look for flashes produce by the muzzle of a gun firing. Then artillery strikes would be order on the enemy positions. Sound ranging is the process that involves a network of listening post fitted with microphones and oscillographs that record the strength and direction of sound waves. Time intervals between listening posts were recorded and then triangulation was used to calculate the exact location of the gun http://www.lermuseum.org/en/chronology/first-world-war-1914-18/1917/flash-spotting-and-sound-ranging-jan-mar-1917/. Before the assault, 81% of German gun positions were destroyed! The creeping barrage tactic was also used to great effect here. What the British and French couldn't do, the Canadians successfully took the Ridge in a mere few days. These techniques would be used by both sides in future wars.
The last battle I'll talk about is the Battle of Passchendaele. It was thought that the city of Passchendaele was impossible to take due to the ever present mud, yet the Canadians were able to take it in a mere 14 days of fighting. This was not done without a cost though, as Canadians suffered 16,000 casualties. 9 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Canadians for their valour at Passchendaele. As soon as the Canadians were moved to a different sector, the Germans took back Passchendaele.
Even Canadian General Arthur Currie was known as one of the best Generals of the war. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George was so impressed by the work of the Canadian Corps that he claimed to his biographer that had the war continued into 1919, he would have sought to replace Field Marshal Haig with General Arthur Currie.
As you can see, Canadians demonstrated throughout the war their valour, their dedication to duty no matter what catastrophe befalls them, and military inventions that leads me to the thought that Canada had the best fighting force of World War I.